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snort VS Suricata

Compare snort VS Suricata and see what are their differences

snort logo snort

Snort is a free and open source network intrusion prevention system.

Suricata logo Suricata

Suricata is a high performance Network IDS, IPS and Network Security Monitoring engine.
  • snort Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-06-20
  • Suricata Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-11-06

snort features and specs

  • Open Source
    Snort is open-source software, which means that it is free to use and has a community of developers who keep it updated and secure.
  • Real-time Traffic Analysis
    Snort provides real-time traffic analysis and packet logging capabilities, enabling quick detection and response to potential threats.
  • Flexibility
    The software supports a range of deployment options and can be customized to meet the specific security needs of an organization.
  • Signature-based Detection
    Snort uses a robust signature-based detection method to identify and respond to known threats based on rule sets.
  • Community Support
    There is a strong community of users and contributors who provide support, documentation, and regular updates to Snort.
  • Integration Capabilities
    Snort can be integrated with various other security tools and systems, enhancing its functionality and providing a comprehensive security solution.

Possible disadvantages of snort

  • Complex Setup
    Snort can be complex to configure and deploy, requiring a certain level of expertise in network security and intrusion detection systems.
  • High Resource Consumption
    The software can be resource-intensive, especially in large network environments, which may require significant hardware investments.
  • Signature Updates
    The effectiveness of Snort heavily depends on the timely updating of signatures to protect against new threats; failing to do so can leave vulnerabilities.
  • False Positives
    Like many IDS systems, Snort can generate false positives, which may lead to unnecessary alerts and the need for careful tuning to minimize them.
  • Limited Zero-Day Threat Detection
    While Snort is excellent at detecting known threats through its signatures, it is less effective against zero-day threats that are not yet documented.
  • Maintenance Burden
    Ongoing maintenance and monitoring are required to keep Snort effective, which can be time-consuming for security teams.

Suricata features and specs

  • Open Source
    Suricata is an open-source project, meaning it's free to use and has a community of developers constantly improving it.
  • High Performance
    Optimized for high-speed networks, Suricata is capable of inspecting packets at gigabit speeds with minimal performance impact.
  • Multi-Threading
    Supports multi-threading which allows it to leverage multiple CPU cores for enhanced performance and scalability.
  • Protocol Identification
    Can accurately identify a wide range of network protocols even when they are using non-standard ports.
  • Unified Output
    Provides unified output options for logging and alerting, which simplifies the integration with other tools.
  • Versatile Detection
    Supports multiple types of threats such as intrusions, malware, and anomalies, encompassing various detection methodologies.
  • Community Support
    Strong community support that provides a wealth of shared knowledge, tutorials, and troubleshooting help.

Possible disadvantages of Suricata

  • Steep Learning Curve
    The complexity of setup and configuration can be challenging for beginners or those with limited experience in network security.
  • Resource Intensive
    Requires substantial system resources, especially on high-traffic networks, which might necessitate dedicated hardware.
  • Rule Management
    Managing and updating a large set of rules can be cumbersome, and improper rule configurations may lead to false positives or negatives.
  • Documentation
    While improving, the documentation can still be daunting and may not cover all edge cases or advanced configurations.
  • Complex Integration
    Integrating Suricata with other security tools and platforms can be complex and require custom configurations or additional middleware.
  • Potential for Overhead
    Depending on the network traffic and rules enabled, Suricata can introduce latency or overhead in network performance.
  • Frequent Updates
    Frequent updates and alerts might require constant monitoring and quick action to ensure the system remains secure and optimized.

snort videos

Network Intrusion Detection Systems (SNORT)

More videos:

  • Review - Intrusion Detection System for Windows (SNORT)
  • Review - Massive Beer Review 2692 Bolero Snort Brewing Crushable Hazie IPA

Suricata videos

Suricata Network IDS/IPS Installation, Setup, and How To Tune The Rules & Alerts on pfSense 2020

More videos:

  • Review - pfsense With Suricata Intrusion Detection System: How & When it works and What It Misses
  • Review - Test Case: Suricata VS Snort IDS

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to snort and Suricata)
Security & Privacy
42 42%
58% 58
Cyber Security
48 48%
52% 52
Tool
49 49%
51% 51
Monitoring Tools
43 43%
57% 57

User comments

Share your experience with using snort and Suricata. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare snort and Suricata

snort Reviews

8 Best Open Source SIEM Tools
Snort is an open-source intrusion detection and prevention system that you can use for real-time network traffic analysis and packet logging on IP networks. You can also use Snort to detect attacks or possible probes. You can configure Snort to work in three main modes:
Source: www.logiq.ai
The Top 14 Free and Open Source SIEM Tools For 2022
It is also equipped with log analysis capabilities and the ability to display traffic or dump streams of packets to log files. Users have access to a user manual, FAQ file and guides on how to locate and use Oinkcode. Snort has three great uses:
Source: logit.io

