Best Hacking Tools Of 2023 For Windows, Linux, macOS

We have compiled a list of top hacking software and tools of 2020 with their best features and download links. This list is based on industry reviews, your feedback, and our own experience. This list will tell you about the best software used for hacking purposes featuring port scanners, web vulnerability scanner, password crackers, forensics tools, traffic analysis, and social engineering software.

Read about them, learn to use them and share your reviews to improve this list. If you are interested in ethical hacking, you can also check out our dedicated article.

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1. Metasploit | Best collection of exploit tools

Instead of calling Metasploit a collection of exploiting tools, I would call it an infrastructure, which you can use to build your own custom tools. This free software is one of the most popular cyber security tools that allows you to detect vulnerabilities on various platforms. Metasploit is supported by more than 200,000 users and contributors who help you gain insights and uncover your system’s vulnerabilities.

This top hacking software package of 2020 lets you simulate real-world attacks to tell you about weak points and find them. As a penetration tester, this indicates a vulnerability with NenPose, closed loop integration using TopRemediation reports. Using the open source Metasploit framework, users can build their own software and make the best use of this multi-purpose hacking software.

Supported platforms and download:

Metasploit is available for all major platforms including Windows, Linux, and OS X.

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2. Acunetix WVS | Vulnerability Scanner

Acunetix is a web vulnerability scanner (WVS) that scans and detects flaws in a website that can prove fatal. Using Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner, you can perform a full web scan from your computer in Windows.

It is fast and easy which protects WordPress websites from over 1200 vulnerabilities in WordPress.

Acunetix comes with a login sequence recorder that allows websites to access password protected areas. The new accuensor technique used in this device allows you to reduce the rate of false positives. Such features have made Acunetix WVS a favorite hacking software that you will have to see in 2020.

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3. Nmap | Port scanner software

Nmap – also known as network mapper – falls under the category of a port scanner tool. This free and open source hacking tool is the most popular port scanning tool that allows efficient network discovery and security auditing. Used for a wide range of services, NAMP uses raw IP packets to determine the hosts available on the network, details with their services, the operating system used by the hosts, the type of firewall used, and Other information.

Last year, Nmap won several award-winning security products and was featured in several films including The Matrix Matrix, Die Hard 4 and others. Available in the command line, the Nmap executable also comes in an advanced GUI avatar.

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4. Wireshark | Packet analyzer software

Wireshark is a well-known packet crafting tool that prevents vulnerabilities within the network and checks firewall rule-sets. Used by thousands of security professionals to analyze network and live pocket capturing and deep scanning of hundreds of protocols. Wireshark helps you read live data from Ethernet, IEEE 802.11, PPP / HDLC, ATM, Bluetooth, USB, Token Ring, Frame Relay, FDDI, and more.

This free and open source device was originally named Ether. WindShark also comes in a command-line version called TShark. You can also read our dedicated article on the newly released

Supported platforms and download:

This Qt-based network protocol analyzer runs with ease on Linux, Windows, and OS X.

5. oclHashcat | Password cracking tool

If password cracking is something you do on daily basis, you might be aware of the free password cracking tool Hashcat. While Hashcat is a CPU-based password cracking tool, oclHashcat is its advanced version that uses the power of your GPU.

oclHashcat calls itself world’s fastest password cracking tool with world’s first and only GPGPU based engine. For using the tool, NVIDIA users require ForceWare 346.59 or later and AMD users require Catalyst 15.7 or later.

This tool employs following attack modes for cracking:

• Straight
• Combination
• Brute-force
• Hybrid dictionary + mask
• Hybrid mask + dictionary

Mentioning another major feature, oclHashcat is an open source tool under MIT license that allows an easy integration or packaging of the common Linux distros.

Supported platforms and download:

This useful password cracking tool can be downloaded in different versions for Linux, OSX, and Windows.

6. Nessus | Vulnerability Scanner

This top free security tool of 2019 works with the help of a client-server framework. Developed by Tenable Network Security, the tool is one of the most popular vulnerability scanners we have. Nessus serves different purposes to different types of users – Nessus Home, Nessus Professional, Nessus Manager and Nessus Cloud.

Using Nessus, one can scan multiple types of vulnerabilities that include remote access flaw detection, misconfiguration alert, denial of services against TCP/IP stack, preparation of PCI DSS audits, malware detection, sensitive data searches etc. To launch a dictionary attack, Nessus can also call a popular tool Hydra externally.

Apart from the above mentioned basic functionalities, Nessus could be used to scan multiple networks on IPv4, IPv6, and hybrid networks. You can set the scheduled scan to run at your chosen time and re-scan all or a subsection of previously scanned hosts using selective host re-scanning.

Supported platforms and download:

Nessus is supported by a variety of platforms including Windows 7 and 8, Mac OS X, and popular Linux distros like Debian, Ubuntu, Kali Linux etc.

7. Maltego | Forensics platform

Maltego is an open source forensic platform that gathers rigorous mining and information to portray a picture of cyber threats around you. Multego excels at showing the complexity and severity of the points of failure in its infrastructure and surrounding environment.

Maltego is a great hacker tool that analyzes real-world links between people, companies, websites, domains, DNS names, IP addresses, documents and WhatsApp. Based on Java, the software runs an easy-to-use graphical interface with customization options lost during scanning.

Supported platforms and downloads:

Maltego Security Tool is available for Windows, Mac and Linux.

8. Social-Engineer Toolkit

Also featured on Mr. Robot, TrustedSec’s Social-Engineer Toolkit is an advanced framework for simulating a variety of social engineering attacks such as credential harvesting, phishing attacks, and more. On the show, Elliott is seen using the SMS spoofing tool from the Social-Engineer Toolkit.

This Python-driven tool is the standard tool for social engineering penetration tests with over two million downloads. It automates attacks and generates misleading emails, malicious web pages and more.

Supported platforms and download:

To download SET on Linux, type the following command:

git clone https://github.com/trustedsec/social-engineer-toolkit/ set/

9. Netsparker | Web app scanner

Netscape is a popular web application scanner that looks for flaws such as SQL injection and local file induction, suggesting remedial actions in a read-only and secure manner. As soon as this hacking tool produces proof of exploitation, you do not need to verify the vulnerability on your own. Just in case it cannot automatically verify a defect, it will alert you. This hacking tool is very easy to start. Just enter the URL and allow it to be scanned. Netspucker supports JavaScript and AJAX based applications. Therefore, you do not have to configure the scanner or rely on some complex scanning settings to scan different types of web applications.

If you do not want to pay money for the professional version of Netscape, they have also got a demo version that you can use.

Supported platforms and downloads:
Netsparker Web App Scanner is available for Windows.

10. w3af | Web app scanner

w3af is a free and open source web application security scanner that’s widely used by hackers and penetration testers. w3af stands for web application attack and audit framework. Using this hacking tool, one can get security vulnerability information that can be further used in penetration testing engagements. w3af claims to identify more than 200 vulnerabilities (including the likes of cross-site scripting, SQL Injection, PHP misconfigurations, guessable credentials, and unhandled application errors) and make a web application (and website)

w3af comes both in command line and graphical user interface to suit the needs of a hacker. In less than 5 clicks and using the predefined profile for the beginners, one can audit the security of a web application. As it’s well documented, the new users can easily find their way. Being an open source hacking tool, an experienced developer can play with the code, add new features, and create something new.

Supported platforms and download:

w3af is available for Linux, BSD, and OS X. On Windows, its older versions are supported.