Snort

Network intrusion analyzer that performs real time auditing.

Snort is a free intrusion detection system for Windows PCs which works by sniffing packets and monitoring networks. It’s widely used intrusion detection and prevention software (IDS / IPS).

With the analysis of packets, Snort detects whether they might be a threat to system and network security. Its community-backed contributions make it a very good way to see whether intrusions are being attempted or have happened.

With real-time analysis of network traffic, Snort uses WinPcap to read raw network data looking for probes, buffer overflows, port scans, CGI attacks and more. It displays them in an interface with several details providing information about attempted attacks.

Configuration of Snort include Global Settings, Updates, Alerts, Blocked, Pass Lists, Suppress, IP Lists, SID Management, Log Management and Sync.

Logs that the application produces are saved into a database, which currently supports MySQL, Microsoft SQL, ODBC and Oracle.

Overall, Snort is certainly a powerful network security tool which can provide some vital details about possible malicious behavior.

Features of Snort

• Ability to detect operating system fingerprinting and spoofing.
• Ability to detect web application attacks and buffer overflows.
• Active response feature for automatically responding to detected threats.
• Advanced protocol decoding capabilities.
• Easy to install and configure.
• Flexible rule-based language for detecting traffic anomalies.
• High-speed analysis and packet logging on multiple networks.
• Protocol and application analysis for detection of intrusions.
• Real-time alerting and detailed logging capabilities.
• Stream-based inspection technology to detect attacks.

Compatibility and License

Snort has been released under the open source GPL license on Windows from network auditing software. The license provides the options to freely download, install, run and share this program without any restrictions. The source code for Snort should be freely available and modifications are certainly permitted as well as the option to inspect the software.

What version of Windows can Snort run on?

Snort can be used on a computer running Windows 11 or Windows 10. Previous versions of the operating system shouldn’t be a problem with Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Vista having been tested. Windows XP is supported. It’s only available as a 64-bit download.

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