Specifications

Installation

Downloading Nessus

Download the latest version of Nessus from the Nessus download page or through the Tenable Support Portal. Confirm

the integrity of the installation package by comparing the download MD5 checksum with the one listed in the product

release notes. Nessus 6 is available for Windows 7, Server 2008, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012, Server 2012 R2, and

Windows 8.

Nessus distribution file sizes and names vary slightly from release to release, but are approximately 25 MB in size.

Installing

Nessus is distributed as an executable installation file. Place the file on the system it is being installed on or a shared

drive accessible by the system.

Download the file Nessus-6.x.x-x64.msi, and then double-click on it. This will start the install procedure.

You must install Nessus using an administrative account and not as a non-privileged user. If you receive any errors

related to permissions, “Access Denied”, or errors suggesting an action occurred due to lack of privileges, ensure that you

are using an account with administrative privileges. If you receive these errors while using command line utilities, run

cmd.exe with “Run as…” privileges set to “administrator”.

Some antivirus software packages can classify Nessus as a worm or some form of malware. This is due to the

large number of TCP connections generated during a scan. If your AV software gives a warning, click on

“allow” to let Nessus continue scanning. Most AV packages allow you to add processes to an exception list as

well. Add Nessus.exe and Nessus-service.exe to this list to avoid such warnings.

It is recommended that you obtain a plugin feed activation code before starting the installation process, as that information

will be required before you can authenticate to the Nessus GUI interface. For more information on obtaining an activation

code, read the section titled Vulnerability Plugins.