You need a tool that can do network intrusion prevention and intrusion detection, function as a network sniffer, and record network activity, what tool would you most likely select?

Nmap (Network Mapper) is primarily a network scanner used for discovery and security auditing, not a full-fledged NIDS/NIPS or network recorder.

Cain & Abel is a password recovery tool for Microsoft operating systems, used for cracking password hashes and sniffing network credentials, not for general intrusion prevention or detection.

Nessus is a vulnerability scanner that identifies security weaknesses and misconfigurations on systems and networks, but it is not an intrusion prevention/detection system or a network sniffer.

Snort is a powerful open-source network intrusion prevention system (NIPS) and intrusion detection system (NIDS). It performs real-time traffic analysis and packet logging, making it capable of both detecting and preventing network intrusions, as well as acting as a network sniffer to capture and record network activity.