What is Snort?

Snort is an open-source network intrusion detection and prevention system (IDS/IPS) developed by Cisco. It analyzes network traffic in real time to detect and prevent a wide range of attacks and suspicious activities by using a set of rules and signatures. Snort can be used to monitor network traffic, log packets, and generate alerts when potentially malicious activity is detected. It is widely used by security professionals to enhance network defense and is supported by a large community.