Why do many companies opt for ethical hacking tools to secure themselves against online attacks?
The reason is that these tools are the easiest to use and can tell a lot about where your company’s cyber security stands.
But which ethical hacking software is the best?
It seems quite hard to make that decision, considering how many exist.
However, we went ahead and compiled a list of the best tools for ethical hacking.
Best Ethical Hacking Tools in 2025
- Invicti
- Acunetix
- Solarwinds Security Event Manager
- Traceroute NG
- Hashcat
- Ikecrack
- Angry Ip Scanner
- Netstumbler
- Qualysguard
- Ettercap
1. Invicti
If you’re looking for a simple and easy-to-use ethical hacking tool, then Invicti is probably the right one for you.
It’s an extremely efficient and well-known tool for ethical hacking that is automated with a simple UI.
Invicti has automated vulnerability detection. It uses a special Proof-Based Scanning Technology that scans for potential vulnerabilities.
So you can find system vulnerabilities that can be exploited and hacked.
Invicti also features a special dynamic and interactive scanning approach (DAST + IAST). It scans every part of your application, even those that other tools may miss.
But the problem comes when you have to perform scans on multiple web applications. That’s where Invicti comes in.
Invicti believes in automation not just in scanning but also in implementation.
This ethical hacking solution is scannable and can detect vulnerabilities in up to 1,000 web applications in 24 hours.
This makes it faster than other tools, saving up your time and effort. And the best part is that the tool requires minimal configuration.
The automatic vulnerability detection tool can detect custom 404 error pages and URL rewrite rules. So you don’t need to reconfigure the tool.
Additionally, Invicti helps identify threats to your system.
You can then seamlessly assign them to your developers through its platform. It’s a complete ethical hacking solution.
2. Acunetix
Acunetix is a great platform for ethically hacking your web application and scanning for security issues.
It takes on a completely new approach by looking at the issue from a hacker’s point of view.
This tool can scan for all XSS and SQL Injection variants. It can also scan up to 4,500+ vulnerabilities.
This makes it the most versatile security scanning tool which can be implemented in multiple web applications.
Additionally, the tool works with JavaScript, HTML5, and even Single-page applications.
What’s more, Acunetix works with over 1200 WordPress themes, core, and plugin vulnerabilities.
Hence, it’s the best choice for detecting security issues in your WordPress website. It does so through its DeepScan Technology.
This ethical hacking software uses the most advanced Cross-site Scripting and SQLi.
In other words, it features advanced DOM-based XSS detection, critical for app security.
Acunetix is a highly scalable ethical hacking solution. It can crawl up to thousands of pages in a few hours without hesitations or system issues.
This lets you take full control of your web application’s security.
But how do you keep track of all the vulnerabilities? Acunetix integrates with the most popular issue trackers and Web Application Firewalls. These aid in app development.
But even if you don’t have these trackers and WAFs, Acunetix provides its auditing solution. It can audit and report various vulnerabilities.
3. Solarwinds Security Event Manager
Do you want to scan your web applications for security issues and resolve them quickly? Then SolarWinds Security EVent Manager is the right choice for you.
This is software that automatically detects vulnerabilities. It helps to keep your network protected.
To begin with, it has a very intuitive user interface that keeps all your essentials in one place. Ethical hacking software can be very complicated to use.
So a simple UI is a relief.
Additionally, SolarWinds features compliance reporting. This feature has pre-defined PCI DSS, SOX, and HIPAA templates.
It tells you whether your software or web application is compliant with common laws and regulations.
At SolarWinds, you also get the full benefit of a cyber threat intelligence framework. It automatically detects and responds to security threats present in your web application.
Besides detecting the threats, SolarWinds responds to them too. This is what makes the application so much more advanced than other ethical hacking software.
To be more specific, it features Active Response software that allows you to enter customized incident responses.
Then, the Active Response software carries out the pre-assign response whenever a threat is detected.
In this way, you can respond to the thousands of vulnerabilities being detected by the SolarWinds security tool.
SolarWinds also features File Integrity Monitoring. This tool detects changes to folders and registry items and settings, and core files.
4. Traceroute NG
Traceroute NG is an excellent hacking tool that lets you analyze the network path.
It’s ideal for identifying things like packet losses, hostnames, and even IP addresses. This security tool detects path changes and allows for continuous probing.
