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Port scanner
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{{short description|Application designed to probe for open ports}} A '''port scanner''' is an application designed to probe a [[Server (computing)|server]] or [[Host (network)|host]] for open [[TCP and UDP port|port]]s. Such an application may be used by [[Network administrator|administrator]]s to verify [[security]] policies of their [[Computer network|networks]] and by [[Security cracking|attackers]] to identify [[network service]]s running on a host and exploit vulnerabilities. A '''port scan''' or '''portscan''' is a process that sends client requests to a range of server port addresses on a host, with the goal of finding an active port; this is not a nefarious process in and of itself.<ref>{{cite IETF|title=Internet Security Glossary|version=2|rfc=4949|last1=Shirey|first1=R.|date=August 2007|publisher=[[Internet Engineering Task Force|IETF]]|page=230|access-date=November 21, 2023|doi=10.17487/RFC4949}}</ref> The majority of uses of a port scan are not attacks, but rather simple probes to determine services available on a remote machine. To '''portsweep''' is to scan multiple hosts for a specific listening port. The latter is typically used to search for a specific service, for example, an [[SQL]]-based [[computer worm]] may portsweep looking for hosts listening on [[Transmission Control Protocol|TCP]] port 1433.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313418 |title=PRB: Unsecured SQL Server with Blank (NULL) SA Password Leaves Vulnerability to a Worm |website=support.microsoft.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060303130907/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313418/ |archive-date=2006-03-03}}</ref>
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