Nikto Detailed Guide

Launching Nikto

Open your terminal. Navigate to the Nikto installation directory. Start Nikto using the command:

perl nikto.pl

Basic Usage

Scan a target website:

perl nikto.pl -h <target-url>

Example:

perl nikto.pl -h http://example.com

Scanning Specific Ports

To specify a port (default is 80):

perl nikto.pl -h <target-url> -p <port>

Example:

perl nikto.pl -h http://example.com -p 8080

Using Different Plugins

Enable or disable specific tests:

perl nikto.pl -h <target-url> -T <test-id>

List available tests with:

perl nikto.pl -list-plugins

Output Options

Save results to a file:

perl nikto.pl -h <target-url> -o <output-file> -F <format>

Example:

perl nikto.pl -h http://example.com -o results.txt -F txt

Scanning with SSL

To scan HTTPS sites:

perl nikto.pl -h https://<target-url>

Example:

perl nikto.pl -h https://example.com

Setting User-Agent

Change the User-Agent string:

perl nikto.pl -h <target-url> -useragent "<custom-user-agent>"

Running in the Background

Use nohup to run Nikto in the background:

nohup perl nikto.pl -h <target-url> &

Excluding Specific Tests

Exclude certain tests using:

perl nikto.pl -h <target-url> -e <test-id>

Getting Help

To see all options and usage:

perl nikto.pl -h