With the Traceroute NG, you get the benefit of both ICMP and TCP network path analysis.
ICMP is a network layer protocol that is used to diagnose particular network issues.
With this tool, you can expose the vulnerabilities of your network and mobilize your team to secure it.
And with the TCP network path analysis, you can detect vulnerabilities in network communication.
What’s more, Traceroute NG keeps a full log of all of your information in a .txt file.
In this way, you’re always updated with the latest network protocol security issues and can resolve them.
But that’s not all. Traceroute NG supports both IPv4 and IPv6. So it’s more versatile than other network path analysis tools, which only focus on one type of protocol.
However, the interface of the Traceroute NG is not all that intuitive. It uses a Command Line Interface (CLI), which is text-based and doesn’t have any graphic elements.
Moreover, although it keeps a .txt log file, it does let you access the complete network history. Additionally, Traceroute NG doesn’t show the provider’s details and contact.
5. Hashcat
Hashcat is an tool focused on password cracking, though it has other features.
This tool’s primary purpose is to help you recover passwords lost to hackers or your memory.
Hashcat is an open-source platform, meaning that the source code has been made public.
And if you know a bit of coding, you can edit the code to fit your needs. This makes it highly customizable.
And that’s not all. The software can be used with multiple devices running on the same system.
So you see all the necessary security information you need for all your apps in one place. Moreover, the devices can be of different types, and Hashcat will show them all in its system.
With Hashcat, you can recover lost passwords and keep track of the security of your password. This tool also lets you figure out what type of data is stored inside a hash.
Hashcat also features an in-built benchmarking system along with a thermal watchdog.
It keeps track of the performance of your system or server and automatically tunes any issues. In this way, you’re always running an optimized system that doesn’t drain too much power.
Moving on, Hashcat also provides you with interactive pausing and resuming of the scan.
Additionally, it can crack multiple hashes and implement them with performance as a key goal.
6. Ikecrack
IKECrack is a unique IKE/IPSec verification crack tool that’s open-source and fast. This ethical hacking tool focuses on password security and keeping your network safe.
It automatically brutes force or uses a dictionary attack to crack your password.
This can be the password that is used with Pre-Shared-Key IKE verification. In this way, you’re always aware of any vulnerabilities in your password.
IKECrack is the ideal choice for cryptography tasks. It’s best for figuring out codes and understanding how cryptic or easy to decipher your password is.
For companies, password security is a major problem that can be removed with IKECrack.
But the features don’t end there. IKECrack utilizes a very performance-oriented method to deliver the said goods.
First, the initiating client directs certain information to the responder. This contains an encryption options proposal.
Then, the responder generates a random number, the DH public value, and calculates the hash that is sent to the initiator.
In this, the responder and the initiator can authenticate each other and begin communication.
The initiator will send a reply packet that is also encrypted in a hash. As you can see, the process is quite rigorous and focuses a lot on performance.
However, this tool only uses brute-forcing and dictionary attacks.
Hence, it won’t be able to tell you about the security of your system against other types of password cracking techniques.
7. Angry Ip Scanner
Angry IP scanner is a fast and easy-to-use IP address and port scanner. It’s designed to detect vulnerabilities in IP addresses across various ranges and the associated ports.
This is a cross-platform tool that will tell you a lot about the security of your network.
The source code for the tool can be downloaded from the website and doesn’t require any additional installations.
However, if you want to extend the use cases of the Angry IP Scanner, then you’ll need to create additional plugins.
WHat’s best about the Angry IP scanner is that it pings the IP addresses to ensure that they’re still alive.
Then, as an optional use case, it will resolve the hostnames, scan the ports, and determine the MAC addresses.
In simpler terms, it gathers enough information about the network for you to make a sound judgment.
Additionally, it can provide NetBIOS information such as the computer’s name, workgroup, and the user. It’s also ideal for detecting and displaying the IP address ranges.
Angry IP Scanner scans the network and stores the logs into TXT, XML, and CSV formats. You can also store the results in an IP-Port list file.
And the best part is that configuring ANgry IP Scanner and making your plugins is easy. It simply uses JavaScript. Hene, making new plugins should be a breeze.
8. Netstumbler
NetStumbler has been designed to detect wireless networks automatically.
It works on the Windows platform and is used to verify network configurations. This ethical hacking software even works with WLANs that have poor coverage.
It automatically senses any vbulnerbaiiky in your network and informs you automatically.
