Hacking Tools You Can’t Live Without . As an information security professional, your toolkit is the most critical item you can possess — other than hands-on experience and common sense. Your hacking tools should consist of the following (and make sure you’re never on the job without them): ❇Password cracking software, such as ophcrack, Hydra and John ❇Network scanning software, such as Nmap ❇Network vulnerability scanning software, such as GFI LanGuard and Nessus ❇Network analyzer software, such as Cain & Abel and Wireshark ❇Wireless network analyzer and software, such as Aircrack-ng and CommView for WiFi ❇File search software, such as FileLocator Pro and Identity Finder ❇Web application vulnerability scanning software, such as Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner and WebInspect ❇Database security scanning software, such as SQLNinja and SQLmap ❇Exploit software, such as Metasploit