Top 10 Best Phishing Tools for Advanced Protection (2023)

Phishing is one of the most common and successful attack methods used by cybercriminals to steal sensitive information from unsuspecting victims. In phishing attacks, attackers try to trick users into providing their personal and sensitive information by sending them fraudulent emails, phishing site link or messages that appear to be legitimate. To combat these attacks, cybersecurity experts have developed a variety of tools and techniques to help organizations identify and prevent phishing attacks. In this article, we’ll be taking a look at the top 10 best phishing tools of the year that can help you boost your cybersecurity and keep your sensitive information safe.

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Introduction

Phishing attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, making it difficult for users to distinguish between genuine and fake emails or messages. In many cases, these attacks can be very convincing, often leading to devastating consequences such as financial loss or identity theft. Therefore, it’s essential to have the right tools and techniques in place to protect your organization from these types of attacks.

In this article, we’ll be taking a look at the top 10 best phishing tools of the year that can help you identify and prevent phishing attacks. These tools can be used to simulate phishing attacks, educate employees on how to identify and report phishing attempts, and even automate the process of identifying and blocking suspicious emails. There are wide range of tools other than the ones mentioned on this article but the following tools are so effective and easy to use making them one of the best phishing tools of 2023.

What are Phishing tools?

Phishing tools are specialized software applications that are created to facilitate and streamline the process of conducting phishing attacks. Phishing is a social engineering attack that typically aims to deceive users into revealing confidential information such as login credentials, financial data, or personal details. By leveraging phishing tools, attackers can create sophisticated and authentic-looking phishing emails, web pages, or other forms of communication to deceive targets and steal sensitive information.

Best Phishing Tools For Corporates

Now we will take a look into the top 10 best phishing tools. Most of these tools are open-source which means they are free to download. There is a wide range of phishing tools in the market but these tools are considered as the top 10 best phishing tools due to their wide range of features, flexibility, and effectiveness. Though these are free to download and use, one must know that the use of these tools in a negative manner or with efforts to steal sensitive information from the company or any individual is illegal and punishable by law.

1. PhishGrid

PhishGrid is a web-based phishing simulation platform that allows you to create and launch campaigns within minutes.

It has a user-friendly framework that allows users to combine phishing simulation with awareness education with a feature that redirects phished users to a landing page with awareness content. Users are free to select from a wide range of awareness content found on the platform and also can create their own.

The dashboard also provides clear insights on the phishing rate of organizations including user clicks, views, most vulnerable users, etc.

Now let’s look into what this product offers and the pros and cons of using this product to boost your security awareness posture.

Pros	Cons
User-Friendly Interface	–
Wide range of Popular Templates	–
Wide Range of Awareness Content	–
Custom Templates Creation	–
Custom Awareness Content Creation	–
AI Integration	–

And the best part – it’s free. You can Sign Up here and start using it.

2. KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training

KnowBe4 is the world’s largest integrated security awareness training and simulated phishing platform with over 65,000 customers. The KnowBe4 platform is user-friendly intuitive, and powerful. Multi-language support for the Admin Console and end-user localization options deliver a more immersive learning experience to your users from start to finish.

With the optional customization features to enable gamification, users can compete against their peers on leaderboards and earn badges while learning how to keep their organization safe from cyber attacks.

it also provides automated training campaigns with scheduled reminder emails.

Now let’s look into what this product offers and the pros and cons of using this product to boost your security awareness posture.

Pros	Cons
Simulated phishing emails	No ability to Customize Awareness content
Training for variety of phishing attacks	No Mobile Support
Tracking training progress	No multi-language Content
Easy to use	It is a paid product

3. Hoxhunt

Hoxhunt represents a Human Risk Management solution that surpasses traditional security awareness by actively promoting behavioral transformation, resulting in a quantifiable reduction in risk.

Leveraging a blend of artificial intelligence and behavioral science, Hoxhunt tailors personalized micro-training encounters that users find engaging.

This approach empowers employees to identify and report sophisticated phishing attacks. Moreover, Hoxhunt streamlines incident resolution through automated processes, enabling operational teams to act swiftly despite resource constraints.

Now let’s look into what this product offers and the pros and cons of using this product to boost your security awareness posture.

Pros	Cons
Phishing Email Tracking	Less realistic Emails
Presents trending security tips for the user	Not End-user specific
Interactive learning	Less Frequency of Emails
Rewarding System

4. MetaCompliance Security Awareness Training

MetaCompliance security awareness training platform serves as a comprehensive resource for cyber security awareness, compliance, and policy obligations. MetaCompliance offers customers a fully integrated and multi-lingual suite of cyber security awareness training and compliance capabilities, encompassing policy management, privacy, eLearning, simulated phishing, and risk management.

