IDS
stands for Intrusion Detection System, and is a piece of
software used to monitor a network for attempted
security breaches. Basically, an IDS is a
network sniffer with
pattern matching and database of
suspicious network activity patterns. These patterns, called fingerprints by some
over-zealous marketing departments, can be as simple as an
HTTP request for a know
vulnerable CGI, or as complex as detecting a '
stealth'
port scan.
Some IDS systems can also be used to monitor a network for employee 'misuse' (like visiting Everything at work).
IDS Packages:
Dragon IDS
NetRanger
ISS