I used Netsparker in my company to apply continuous penetration testing. The company has 1000-plus web applications.
Attack Developer at a tech vendor
APIs enabled me to automate scans for a large number of web applications
Pros and Cons
- "Crawling feature: Netsparker has very detail crawling steps and mechanisms. This feature expands the attack surface."
- "Attacking feature: Actually, attacking is not a solo feature. It contains many attack engines, Hawk, and many properties. But Netsparker's attacking mechanism is very flexible. This increases the vulnerability detection rate. Also, Netsparker made the Hawk for real-time interactive command-line-based exploit testing. It's very valuable for a vulnerability scanner."
- "The custom attack preparation screen might be improved."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
Because the company has many web applications, we had to automate scans. I wrote a batch script with the Netsparker API. This made it easy for my jobs.
What is most valuable?
Netsparker offers some pretty features:
- Crawling feature: Netsparker has very detail crawling steps and mechanisms. This feature expands the attack surface.
- Attacking feature: Actually, attacking is not a solo feature. It contains many attack engines, Hawk, and many properties. But Netsparker's attacking mechanism is very flexible. This increases the vulnerability detection rate. Also, Netsparker made the Hawk for real-time interactive command-line-based exploit testing. It's very valuable for a vulnerability scanner.
- A very useful API for automating the scans.
What needs improvement?
Perhaps the custom attack preparation screen might be improved. Also, they can implement mobile penetration testing support for manual and automated tests.
Buyer's Guide
Invicti
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Invicti. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
For how long have I used the solution?
Three to five years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The new version of Netsparker is better than the older versions for scalability.
What other advice do I have?
I rate it at nine out of 10 because, although I have used many web application scanners by now, Netsparker gives the fewest false-positives. That's the most important property for a web application scanner. When you buy a web application scanner, you actually pay for two features: non false-positive detection, and attack diversity. Other features affect the quality of a product. So, Netsparker deserves a nine.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
IT Engineer at a aerospace/defense firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
It searches for a lot of updated vulnerabilities. A lot of the security tests are now automated.
What is most valuable?
- It has a very user-friendly page.
- Creating custom policies is very easy.
- It searches for a lot of updated vulnerabilities.
How has it helped my organization?
Before Netsparker, we were opening internal web pages to the outside for manual tests. Health tests were limited by a system admin’s capabilities. After Netsparker, a lot of the security tests became automated. We added a step in our policy document to scan pages with Netsparker before opening a site to the outside.
What needs improvement?
Maybe supported clients can be improved. It still does not search vulnerabilities in DB2 databases, for example. In NetSparker you can modify your scan for specifik target database type, programming language and web server type. And there isn’t DB2 database option for database target in scan Editor.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it for about two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
On early versions, scanning for vulnerabilities didn’t complete. But now it takes an acceptable amount of time.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I did not encounter any scalability issues. With a licence, you can install and run multiple instances of Netsparker at the same time, of course on different targets. Also, you can restrict network access or requests to the page.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is very professional, 10/10. They know what they are doing.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We did not previously use a different solution. We started with Netsparker.
How was the initial setup?
Setting up and updating Netsparker is very easy; only one click.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Actually, I am a technical guy; I don’t know exactly the price, but I do know that if the product was expensive, our manager wouldn’t have bought it. J
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We tried Acunetix, but Netsparker has one up on it.
What other advice do I have?
You must work on your environment first. List the web applications’ background: the systems they are using, web server type, database type, programming language. Netsparker supports lots of them, but there are still some restrictions. If they know their environment, the decision is easier.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Invicti
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Invicti. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Ex Senior Security Analyst and Onsite consultant at Paladion Networks
Efficient in highlighting medium-low vulnerabilities. However, Cross-Site Scripting, SQL Injection and other higher level injection attacks are difficult to highlight.
Pros and Cons
- "The scanner is light on the network and does not impact the network when scans are running."
- "The higher level vulnerabilities like Cross-Site Scripting, SQL Injection, and other higher level injection attacks are difficult to highlight using Netsparker."
What is our primary use case?
This product is mainly required for Automated Web Application Security Testing. We used the product over a shared directory.
How has it helped my organization?
It was very effective to highlight the low and medium level vulnerabilities which are generally easy to miss out.In certain cases we observed that high-level vulnerabilities could be pointed out with ease.
What is most valuable?
The scanner is light on the network and does not impact the network when scans are running. It is very efficient in highlighting medium-low vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities during in-depth testing may find a miss but Netsparker can figure these very easily.
