Editing Nmap (section)

==Features==
Nmap features include:
* Fast scan (''nmap -F [target]'') – Performing a basic port scan for fast result.
* Host discovery – Identifying hosts on a network. For example, listing the hosts that respond to [[Transmission Control Protocol|TCP]] and/or [[Internet Control Message Protocol|ICMP]] requests or have a particular port open.
* [[port scanner|Port scanning]] – Enumerating the open [[TCP and UDP port|ports]] on target hosts.
* Version detection – Interrogating network services on remote devices to determine application name and version number.<ref name="vscan">{{cite web |url=https://nmap.org/book/vscan.html |title=Service and Application Version Detection |website=Nmap.org |access-date=2018-10-28}}</ref>
* [[port scanner|Ping Scan]] – Check host by sending ping requests.
* [[TCP/IP stack fingerprinting]] – Determining the [[operating system]] and hardware characteristics of network devices based on observations of network activity of said devices.
* Scriptable interaction with the target – using Nmap Scripting Engine<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nmap.org/book/nse.html |title=Nmap Scripting Engine |website=Nmap.org |access-date=2018-10-28}}</ref> (NSE) and [[Lua (programming language)|Lua]] programming language.

Nmap can provide further information on targets, including reverse [[Domain Name System|DNS]] names, device types, and [[MAC address]]es.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nmap.org/book/man.html |title=Nmap Reference Guide |website=Nmap.org |access-date=2018-10-28}}</ref>

Typical uses of Nmap:
* Auditing the security of a device or [[firewall (computing)|firewall]] by identifying the network connections which can be made to, or through it.<ref>[https://nmap.org/book/nmap-overview-and-demos.html Nmap Overview and Demonstration].</ref>
* Identifying open ports on a target host in preparation for auditing.<ref>[https://nmap.org/press/computerworld_when_good_scanners_go_bad.txt When Good Scanners Go Bad], From [http://www.computerworld.com/home/print.nsf/all/9903229872] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000614043859/http://www.computerworld.com/home/print.nsf/all/9903229872|date=2000-06-14}}, [[Computerworld]] 22 March 1999</ref>
* Network inventory, [[network mapping]], maintenance and asset management.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Linux.lat |url=https://linux.lat/mastering-nmap-nse-script-development-a-comprehensive-guide/ |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=Google News |date=27 June 2024 |language=en-US}}</ref>
* Auditing the security of a network by identifying new servers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://heavyk.org/nmap-audit/nmap-audit-pod.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090401141545/http://heavyk.org/nmap-audit/nmap-audit-pod.html |title=nmap-audit – Network auditing with Nmap |website=heavyk.org |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-04-01 |access-date=2018-10-28}}</ref>
* Generating traffic to hosts on a network, response analysis  and response time measurement.<ref>{{cite web 
|url=https://nmap.org/nping/ 
|title=Nping - Network packet generation tool / ping utility 
|website=Nmap.org 
|access-date=2018-10-28}}</ref>
* Finding and [[Exploit (computer security)|exploiting]] vulnerabilities in a network.<ref>{{cite web 
|last=Leyden 
|first=John |title=Revealed ... GCHQ's incredible hacking tool to sweep net for vulnerabilities: Nmap |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/08/15/gchq_port_scan_hacienda/ |date=2014-08-15 |website=TheRegister.co.uk
|access-date=2018-10-28}}</ref>
* [[Domain Name System|DNS]] queries and [[subdomain]] search