PHP Malware Finder alternatives

Looking for an alternative tool to replace PHP Malware Finder? During the review of PHP Malware Finder we looked at other open source tools. Based on their category, tags, and text, these are the ones that have the best match.

Top 3

  1. LMD (malware detection tool)
  2. Loki (file scanner to detect indicators or compromise)
  3. Malice (VirusTotal clone)

These tools are ranked as the best alternatives to PHP Malware Finder.

Alternatives (by score)

74

LMD

Introduction

LMD uses MD5 file hashes and HEX pattern matches to define the malware signatures. These are used to detect malware.

Project details

LMD is written in shell script.

Strengths and weaknesses

  • + The source code of this software is available

    Typical usage

    • Malware scanning

    LMD review

    70

    Loki

    Introduction

    Loki is security tool to find so-called indicators of compromise (IOC). It does this by scanning files and then uses pattern matching.

    Project details

    Loki is written in Python.

    Strengths and weaknesses

    • + More than 10 contributors
    • + Commercial support available
    • + More than 500 GitHub stars
    • + The source code of this software is available

      Typical usage

      • Digital forensics
      • Intrusion detection
      • Security monitoring

      Loki review

      60

      Malice

      Introduction

      Malice is a malware analysis that wants to provide a free and open source version of VirusTotal. The goal of Malice is to make it usable by both independent researchers up to fortune 500 companies.

      Malice is useful for those that do malware analysis or deal with user-generated files that may contain malware. The framework allows scanning files and directories to see if they are infected.

      Project details

      Malice is written in Golang.

      Strengths and weaknesses

      • + More than 500 GitHub stars
      • + The source code of this software is available

        Typical usage

        • Malware analysis
        • Malware detection
        • Malware research
        • Malware scanning

        Malice review

        74

        Malscan

        Introduction

        Malscan is a tool to scan for malicious software (malware) such as viruses, worms, and backdoors. Its goal is to extend ClamAV with more scanning modes and signatures. It targets web servers running Linux, but can also be used on mail servers and desktops.

        Project details

        Malscan is written in shell script.

        Strengths and weaknesses

        • + Used language is shell script
        • + The source code of this software is available

          Typical usage

          • Malware protection
          • Malware scanning

          Malscan review

          60

          MultiScanner

          Introduction

          MultiScanner helps malware analysts by providing a toolkit to perform both automated and manual analysis. The data extracted from the analysis can be easily stored together, including the relevant metadata and samples. It allows enriching the data further by retrieving information from external resources.

          Project details

          Strengths and weaknesses

          • + More than 10 contributors
          • + The source code of this software is available

            Typical usage

            • Malware analysis
            • Malware detection
            • Malware scanning

            MultiScanner review

            59

            Rootkit Hunter (rkhunter)

            Introduction

            Rootkit Hunter is a small utility to find suspicious rootkit components. Other known backdoors or malicious software can also be discovered, especially if it has the goal to hide.

            The tool uses different ways to hunt, like using predefined directory locations and comparing the output of system utilities. Another method is by requesting a specific output and see if this output is altered, therefore tricking rootkits to reveal themselves.

            Project details

            Rootkit Hunter is written in shell script.

            Strengths and weaknesses

            • + Used language is shell script
            • + Project is mature (10+ years)
            • + The source code of this software is available

              Typical usage

              • Malware detection
              • Malware scanning

              Rootkit Hunter review

              78

              SSMA

              Introduction

              SSMA is short for Simple Static Malware Analyzer. The tool can perform a set of tests against a malware sample and retrieve metadata from it. SSMA can analyze ELF and PE and analyze its structure. For example, it can retrieve the PE file header information and its sections. Other pieces it can analyze is the usage of packers, anti-debugging techniques, cryptographic algorithms, domains, email addresses, and IP addresses. It can also check if the sample is already detected or blocked by using VirusTotal and the blocklist of malwaredomains.com.

              Project details

              SSMA is written in Python.

              Strengths and weaknesses

              • + The source code of this software is available
              • - No releases on GitHub available

              Typical usage

              • Malware analysis
              • Malware detection
              • Malware scanning
              • Reverse engineering

              SSMA review

              60

              uitkyk

              Introduction

              Uitkyk is a security framework to identify Android malware by investigation memory. It detects suspicious processes by looking at the so-called memory heap.

              Project details

              uitkyk is written in JavaScript.

              Strengths and weaknesses

              • + The source code of this software is available

                uitkyk review

                85

                Maltrail

                Introduction

                Maltrail monitors for traffic on the network that might indicate system compromise or other bad behavior. It is great for intrusion detection and monitoring.

                Project details

                Maltrail is written in Python.

