Your company was hired by a small healthcare provider to perform a technician assessment on the network. What is the best approach for discovering vulnerabilities on a Windows-based computer?

Creating a disk image captures system state for forensic or backup purposes and provides no mechanism for identifying active vulnerabilities on a running system.

Windows Update applies available Microsoft patches but does not enumerate all vulnerabilities present, cannot assess third-party software weaknesses, and does not produce an assessment report.

Nessus is an industry-standard vulnerability scanner that actively interrogates a live Windows target for misconfigurations, missing patches, exposed services, and known CVEs, producing a prioritized report suited for a professional assessment. It goes beyond patch status to detect third-party software flaws, weak credentials, and compliance gaps. This active discovery approach is precisely what a technician assessment engagement requires.

MITRE's CVE database is a passive reference catalog of published vulnerabilities and does not actively probe or evaluate any specific target system.