Configure Tenable Nessus

When you access Tenable Nessus in a browser, a warning appears to regard a connection privacy problem, an untrusted site, an unsecure connection, or a related security certificate issue. This is normal behavior. Tenable Nessus provides a self-signed SSL certificate.

Refer to the Security Warnings section for steps necessary to bypass the SSL warnings.

Note: Depending on your environment, plugin configuration and initialization can take several minutes.

To configure Tenable Core + Tenable Nessus, see Deploy or Install Tenable Core in the Tenable Core+ Tenable Nessus User Guide.

Before you begin:

• Install Tenable Nessus.

To configure Tenable Nessus:

1. Follow the Install Tenable Nessus instructions to open to the Welcome to Nessus page in your browser.

2. On the Welcome to Nessus page, do the following:

   • (Optional) Select Register Offline if you cannot connect Tenable Nessus to the Internet for installation. Doing so sets Tenable Nessus in offline mode.

   • (Optional) Click Settings to configure the following Tenable Nessus settings manually.

     • Proxy Server — Configure a proxy server.

       Note: You must enter a proxy server if you want to link the Tenable Nessus scanner through a proxy server. You can also configure a proxy connection later on in the user interface. For more information, see Proxy Server and Remote Link.

     • Plugin Feed — Enter a custom host for the Tenable Nessus plugin feed. Tenable Nessus does not interact with the plugin feed if it is in offline mode.

     • Encryption Password — Enter a Tenable Nessus encryption a password. Tenable Nessus enforces the encryption password after you create your user in the user interface.

       If you set an encryption password, Nessus encrypts all policies, scans results, and scan configurations. You must enter the password when Tenable Nessus restarts.

       Caution: If you lose your encryption password, it cannot be recovered by an administrator or Tenable Support.

     Tip: You can also configure these settings later on in the user interface.

     Once you finish, click Save to save the settings and return to the Welcome to Nessus page.

3. Click Continue.

   A new Welcome to Nessus page appears.

4. Do one of the following:

   • If you are installing Tenable Nessus online, follow the configuration steps for your selected product:

     • Install Tenable Nessus Essentials, Professional, Expert, or Manager
     • Activate a Tenable Nessus Professional or Tenable Nessus Expert Trial
     • Link to Tenable Vulnerability Management
     • Link to Tenable Security Center
     • Link to Tenable Nessus Manager
     • Link a Node (Tenable Nessus Manager cluster)

   • If you are installing Tenable Nessus offline, continue at step 1 of Install Tenable Nessus Offline.