What needs improvement?
The higher level vulnerabilities like Cross-Site Scripting, SQL Injection, and other higher level injection attacks are difficult to highlight using Netsparker.
For how long have I used the solution?
One to three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is highly stable and does not create any issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is available across different platforms and is highly scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support team was highly responsive and we used to get regular emails from their side, i.e., whenever there were any issues or new releases. In fact, the customer service is the best when compared to other competitor products.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Since the time I am associated to this company, we have constantly used Netsparker as one of our tools.
How was the initial setup?
The setup is very straightforward and as it is connected to the network, it is very easy to update the product on a regular basis.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
In our organization, we had a separate team which looked after the pricing and licensing policies. However, we never had any issues with the licensing; the price was within our assigned limits.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We do use other different products to confirm our results namely Burp Suite, Nessus, Qualys Inc. etc. Each product is used for the different stages of testing.
What other advice do I have?
It is a highly scalable and multi-user platform. You need to ensure that you have a virtual machine connected over to the internet for most of the system, as there are weekly and monthly updates.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: We consider Netsparker as our partner.
Senior Information Security Consultant at a tech services company
Its ability to crawl a web application is quite different.
Pros and Cons
- "Its ability to crawl a web application is quite different than another similar scanner."
- "Maybe the ability to make a good reporting format is needed."
What is most valuable?
Its ability to crawl a web application is quite different than another similar scanner.
Sometimes, it can find more vulnerabilities that another scanner can’t. Usually, I have used both the scanners so I can get more results.
How has it helped my organization?
I’m not sure about the improvement part for our organization since I have only used this product for three months.
What needs improvement?
Maybe the ability to make a good reporting format is needed.
For how long have I used the solution?
I got the trial license for about three months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There were no stability issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There were no scalability issues.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have never contacted technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We did not switch solutions, just tried different tools to see the results.
How was the initial setup?
The setup is easy and straightforward, because I was using Windows.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
My office gave me the trial license and told me to try out these products. That’s it. Just compared it to other similar tools such as NeXpose and Acunetix.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Software Quality Assurance Analyst at a real estate/law firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
It has improved the security of our code by scanning it and finding security defects.
Valuable Features
The product’s most valuable features are its security scanning features.
Improvements to My Organization
It has improved the security of our code by scanning it and finding security defects.
Room for Improvement
Speed: It spends about one hour on scanning; I would like it to be less than 30 minutes. Because our solution is large, NetSparker spends about one hour on scanning our code. It also depends on network speed, and just like anti-virus software, the scan time is a key performance requirement for NetSparker. The less the better. Thank you.
Use of Solution
I have used it for two years.
Stability Issues
I did not encounter any stability issues.
Scalability Issues
I did not encounter any scalability issues.
Customer Service and Technical Support
Technical support is good.
Initial Setup
Initial setup is not complex. Just follow the instructions.
Pricing, Setup Cost and Licensing
Price is not the key point.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Founder at a tech services company with self employed
Has a low number of false positives but the program should be more affordable
Pros and Cons
- "One of the features I like about this program is the low number of false positives and the support it offers."
- "Netsparker doesn't provide the source code of the static application security testing."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case of this solution is to assess the security of our web application security.
What is most valuable?
One of the features I like about this program is the low number of false positives and the support it offers.
What needs improvement?
The program uses technology that is different from application scanners. It's not an incremental solution. It could be a new product, but I'm not that knowledgeable to know which products are part of a suite. Netsparker doesn't provide the source code of the static application security testing. I would love to see a completion of the offering with statistical analysis.
Every customer has its own nuance, so I don't think it's really an issue when it comes to the user interface. Every customer has something that they would like different because they're used to something different. In my opinion, there is not very much to mention besides changing as little as possible. Something that Microsoft often does, is to change things with every release and users don't like that.
I would also see the price being at least 20% cheaper because the market is currently very crowded and there are many vendors and clients. A lower price will get more sales.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Netsparker for almost ten years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is quite stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
When it comes to scalability, we tend to do one test at a time. It could be faster but there is always a trade-off between speed and accuracy. Accuracy is more important than speed.
How are customer service and technical support?
I rate the technical support seven out of ten, which is average to me. I don't have special requests that would stress a support team and so far my issues were resolved in a reasonable time. Should I have an emergency, I believe they will be very responsive.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is quite straightforward.
What other advice do I have?
