I think it's great you're including Nessus in the certification, so don't take my comments too harshly. Here goes....
To me this is all "install nessus". I wouldn't put so much focus on this.1. Identify package dependencies and download/install 2. Install Nessus via "tarball" 3. Export library path for Nessus and run ldconfig 4. Install Nessus via unsafe Internet script 5. Add Nessus users 6. Configure Nessus user restrictions
12. Install and configure NessusWX for Win32 users
13. Determine if Nessus is running via. netstat and ps
17. Troubleshoot Nessus encryption key issues
18. Use certificate based authentication
To me this is just "run nessus". There's no real need to do things manually or on the command line; the graphical clients are fine. However, knowing what options to use is a much more interesting area.7. Manually configure nessusrc files 8. Run Nessus jobs via. the command line interface
11. Run Nessus jobs via. the GUI X-Windows interfact
19. Update NASL library with nessus-update-plugins
24. Configure target IPs and netmasks with the GUI interface
25. Configure target IPs and netmasks in a text file
15. Understand portscan options in nessus (range, speed, etc.)This is "configuring the scan" and I think more the sort of area you should focus the certification. One specific thing to add may be configuring SMB credentials for registry scanning.
16. Configure Nessus jobs without the 'ping' command for "stealth" hosts
20. Configure the 'check_reads_timeout' parameter for slow hosts
23. Configure Nessus NIDS evasion features
26. Understand and configure Nessus "safe checks"
27. Configure Nessus plugins to run (All, Non-DoS, user specified)
29. Configure usernames and passwords for various services
30. Configure SMTP parameters (from, to, third party domain)
14. Run individual .nasl files from the command line
9. Use KB Saving features of Nessus
This is "interpreting the scan results" and again the sort of area to focus the certification on. Removing false positives is very important, as is understanding what the vulnerabilities actually mean - or more realistically showing an ability to figure this out as you encounter results.21. Identify false positives through analysis of nasl script and manual testing 32. Analyze the nessusd.messages file for scanning history 33. Understand Nessus scan file formats (NSR, NBE, etc.) 34. Understand Nessus report formats and options
10. Use the detatched scan feature of NessusI'm a little dubious of these, as I am a moderately compentant Nessus user but have never had cause to use these features.
22. Perform differential scans using Nessus
35. Export Nessus scan information into a MySQL database
28. Understand how to use client certificates with a Nessus scanWhat exactly do you mean by this?
Good points. Perhaps you could add "know the most significant plugins" or something similar. There is a brilliant message from Renaud a few months back where he described the process of nmap_wrapper, find_service, webmirror, etc.31. Understand file locations of Nessus components 36. Find and use the Nessus list serve for tech support and q/a
Hope this helps,
Paul
-- Paul Johnston Internet Security Specialist Westpoint Limited Albion Wharf, 19 Albion Street, Manchester, M1 5LN England Tel: +44 (0)161 237 1028 Fax: +44 (0)161 237 1031 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] web: www.westpoint.ltd.uk
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