Start or Stop Nessus

The following represent best practices for starting and stopping the Nessus service on your machine.

Note: This topic refers to starting or stopping the Nessus service that runs on host machines. To launch or stop an individual scan, see Launch a Scan and Stop a Running Scan.

Windows

  1. Navigate to Services.
  2. In the Name column, click Tenable Nessus.

  3. Do one of the following:

    • To stop the Nessus service, right-click Tenable Nessus, and then click Stop.

    • To restart the Nessus service, right-click Tenable Nessus, and then click Start.

    Start or Stop

    Windows Command-Line Operation

    Start

    C:\Windows\system32>net start "Tenable Nessus"
    Stop

    C:\Windows\system32>net stop "Tenable Nessus"
Note: You must have root permissions to run the start and stop commands.

Linux

Use the following commands:

Start or Stop

Linux Command-Line Operation

RedHat, CentOS, and Oracle Linux

Start

# /sbin/service nessusd start
Stop

# /sbin/service nessusd stop

SUSE

Start

# /etc/rc.d/nessusd start

Stop

# /etc/rc.d/nessusd stop

FreeBSD
Start

# service nessusd start

Stop

# service nessusd stop

Debian, Kali, and Ubuntu

Start

# /etc/init.d/service nessusd start

Stop

# /etc/init.d/service nessusd stop
Note: You must have root permissions to run the start and stop commands.

macOS

  1. Navigate to System Preferences.
  2. Click the essus button.
  3. Click the ock button.
  4. Type your username and password.

  5. Do one of the following:

    • To stop the Nessus service, click the Stop Nessus button.

    • To start the Nessus service, click the Start Nessus button.

    Start or Stop

    macOS Command-Line Operation

    Start

    # launchctl load -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.tenablesecurity.nessusd.plist
    Stop

    # launchctl unload -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.tenablesecurity.nessusd.plist
Note: You must have root permissions to run the start and stop commands.