Nmap
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Nmap is free port scanning software distributed by Insecure.Org and designed to detect open ports on a target computer, determine which services are running on those ports, and infer which operating system the computer is running (this is also known as fingerprinting). It has become one of the de-facto tools in any network administrator's toolbox, and is used for penetration testing and general computer security.
Like most tools used in computer security, Nmap is useful to both system administrators and crackers (or script kiddies). System administrators can use it to test for possible unauthorized servers in the workplace, whereas crackers use it to "scope out" a potential target.
Nmap is often confused with a host vulnerability assessment tool such as Nessus. Nmap is stealthy, built to evade intrusion detection systems, and less likely to interfere with the normal operation of the networks or computers being scanned.
Some movies show Nmap in action. In The Matrix Reloaded the character Trinity used Nmap to help hack into a power plant through the SSH1 CRC32 exploit (discovered in 2001). Some nmap source code can be seen in movie Battle Royale. In a DVD-only pornographic movie Haxxxor, No Longer Floppy a young woman tutors the basics on using nmap while removing her clothing.
External links
- The Nmap Security Scanner (http://www.insecure.org/nmap/)
- Nmap Version Detection Paper (http://www.insecure.org/nmap/versionscan.html)
- Nmap OS Fingerprinting Paper (http://www.insecure.org/nmap/nmap-fingerprinting-article.html)
- Nmap Idle Scanning Paper (http://www.insecure.org/nmap/idlescan.html)
- Nmap Man Page (http://www.insecure.org/nmap/data/nmap_manpage.html)
- Nessus Vulnerability Scanner (http://www.nessus.org)
- BBC News: Matrix mixes life and hacking (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3039329.stm)
- A practical approach for defeating Nmap OS-Fingerprinting (http://voodoo.somoslopeor.com/papers/nmap.html)de:Nmap