Nessus and advices when using it

[zillah]

I am planning to use Nessus (installed on Desktop) at work (production devices)

1- Is there any difference between Nusse Linux platform and Windows Platform ?
2- Is it a good idea to use more than one monitoring tools on different PCs, like Nusses on one PC and SolarWinds on other PC or ?
3- Does using Nusses (Linux or windows) affect any network devices (Cisco devices, hp servers, etc )
4- Is it necessary the PC which has got Nessus installed on it, to join AD domain ?

[HTRegz]

1- Is there any difference between Nusse Linux platform and Windows Platform ?

Not really.

2- Is it a good idea to use more than one monitoring tools on different PCs, like Nusses on one PC and SolarWinds on other PC or ?

Nessus isn't a monitoring tool, it's a VA/VM tool. You would use it against all your PCs (in theory) or at very least the standardized image for production PCs... I would say that at the very least you should double check the findings on your Microsoft PCs with MBSA.

3- Does using Nusses (Linux or windows) affect any network devices (Cisco devices, hp servers, etc )

Nessus has a section of rules that are DoS's... These, of course, will affect devices... I'm willing to bet that depending on setup and deployment, you will also see adverse side effects on other network devices should you choose to scan everything.

4- Is it necessary the PC which has got Nessus installed on it, to join AD domain ?

The computer doesn't have to join the domain... why would it?

[zillah]

Nessus has a section of rules that are DoS's... These, of course, will affect devices... I'm willing to bet that depending on setup and deployment, you will also see adverse side effects on other network devices should you choose to scan everything.

What about if we tick " Safe Check " box for Nessus ? Will it be run without affecting other devices ?

[HTRegz]

What about if we tick " Safe Check " box for Nessus ? Will it be run without affecting other devices ?

No one can guarantee that... a standard connection request for say FTP, might kill an XFS server.. it' shard to say.. I've seen some interesting things in crappily coded hardware and software.

[thehorse13]

1- Is there any difference between Nusse Linux platform and Windows Platform ?

The biggest difference is performance and stabilitiy. The *nix version is a much better way to go IMHO

3- Does using Nusses (Linux or windows) affect any network devices (Cisco devices, hp servers, etc )

It is very common for Nessus to adversely impact devices, even when set to safechecks. This can be because the NASL is doing horrible things, or it can be that the device isn't doing something per RFC. Bottom line, expect issues. This goes for any VA tool.

4- Is it necessary the PC which has got Nessus installed on it, to join AD domain ?

No, but you should consider using a domain account that has read acls on your clients. You'll get much better information back, especially missing patches, etc.

--TH13