There are many average products on the market, but I prefer Netsparker because to me wasting time after false positives is the worst thing that can happen. Accuracy is the most important thing to me. I rate Netsparker eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Software Quality Assurance Engineer at ITONICS GmbH
I would highly recommend implementing this product to those who really care about the vulnerabilities and security of their products/applications
Pros and Cons
- "When we try to manually exploit the vulnerabilities, it often takes time to realize what's going on and what needs to be done."
- "It would be better for listing and attacking Java-based web applications to exploit vulnerabilities."
What is our primary use case?
The primary use case of this solution is to Check the major vulnerabilities of the product such as SQL injection, XSS Exploitation, Broken Authentication, Upload File Inclusion, CSRF, etc.
How has it helped my organization?
When we try to manually exploit the vulnerabilities, it often takes time to realize what's going on and what needs to be done.
With this wonderful tool, we can easily point out the outstanding reports of "Important", "Medium", "Low", and "Information" cases of vulnerabilities. Apart from that, it also visualizes what's wrong with the server, such as an outdated version, authorization, version disclosure, etc.
What is most valuable?
I like the way it provides the comprehensive result explaining the vulnerabilities which have been found along with how we can exploit those vulnerabilities with an example.
What needs improvement?
When scanning a large web-based application, it tends to process slow and takes a long time especially on crawling and attacking part. Would be better if that part would not take much time.
Apart from that, it would be better for listing and attacking Java-based web applications to exploit vulnerabilities.
For how long have I used the solution?
One to three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Till now, no.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Yes, sometimes it hangs up when running large web-based applications.
How are customer service and technical support?
9 out of 10.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Yes, I have used Acunetix, and the reason I switched to Netsparker would be:
The performance I found on Acunetix was very slow. It would take like a day if I had to scan our web based application product. That is not reliable when you are working with those clients who want a quick response.
How was the initial setup?
I found it's straightforward and anyone can setup this solution. However naive or rookie, you may have obstacles setting up with LDAP login or Browser Authentication.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I would definitely recommend to those who really want to know in-depth details of their applications/products regarding the security of their web system.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
No, I haven't.
What other advice do I have?
Like I wrote earlier, I would highly recommend implementing this product to those who really care about the vulnerabilities and security of their products/applications.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Software Quality Assurance Engineer at ITONICS GmbH
It provides the comprehensive reports in various formats such as PDF and HTML.
What is most valuable?
I like the way Netsparker provides the comprehensive reports in various formats such as PDF, HTML, etc., which are enough to understand what's going on with our web application.
How has it helped my organization?
When we try to manually exploit the vulnerabilities, it often takes time to realize what's going on and what needs to be done. By using this wonderful tool, we can easily see on the outstanding reports "Important", "Medium", "Low", and "Information" vulnerabilities. Apart from that, it also visualizes what's wrong with a server such as an outdated version, authorization, version disclosure, etc.
What needs improvement?
Sometimes, it is slow; when we are running this application and browsing other applications concurrently, it makes other applications work slow. Besides that, it seems fine.
When I use Netsparker along with other applications such as testing web apps on browsers like Chrome or Firefox for a little longer than normal, there are issues that might be due to the CPU high usage. I'm unable to work on other applications (mainly browsers such as Chrome/Firefox) and ultimately it hangs and takes time to browse on browsers.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used it for most of the cases when I have to check vulnerabilities and other security exploitation. So, it's been like six months.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
I have not use this feature. I will let you know when i am done with deployment.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Until now, I have not encountered any stability issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It sometimes hangs when running large web-based applications.
How are customer service and technical support?
The way they are communicating with users like us, yeah, we can give them 9 out of 10. :)
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Acunetix. The reason I switched to Netsparker would be that the performance I found on Acunetix was very slow. It would take something like a day if I had to scan our web-based application product. That is not reliable when you are working with clients who want a quick response regarding how the application performs.
How was the initial setup?
I found initial setup to be straightforward; anyone can set up this solution.
What about the implementation team?
Not from a vendor team.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Price seem to be reliable.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
No i did not evaluate other options.
What other advice do I have?
I would definitely recommend it to those who really want to know in-depth details of their applications/products regarding security.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Invicti Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: November 2024
Product Categories
Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) Static Application Security Testing (SAST) API SecurityPopular Comparisons
HCL AppScan
Fortify WebInspect
Rapid7 InsightAppSec
WhiteHat Dynamic
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Invicti Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
I too find Netsparker the perfect tool when i compare to other vulnerability scanner tool such as Acunetix. Thanks for the review on this tool though. Also i am still using this tool for security testing.
Cheers.