Nmap

Nmap (Network Mapper) is a security scanner originally written by Gordon Lyon (also known by his pseudonym Fyodor Vaskovich)[1] used to discover hosts and services on a computer network, thus creating a "map" of the network. To accomplish its goal, Nmap sends specially crafted packets to the target host and then analyzes the responses.


The software provides a number of features for probing computer networks, including host discovery and service and operating system detection. These features are extensible by scripts that provide more advanced service detection,[2] vulnerability detection,[2] and other features. Nmap is also capable of adapting to network conditions including latency and congestion during a scan. Nmap is under development and refinement by its user community.


Nmap was originally a Linux-only utility,[3] but it was ported to Microsoft Windows,Solaris, HP-UX, BSD variants (including Mac OS X), AmigaOS, and SGI IRIX.[4] Linux is the most popular platform, followed closely by Windows.[5]
Features[edit]


Nmap features include:
Host discovery – Identifying hosts on a network. For example, listing the hosts that respond to TCP and/or ICMP requests or have a particular port open.
Port scanning – Enumerating the open ports on target hosts.
Version detection – Interrogating network services on remote devices to determine application name and version number.[6]
OS detection – Determining the operating system and hardware characteristics of network devices.
Scriptable interaction with the target – using Nmap Scripting Engine (NSE) and Lua programming language.


Nmap can provide further information on targets, including reverse DNS names, device types, and MAC addresses.[7]


Typical uses of Nmap:
Auditing the security of a device or firewall by identifying the network connections which can be made to, or through it.[8]
Identifying open ports on a target host in preparation for auditing.[9]
Network inventory, network mapping, maintenance and asset management.
Auditing the security of a network by identifying new servers.[10]
Generating traffic to hosts on a network.[11]
Find and exploit vulnerabilities in a network.[12]






https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nmap