Key service features include forms-based authentication to accommodate non-network users, hosting on Microsoft Azure, single sign-on functionality, remote accessibility, and personalized security awareness training content.

The benefits of their service are numerous. It allows access at any time, from anywhere, and on any device, fostering user engagement in compliance practices. Additionally, it empowers non-network users to complete compliance training, resulting in time and cost savings for compliance initiatives.

Now let’s look into what this product offers and the pros and cons of using this product to boost your security awareness posture.

Pros	Cons
Scheduling of future training with automatic delivery	No custom reports
Well crafted phishing examples	Less user-friendly Interface
Engaging content to use in training	Less Frequency of Emails
Tracking of policy acceptance and training completion

5. Proofpoint Security Awareness Training

Proofpoint Security Awareness employs a threat intelligence-driven approach to education, aimed at mitigating people-related risks, enhancing overall security, and facilitating compliance initiatives. Their Security Awareness solution is rooted in established learning principles, fostering behavioral change, enhancing knowledge retention, and cultivating enduring security practices that extend into individuals’ personal lives.

Knowledge and culture assessments to precisely gauge individuals’ knowledge, identify knowledge gaps, and assess their security attitudes.

Phishing simulation templates, modeled after real-world attacks, equip learners with the skills to counter imminent threats.

An adaptive learning framework encompassing a comprehensive library of over 600 learning modules. These modules can be tailored to align with users’ preferred learning styles (interactive, gamified, micro or nano content), their roles, competency levels, or specific domain-knowledge requirements. The modules are accessible in over 40 languages and can be customized to reflect the organization’s identity.

The PhishAlarm email report button is seamlessly integrated into their CLEAR infrastructure, streamlining security response and reinforcing positive behavior change when users report suspicious emails.

The CISO Dashboard and pre-configured reports, enable administrators to benchmark their progress against industry peers and effortlessly convey the program’s impact to their executive team.

Now let’s look into what this product offers and the pros and cons of using this product to boost your security awareness posture.

Pros	Cons
Short, quick, easy training videos	High Price
Easy administration	Limited Language Content
Offers managed service	Less phishing templates
Detailed Reporting Options

6. Arctic Wolf

Arctic Wolf Security Awareness Training offers a multifaceted approach to cybersecurity education, focusing on both general security awareness and tailored, organization-specific content.

Arctic Wolf employs various engaging learning methods, including videos, simulations, quizzes, and hands-on exercises. These interactive elements help learners understand complex security concepts and retain crucial information effectively.

One of the standout features of Arctic Wolf’s program is its phishing simulations. These mimic real-world phishing attacks, allowing employees to experience the threat firsthand in a safe environment. By tracking how employees respond to these simulated attacks, organizations can identify vulnerable areas that require further training and support.

The program provides organizations with detailed reports and analytics on employee participation and performance in training modules and simulations. These insights help management assess the overall security awareness of the workforce and target areas where improvement is needed.

Now let’s look into what this product offers and the pros and cons of using this product to boost your security awareness posture.

Pros	Cons
Content that is educational and engaging	Less user-friendly
Easy to setup	High Cost
Offers managed service	Less customization options for the Phishing campaigns
Automation of service

7. NINJIO Security Awareness

Through engaging training, individualized testing, and insightful reporting, NINJIO reduces human-based cybersecurity risk. It focuses on the latest attack vectors to build employee knowledge and the behavioral science behind human engineering to sharpen users’ intuition.

NINJIO Risk Algorithm identifies users’ social engineering vulnerabilities based on phishing simulation data and informs content delivery to provide a personalized experience that changes individual behavior.

Now let’s look into what this product offers and the pros and cons of using this product to boost your security awareness posture.

Pros	Cons
Easy of use	Difficult to Customize
New security content every month	No automated report generation
Supports multiple language
Fun and Engaging Awareness Content

8. SoSafe

People-centered cyber security awareness training and human risk management. SoSafe’s GDPR-compliant awareness workshops enable firms to develop a security culture and mitigate risk.

SoSafe delivers engaging individualized learning experiences and sophisticated attack simulations powered by behavioral science and clever algorithms, transforming employees into active assets against online attacks.

Now let’s look into what this product offers and the pros and cons of using this product to boost your security awareness posture.