Suricata Reviews

The Top 14 Free and Open Source SIEM Tools For 2022
Prelude is a universal SIEM system and it collects, normalizes, sorts, aggregates, correlates and reports all security-related events independent of the product brand or licence giving rise to such events. Third-party agents to this tool include Auditd, OSSEC, Suricata, Kismet and ClamAV.
Source: logit.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Suricata should be more popular than snort. It has been mentiond 15 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

snort mentions (7)

  • What is a Denial of Service (DoS) Attack? A Comprehensive Guide
    Snort - Open-source Intrusion Prevention System for network security. - Source: dev.to / 5 days ago
  • Who does check linux distros of malware - open source
    Linux has (free) tools to improve security and detect/remove malware: Lynis,Chkrootkit,Rkhunter,ClamAV,Vuls,LMD,radare2,Yara,ntopng,maltrail,Snort,Suricata... Source: over 1 year ago
  • NETGATE 4100 - Snort Fatal Error on new install
    Okay I figured it out. The problem occurs when you're only using the community rules for Snort. If you go to snort.org and register for a free or subscriber "oink" code, enter the code in pfSense and update the rules then it magically works as expected. My best guess is that unicode information get's added when the new rules are updated. At any rate, this worked for me. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Trying to learn Rogue Device Detection
    Snort (not an insult) https://snort.org/. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Snort Subscriber Ruleset - Not Downloaded - error code 422 - md5 download failed
    422 supposedly means the requested file doesn't exist, and sure enough if you look on the snort.org rules downloads page there is no file for version 29180. Source: over 3 years ago
View more

Suricata mentions (15)

  • What is a Denial of Service (DoS) Attack? A Comprehensive Guide
    Suricata - High-performance Network IDS, IPS, and Network Security Monitoring engine. - Source: dev.to / 5 days ago
  • The Impact of Open-Source Tools in Cyber Warfare: A Deep Dive
    In summary, the open-source movement in cyber warfare has dismantled the long-held notion that only a select few can access and use cutting-edge cybersecurity tools. With resources like Suricata and Wireshark available at no cost, the barriers to entry have significantly decreased, allowing for both robust security defenses and increasingly complex cyber offensive strategies. The balance between offensive and... - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Harnessing Open Source Cybersecurity: A Robust Defense Against Cyberwarfare
    Cyberwarfare can range from cyber espionage to full-scale digital assaults against critical infrastructures. With the increasing frequency and sophistication of these attacks, the demand for transparent, flexible, and cost-effective cybersecurity solutions has never been higher. Open source cybersecurity tools meet this demand head-on. Their transparency allows vulnerabilities to be identified and fixed rapidly,... - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Who does check linux distros of malware - open source
    Linux has (free) tools to improve security and detect/remove malware: Lynis,Chkrootkit,Rkhunter,ClamAV,Vuls,LMD,radare2,Yara,ntopng,maltrail,Snort,Suricata... Source: over 1 year ago
  • Risks of hosting a website out of my house
    Monitoring & Active Measures - Exporting firewall events to an external time-series database like I describe above is good to see who is touching your firewall or accessing your web site. Using an Intrusion Detection System / Intrusion Prevention System (IDS/IPS) such as open-source Suricata, which is a free package on pfSense, and deploying file system integrity monitoring, such as the open-source Wazuh on the... Source: over 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing snort and Suricata, you can also consider the following products

Next-Generation Intrusion Prevention System (NGIPS) - Cisco Firepower NGIPS (Next-Generation IPS) provides contextual awareness, security intelligence, and advanced threat protection against attacks and malware.

Wazuh - Open Source Host and Endpoint Security

McAfee Network Security Platform - McAfee Network Security Platform guards all your network-connected devices from zero-day and other attacks, with a cost-effective network intrusion prevention system.

SonicWall Capture Advanced Threat Protection - SonicWall Capture Advanced Threat Protection is a new cloud-based sandbox service that helps to provide continuous security against complex threats by leveraging intelligence and automation to proactively protect organizations from advanced attacks,…

Imunify360 - Imunify360 is a comprehensive security suite for Linux web servers. It includes antivirus, firewall, WAF, PHP Security Layers, Patch Management, Domain reputation with easy UI and advanced automation.

Maltrail - Malicious traffic detection system. Contribute to stamparm/maltrail development by creating an account on GitHub.