---
title: "Scanning in Nessus"
canonical: "https://kb.uconn.edu/space/IKB/10866032944/Scanning%20in%20Nessus"
format: markdown
---
Staff can understand how scanning works in Nessus, as well as creating custom scans and viewing currently established scans.

## Viewing Active Scans

In Nessus, **Active Scans** are any scans currently configured to run, whether it is on a scheduled time or an on-demand scan that is run when needed. Along the top, click **Scans**, and then click **Active Scans.** From here, you will be able to see all of the Active Scans that are configured for your group. You will see the **Scan Policy** being used, the next time the scan will run, the schedule the scan is on, the group the scan belongs to, and the owner of the scan.  
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Clicking on any of the scans will bring you to the **Edit Active Scan** screen, where you can change any parameters of the scan as needed.

## Creating a New Scan

1. To begin creating a new scan, click **+Add** at the top, right-hand side of the **Active Scans** page. You will be brought to the **Add Active Scan** screen, where you will need to enter some information.
  1. Pick a **Name** and **Description** for your scan – ideally something easily identifiable to you, as well as information related to what systems are being scanned.
  2. Pick a **Scan Policy**, which essentially tells the Nessus Scanners how to perform the scans; for this, we recommend choosing the **Full Safe Scan - All Ports **policy, as it will safely scan the entire system without performing intensive tasks.
  3. Select a **Schedule.** Options range from on-demand to daily, weekly, and monthly.
    1. If you choose **Now**, the scan will run immediately after clicking Submit. Choosing **On Demand** will let you Submit the scan, and then you can manually start the scan later.
2. In the **Settings** section, the only option that needs to be adjusted is the **Scan Zone**; this should be set to **ISO Nessus Scanner**, which tells Nessus to use all available scanners to perform the tasks.  
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3. The next section is **Targets**, which tells Nessus what to scan. Here, you can select from **Assets **or **IP/DNS Name. **Selecting **Assets** will prompt you to choose an Asset from the dropdown box; selecting I**P/DNS Name **will allow you to enter a list of IPs or DNS names of servers to scan.
  1. For more information regarding Assets, see our [Asset Management in Nessus](https://uconn.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/IKB/pages/10866032920) article.  
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4. In the **Credentials **section, you can manage which credentials should be used to scan your machines.
  1. For Windows Machines, please select **Windows**, and then choose **SSG-Windows**.
  2. For Unix Machines, please select **SSH,** and then choose **SSG-Unix Credentials.**
  3. For Linux Machines, please select **SSH,** and then choose **SSG-Linux Credentials.**
5. In the **Post Scan** section, you can opt to have Nessus email you when the Remediation Scan launches or completes. If you have configured a custom report template, you can choose to have the scan results sent to that report template.
6. When you have completed all of the sections, click **Submit** to save the scan. You will be returned to the Active Scan screen. Scroll down to find your newly created scan.

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