Pros	Cons
Activity Tracking	Does not support Mobile
Built-in LMS	No Customizable Reports
Behavioral Analytics	No Training Administration
Simulated Threat Attacks	No Course Management

9. SANS Security Awareness Training

SANS Institute offers a wide range of products that address many aspects of security awareness and education.

SANS provides useful resources and tools for end users and phishing simulation. They also offer short-form technical material and brandable corporate communications, allowing you to use SANS’ expertise in human risk management.

SANS Institute further aids your security efforts by offering workforce assessments. These assessments help identify vulnerabilities in your organization’s knowledge and readiness.

Now let’s look into what this product offers and the pros and cons of using this product to boost your security awareness posture.

Pros	Cons
Variety of cyber threat videos and presentations	Poor Onboarding and Customer Support
Web based and mobile access to the platform	Lack of customization
Easy to manage administrator Dashboard	High Cost
Automated e-mail notifications

10. Hacker Rangers Security Awareness

Hacker Rangers introduces itself as the world’s pioneer in completely gamified security awareness training platforms. Gamification’s distinct methodology dramatically improves the learning experience for employees, making it not only instructional but also enjoyable. Within this gamified ecosystem, Hacker Rangers offers a variety of entertaining elements, such as leaderboards, badges, and ranks, that businesses can use to turn the adoption of safe behaviors into a real-life, competitive game.

It involves offering short, focused, and bite-sized lessons, allowing employees to easily grasp crucial concepts related to identifying phishing messages, social engineering tactics, and other cyber threats. Their comprehensive range of educational materials includes animated and subtitled videos, handouts, quizzes, and much more, ensuring a diverse and effective learning experience.

Now let’s look into what this product offers and the pros and cons of using this product to boost your security awareness posture.

Pros	Cons
Gamification	Lack of report customization
Easy to use UI	Limited options for phishing campaigns.

Best Phishing Tools for Ethical Hackers

1. Simple Phishing Toolkit

Simple Phishing Toolkit is a web-based phishing framework that allows you to create phishing campaigns quickly and easily.

This tool provides an opportunity to combine phishing tests with security awareness education, with a feature that (optionally) directs phished users to a landing page with an awareness education video.

The Simple Phishing Toolkit is straightforward to use and comes with a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to create and manage phishing campaigns.

Now let’s look into what this tool offers and the pros and cons of using this tool for ethical hacking purposes.

Pros

• The tool is very easy to setup.

Cons

• This tool cannot by-pass a 2FA

2. King Phisher

King Phisher is a phishing tool that is designed for testing and promoting user awareness by simulating real-world phishing attacks.

This tool provides many features, including the ability to run multiple campaigns simultaneously, geo-location of phished users, web cloning capabilities, and more.

King Fisher server is only supported on Linux, with additional installation and configuration steps required depending on flavor and existing configuration.  

According to the official documentation, it also supports sending messages with embedded images and determining when emails are opened with a tracking image.

Pros

• King-Phisher phishing tool is written in Python, and since it’s fully open-sourced, you can modify source code to suit your needs.
• There is no web interface which makes King Phisher server hard to identify if it’s being used for social engineering.

Cons

• King Fisher server is only supported on Linux with additional installation and configuration steps required depending on flavor and existing configuration.

3. Social-Engineer Toolkit (SET)

Social-Engineer Toolkit is an open-source penetration testing framework designed for social engineering.

SET includes several tools and modules that can be used to simulate various social engineering attacks, including spear-phishing attacks, credential harvesting, and more.

SET is an excellent tool for security professionals and penetration testers who want to test their organization’s security against social engineering attacks.

The Setoolkit phishing tool is built on Python and integrates several well-known security tools to create a comprehensive platform for performing social engineering attacks. Thus secures a spot in one of the best phishing tools.

Pros

• SET is regularly updated with new features and modules, making it a valuable tool for security professionals looking to improve their organization’s defenses against social engineering attacks.

Cons

• Social-Engineer Toolkit works only on Linux and macOS.

4. Gophish

Gophish is an open-source phishing toolkit designed for businesses and penetration testers.

This tool allows you to create and run phishing campaigns quickly and easily, with customizable email templates and landing pages.

Gophish also comes with a powerful reporting engine that provides detailed insights into your campaigns’ performance, allowing you to identify areas for improvement and track your progress over time.

The framework provides a web-based user interface that allows users to design and customize phishing emails and landing pages, track responses and clicks, and measure the success of the campaign. Thus secures a spot in one of the best phishing tools.

5. Evilginx2

Evilginx2 is a man-in-the-middle attack framework used for phishing login credentials along with session cookies.

