A Web Pen Test: Why It’s Needed, The Types And The Tools For It

 

A web pen test is a type of penetration testing that involves checking for vulnerabilities on your website. To do this, the tester will create an account and then start exploring the site to see what they can find. A web pen test is important because it will help identify any security threats before they happen so you can take action. There are many tools available to use in order to conduct a web pen test,  and we will be mentioning some of the most commonly used ones in this article!

Why Are Web Pen Tests Important?

There are many reasons why you should conduct a web pen-test on your website. The main reason for this is to discover any security flaws before they may be used by malevolent actors. By finding these vulnerabilities, you can fix them and protect your site and its users. In addition, web pen tests can help your organization's overall security posture by detecting security flaws in a variety of websites.

Types Of Web Pen-Testing

There are two types of web pen-testing that you can do, internal and external. Internal tests are done with the tester being an actual user of your site. They will have to create a new account every time they sign in so it is almost as though they are creating different users which helps them explore more areas on the website by switching accounts. External web pen testing is done by creating an internet connection that will allow the tester to remotely access your site through a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

External Web Pen Testing- Pros and Cons

External web pen testing is done by connecting to your site through a VPN. This type of test has many pros, such as the ability to simulate real-world attacks that can occur from outside your network. In addition, external testers have more experience with different types of attacks and know how to look for vulnerabilities that internal testers may not be able to find. However, there are also some cons to doing an external web pen test. One is that it can be more expensive than internal tests. Additionally, it can be difficult to simulate real-world attacks accurately and this could lead to less accurate results. 

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Internal Web Pen Testing- Pros and Cons

Internal web pen testing is done by testers who are actual users of your website. This has many pros, such as the fact that testers will be able to find vulnerabilities that external pen-testers may not be able to find. Additionally, internal tests are usually less expensive than external ones. However, there are also some cons to doing internal web pen tests. One reason why web security audits are beneficial is that they can be time-consuming. It might be difficult to find all of the flaws on a website. Additionally, testers may not have as much experience with different types of attacks which could lead to inaccurate results.

Pros And Cons Of Doing A Web Pen Test?

There are many pros to doing a web pen-test on your website, but there may also be some cons depending on the results of the testing. The main pro is that you can identify any security vulnerabilities and fix them before they become an issue that could cause harm to users or your organization. Web pen tests can also aid your company's cybersecurity. However, if the results of the test are not positive, it could lead to a decrease in confidence from users and investors.

Checklist For Web Pen Tests

There are a few things to do before you begin your web pen test that will assist you in making the process go more smoothly.

●       Make sure you have a testing account: In order to test for vulnerabilities, you will need an account on the website that you are testing. This account should only be used for web pen testing and nothing else.

●       Gather information about the site: In order to test for vulnerabilities, you will need to know as much as possible about the website. This includes the type of website (e.g., e-commerce, blog), platform it is built on (e.g., WordPress, Shopify), and any other relevant information.

●       Plan your attack: Once you have gathered information about the site, you will need to start planning your attack. This includes identifying the areas that you want to test and the tools that you will be using.

Tools For Web Pen Tests

There are many tools that can be used for conducting a web application pen-test on your website, but we will be discussing some of the most common ones in this article. The first tool is Burp Suite which can help automate many tasks that a tester would have to perform manually otherwise.

Next is Astra Security which helps identify vulnerabilities on your site by crawling it and identifying issues based on its findings. Astra security also has a feature that allows you to compare your website against known vulnerabilities in order to find any potential holes.

Additionally, Netsparker is another tool that can be used for web pen-testing and it has the ability to automatically exploit vulnerabilities found on websites. It enables you to quickly identify problems.

Last but not least is SQLMap which allows you to perform an injection attack and identify any issues that might be present with the database on your site. OWASP ZAP is a great tool for finding vulnerabilities within your web app and can be used to do both black-box testing as well as white box testing.

Web Application Scanner is a tool that scans your website for vulnerabilities and provides information on how to fix them.

Conclusion

This article enlightens the reader on the basics of what a web pen test is, their importance, and the different types of web pen-testing. The article also mentions pros and cons of the various kinds of web pen testing. Finally, the article also mentions a web pen test checklist to make it easier for anyone interested in carrying out a web pen test.