                Strengths and weaknesses

                • + More than 10 contributors
                • + More than 3000 GitHub stars
                • + The source code of this software is available

                  Typical usage

                  • Intrusion detection
                  • Network analysis
                  • Security monitoring

                  Maltrail review

                  97

                  YARA

                  Introduction

                  YARA is a tool to identify and classify malware samples. It uses textual or binary patterns to match data, combined with a boolean expression to define a match. YARA is multi-platform, can be used via a command-line interface or via Python scripts using the yara-python extension.

                  Project details

                  YARA is written in C.

                  Strengths and weaknesses

                  • + More than 50 contributors
                  • + More than 2000 GitHub stars
                  • + The source code of this software is available

                    Typical usage

                    • Malware analysis
                    • Malware detection
                    • Malware scanning

                    YARA review

                    60

                    YaraGuardian

                    Introduction

                    YaraGuardian provides a web-based interface that helps to manage Yara rules. It can be used to search, organize, and bulk-edit rules. The tool also prevents creating duplicate entries, which is a nice additional benefit of this management utility.

                    Project details

                    YaraGuardian is written in Python.

                    Strengths and weaknesses

                    • + The source code of this software is available

                      Typical usage

                      • Malware analysis

                      YaraGuardian review

                      60

                      bamfdetect

                      Introduction

                      With bamfdetect, malware and bots can be analyzed. It identifies and extracts information and returns data in JSON format.

                      Project details

                      bamfdetect is written in Python.

                      Strengths and weaknesses

                      • + The source code of this software is available

                        Typical usage

                        • Malware analysis
                        • Malware scanning

                        bamfdetect review

                        60

                        yarGen

                        Introduction

                        The yarGen utility helps with creating YARA rules for malware detection. It can combine both 'goodware' and 'malware', to properly craft the right rules.

                        Project details

                        100

                        ClamAV

                        Introduction

                        ClamAV is a popular tool to detect malicious software or malware. While it calls itself an antivirus engine, it probably won't encounter many viruses, as they have become rare. It is more likely to find other forms of malware like worms, backdoors, and ransomware. ClamAV can be used in a few ways, from doing an occasional scan up to scanning in batch. ClamAV does not do on-access scanning but can be combined with other tools to obtain similar functionality. ClamAV is often used to support scanning incoming emails for malicious content.

                        Project details

                        ClamAV is written in C.

                        Strengths and weaknesses

                        • + Many maintainers
                        • + The source code of this software is available

                          Typical usage

                          • Malware analysis
                          • Malware detection
                          • Malware scanning

                          ClamAV review

                          59

                          chkrootkit

                          Introduction

                          The chkrootkit tool consists of multiple parts that may detect the presence of rootkit parts of rootkit behavior on a system.

                          Some areas that are checked include:

                          • interface in promiscuous mode
                          • lastlog deletions
                          • wtmp deletions
                          • wtmpx deletions
                          • signs of LKM trojans
                          • utmp deletions

                          Project details

                          chkrootkit is written in C, shell script.

                          Strengths and weaknesses

                          • + Used language is shell script
                          • + Project is mature (10+ years)
                          • - Long time between releases

                          Typical usage

                          • Malware detection
                          • Malware scanning

                          chkrootkit review

                          60

                          Parse

                          Introduction

                          Writing insecure code is often easier than one might expect. A tool like Parse can perform a security analysis on PHP code.

                          Project details

                          Parse is written in PHP.

                          Strengths and weaknesses

                          • + The source code of this software is available

                            Typical usage

                            • Code analysis
                            • Security assessment

                            Parse review

                            74

                            Suhosin

                            Introduction

                            Suhosin is a security extension for PHP and consists of two parts that enhance PHP. It helps with protecting against known and unknown attacks.

                            Project details

                            Suhosin is written in C.

                            Strengths and weaknesses

                            • + The source code of this software is available
                            • - Well-known tool

                            Typical usage

                            • Application security

                            Suhosin review

                            78

                            Suhosin7

                            Introduction

                            Suhosin7 is the security extension for PHP 7 versions. It protects a PHP installation by preventing different types of attacks.

                            Project details

                            Suhosin7 is written in C.

                            Strengths and weaknesses

                            • + The source code of this software is available

                              Typical usage

                              • Application security

                              Suhosin7 review

                              60

                              iniscan

                              Introduction

                              Iniscan scans a given php.ini file and tests it against security best practices. It reports back the results by showing a Pass or Fail for each related test. As it is a command-line utility, it can be used in automated testing.

                              Project details

                              iniscan is written in PHP.

                              Strengths and weaknesses

                              • + More than 25 contributors
                              • + More than 1000 GitHub stars
                              • + The source code of this software is available

                                Typical usage

                                • Configuration audit
                                • Security assessment

                                iniscan review

                                60

                                pcc (PHP Secure Configuration Checker)

                                Introduction

                                This tool helps with the detection of security issues in your PHP configuration. This is useful for web hosters, developers, and application owners to test their configuration for common weaknesses.

                                Project details

                                pcc is written in PHP.

                                Strengths and weaknesses

                                • + The source code of this software is available

                                  pcc review

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