This tool is particularly useful for targeting users of online services such as Gmail, Yahoo, and Facebook.

Evilginx2 is relatively easy to use, and it comes with a variety of features that allow you to customize your phishing campaigns to maximize their effectiveness.

It is designed to bypass two-factor authentication (2FA) and other advanced security measures by intercepting user credentials and session cookies.

It uses a technique called “real-time phishing” to trick users into entering their login credentials on a fake login page that is virtually identical to the legitimate website.

The user is then immediately redirected to the legitimate website, making it difficult for the user to detect that they have been phished. Thus secures a spot in one of the best phishing tools.

Pros

• It can by-pass 2FA
• Easy to use and has variety of features

6. Blackeye

Blackeye is an open-source phishing tool that is designed to automate the creation of phishing pages and capture user credentials.

Blackeye functions by generating a fake login page that imitates the appearance and functionality of the target website or service, tricking the user into providing their login credentials.

The user’s entered login credentials are then recorded by the tool and stored on the attacker’s machine for future use.

Pros

• Easy to use interface.
• Wide range of target sites, customizable templates, credential harvesting and automated phishing.

7. Modlishka

Modlishka is a powerful and flexible reverse-proxy tool designed for advanced phishing attacks. and is designed to automate the creation of phishing pages and capture user credentials.

It works by creating a reverse proxy between the victim and the target website, allowing it to intercept and modify the traffic between the two.

The tool can automatically generate phishing pages that mimic the appearance and functionality of the target website, and then capture user credentials as they are entered into the fake login page.

Pros

• Can by-pass 2FA

8. Phishing Frenzy

Phishing Frenzy is an open-source phishing framework designed for penetration testers and security professionals.

Phishing Frenzy is a web-based phishing framework that empowers users to create and execute phishing campaigns against various targets.

The tool comes equipped with numerous phishing templates and scenarios that can be personalized to fit specific requirements.

Phishing Frenzy integrates with third-party services to automate the delivery of phishing emails.

The tool is highly customizable and provides a range of options for configuring phishing emails, landing pages, and payloads.

Pros

• Can integrate with 3rd party services
• Open Source

9. Wifiphisher

Wifiphisher is a security tool designed for testing and simulating wireless phishing attacks.

It operates by setting up a bogus access point that masquerades as a genuine wireless network.

Once a user connects to this counterfeit network, Wifiphisher deceives them into entering their login credentials or other confidential information on a fabricated login page.

This data is then gathered by the tool, which can be exploited by attackers to unlawfully access the victim’s accounts or systems.

Pros

• Open source
• Easy to use

Few Other Phishing tools

Zphisher

Zphisher is an open-source phishing tool that is designed to automate various types of phishing attacks.

It streamlines the process of generating and executing phishing attacks, and can be leveraged to replicate diverse kinds of attacks such as credential harvesting, spear-phishing, and clone phishing.

The tool offers an assortment of phishing templates and scenarios that can be personalized to correspond with the targeted website or service.

Pros

• The tool is easy to use and provides a has web-based interface
• Open Source

INFOSEC IQ (IQ PhisSim)

IQ PhisSim is a phishing simulation platform developed by INFOSEC

Users can create unique phishing campaigns using IQ PhishSim’s vast template library to train staff members on how to counter the most hazardous threats they now face.

To help organizations stay on top of evolving dangers, new templates are uploaded to the collection every week.

An employee who clicks on a fake phishing link is immediately taken to a quick training module that explains what went wrong, ensuring that training is given as soon as the error is discovered.

Pros

1. IQ PhisSim has 1000+ customized phishing templates for to be used for phishing simulation tests on employees.
2. User-Friendly site and easy to set up
3. Good reporting features

Cons

1. No option to create custom assessments for training sessions.
2. No ability to upload our own training video content

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are numerous phishing tools available that can be used by attackers to carry out phishing attacks. These tools automate and simplify the process of creating and launching phishing campaigns, and can be used to deceive users into divulging sensitive information. The top 10 best phishing tools, including PhishGrid, Evilginx2, Gophish, Modlishka, Blackeye, Wifiphisher, Phishing Frenzy, SET, Zphisher, SocialFish, and ShellPhish, offer a range of features and functionalities that can be customized to match the targeted website or service. It is important for individuals and organizations to be aware of these tools and to take proactive measures to protect themselves against phishing attacks, such as using strong passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, and implementing anti-phishing technologies.

You can also run phishing attack simulations on your own by following our guide on how to design a phishing attack simulation. Now that you know about such attacks and how it works you can be more vigilant to avoid such devastating loss.

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