| | | Choose Location of Scan-Server |
If you are planning to use the OpenVAS security scanner in your network, the best location for the machine running the server module depends on the targets you want to evaluate:
Several tests do follow the very same path as various real attacks do: from a remote network. If you are only interested in these tests, you may use any arbitrary location of your OpenVAS server outside of the targeted network.
However, you are strongly advised to contact the owners of the target systems beforehand and inform them that you are planning on running OpenVAS against their machines. Because OpenVAS will actively look for vulnerabilities on the target system, a scan will under certain circumstances look like a real attack on the target system. This may trigger alarms and notifications for the IT staff. You may be held responsible by the system owners. In extreme situations the OpenVAS Server may be blacklisted by the target network and/or legal action taken.
It is strongly recommended to get written permission to scan these systems to protect yourself from changes of policy or miscommunication in the management of the target network.
In this case you should directly coordinate with your system administrators and management.
Depending on the complexity of the intranet, you may need to find out how to reach specific subnets from your OpenVAS Server. In some cases it might be an option or necessary to install several OpenVAS Servers.
For local security checks you need to prepare the target systems for remote access. For UNIX variants this is usually via SSH connections, for Windows it is about SMB shares.
| | | Choose Location of Scan-Server |