Tenable alters Nessus plug-in licensing. Still not Open
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Dear Nessus Community,
On behalf of Tenable Network Security, we would like to thank you for making Tenable’s Nessus®
vulnerability scanner the most widely used scanner in the world. Over the last five years, we have seen
Nessus grow globally to over 5 million downloads and we have been there every step of the way. The core
Nessus engine is powered by our world-class vulnerability research content which includes over 20,000
plugins, enhanced features such as IPv6 scanning, free mailing lists, online search tools and free clients.
Nessus has become not only a popular tool for conducting security audits but we have extended its
capabilities to conduct agent-less patch audits and configuration audits, as well as locating sensitive data.
Looking forward, we plan to further increase functionality, such as SMBv2 support to better audit Windows
2008 and Windows Vista, and further expand our abilities to conduct even more comprehensive vulnerability
and configuration audits.
In the process, the Nessus scanning engine has been provided to our rapidly growing community as a free
download with research content licensed through two plugin subscriptions. Our Nessus users know these as
the “Registered Feed” and the “Direct Feed” subscriptions. These subscriptions have been available for over
three years and have been utilized by countless individuals, consultants, companies, governments and other
organizations.
We continually interact with the Nessus community and review our capabilities to ensure Nessus continues
to meet and exceed the needs of its users. Since creating and releasing the subscriptions, two distinct user
groups emerged. They are the home user and the commercial user. To better reflect the needs our
community, we have decided to update our Subscription licensing policy and are announcing the planned
change (as outlined below and accompanied by a FAQ) that will go into effect on July 31st, 2008.
First, we will continue to enable all users to download Nessus for free.
Second, due to computers and personal networks having become ubiquitous in homes around the
world, Tenable will launch a “HomeFeed” with all Nessus vulnerability plugin updates for home users
at no charge and with no delay. We are excited to offer the latest vulnerability checks for
personal, non-commercial use and strongly encourage home users to audit their computers and
networks for the newest security flaws.
Finally, Tenable’s “Direct Feed” will be re-named to the “ProfessionalFeed” and the “Registered Feed”
will be discontinued. The ProfessionalFeed will entitle subscribers to the latest vulnerability and
patch audits, configuration and content audits and commercial support for their Nessus 3
installation. The ProfessionalFeed will serve as Tenable’s commercial subscription and will be
required for individuals and organizations that want to use Tenable’s Nessus plugins commercially.
The decision to alter the licensing policy is the result of significant deliberation and will benefit both home
users and commercial users. The change will ensure our ability to invest in the future roadmap for Nessus
and to expand our research, support and training capabilities to serve our growing community. We realize
this may affect some individuals, corporations and organizations that use the currently available “Registered
Feed” in production audits and commercial services. Because of this, Tenable is offering a 25 percent rebate
for the Direct Feed subscription service (normally available at $1200 per year), beginning May 14, 2008 until
July 31, 2008 only when purchased through Tenable’s e-commerce site.
Additionally, we understand that there are those in the Nessus community that serve broad social and
educational objectives and we want to make certain that qualified charitable and information security
teaching/training organizations have access to the ProfessionalFeed free of charge. To this end, Tenable will
provide ProfessionalFeed subscriptions to charity and teaching/training organizations at no cost for those
that qualify.
As always, Tenable will continue to perform the in-depth research, testing and development to keep Nessus
the leading vulnerability and network auditing tool available to both home and professional users.
excerpt directly from Tenable Network Security, Inc.