Sometimes, a network may be accessed by unauthorized people. This leaves behind a rogue or unauthorized access point.
NetStumbler works by detecting rogue access points and informing you so that you can take the necessary actions.
If your network is being interfered with, then NetStumbler can also pinpoint the cause of the interference.
So your network connection remains uninterrupted. And you get the best wireless connectivity experience.
Additionally, NetStumbler can aim directional antennas in the case of long-haul WLAN links.
To put it simply, NetStumble detects long-range Wi-Fi networks. These are often used unauthorized.
What’s more, NetStumbler is the best tool for using for WarDriving.
WarDriving is the method by which attackers can search for unsecured wireless networks while moving in a car.
It’s an age-old technique that lets hackers and attackers know which network to hack. And if you’re not careful, it could be yours next.
However, keep in mind that this tool cannot help you figure out what type of chip is to be used with your card.
Additionally, it will automatically disconnect from the network if performing an Auto Reconfigure.
9. Qualysguard
QualysGuard is your one-stop solution to arming your company against security threats.
It’s the perfect tool for detecting security vulnerabilities in real-time. It does so without interrupting the server or system.
To begin with, QualysGuard automatically discovers and logs your global IT assets.
This gives you more knowledge about the global hybrid-IT environment present on your servers. Additionally, QualysGuard is a scalable solution.
It features fast and easy scans of all the vulnerabilities present in your infrastructure. And it can be used for thousands of applications at the same time.
QualysGuard maintains its own list of possible threats and vulnerabilities to scan for. It gets this knowledge from the Qualys Knowledgebase.
So you’re always up-to-date on the latest security threats that your network can be subjected to.
Additionally, this ethical hacking software has a very simple user interface. It can be used for logging and assessing threats.
It features a unified threat assessment via the dashboard. This dashboard is intuitive and can be customized, so you always see the information you need.
QualysGuard features rapid searching for data and tables and instant visibility of the apps being monitored.
And that’s not all.
QualysGuard provides a continuous view of how your company stands against security standards.
It does this through the ability to communicate over the cloud. QualydGuard communicates with your IT environment in many ways, including the cloud.
10. Ettercap
Ettercap is a quite sophisticated hacking tool for modern web developers. It features active and passive dissection and sniffs out vulnerabilities on the fly.
In simpler terms, it’s more efficient at detecting vulnerabilities and will inform you of any system security threats.
Moreover, Ettercap detects ARP poisoning. In case you don’t know what that means, ARP poisoning is when an attacker intercepts the communication between you and another device.
Through Ettercap’s services, you sniff out threats on a switched LAN between hosts.
And that’s not where it ends. Etercap can also detect SSH connections even in a full-duplex system. The software is also ideal for sniffing out HTTP SSL-secured data.
This is done even though the connection is made through a proxy. In this way, you can track down the attackers and figure out where the attack is coming from.
But how do you integrate Ettercap into your software? Simple. The characters can be interjected into the software’s code or a server even when the server is live.
So you get zero interruptions. In this way, you don’t have to take your website down for maintenance every now and then.
And if you want to use the Ettercap your way, then feel free.
It comes with the Ettercap API, which lets you design and develops your own plugins for a more customized experience.
FAQs
What Is an Ethical Hacking Tool?
An ethical hacking tool is software or code that is used to detect vulnerabilities in a web application or system.
Companies use these tools to help them identify shortcomings in their security systems and update them.
Which Software Is Best for Hacking?
The best tool for ethical hacking has got to be Invicti. It’s a highly intuitive platform with lots of great features.
For one thing, it’s highly scalable, meaning you can use it on up to 1,000 different web applications in 24 hours.
Free Ethical Hacking Tool Vs. Paid?
It entirely depends on you if you want free or paid ethical hacking software.
However, there will be some major differences between the two.
For instance, a free hacking tool may not provide as many features as its paid version.
However, the free features are still sufficient for network security.
But if you want to protect yourself from cyber attacks, then it’s best to go for the paid tools.
Conclusion
Finding vulnerabilities in your system or server helps you grow as a companion. Therefore, cyber security is extremely important for all businesses.
And this is especially true for those who have recently made the digital shift.
As such, finding the right ethical and private hacking tool to aid you in cracking your system is crucial.
These were 10 of the best tools for ethical hacking that we discussed above.
