What is Nessus primarily used for in a network security assessment?

• A. A web proxy for anonymizing traffic.
• B. A vulnerability scanner used to identify security weaknesses.
• C. A password cracking tool.
• D. A network traffic analyzer.

Answer: (B)

Nessus is a vulnerability scanner used to identify security weaknesses in systems during a network security assessment. It interrogates hosts and services, checks for missing patches, misconfigurations, weak or default credentials, and known vulnerabilities tracked by CVEs. By running scans (authenticated or unauthenticated), it assesses how exposed the environment is and prioritizes risks so you can remediate effectively. It’s not a web proxy, it doesn’t crack passwords, and it doesn’t inspect live network traffic; its purpose is to reveal exploitable weaknesses so they can be addressed before an attacker can take advantage.