Nmap
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nmap Security Scanner | |
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| Developer: | Fyodor |
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| Latest release: | 4.20 / December 8, 2006 |
| Preview release: | 4.21ALPHA4 / March 20, 2007 |
| OS: | Cross-platform |
| Platform: | CLI, GTK |
| Use: | Computer security, Network management |
| License: | GNU General Public License |
| Website: | http://insecure.org/ |
Nmap is a free security scanner written by Fyodor. It is used to evaluate the security of computers, and to discover services or servers on a computer network.
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[edit] Features
Nmap features include:
- Host Discovery - Identifying computers on a network, for example listing the computers which respond to pings, or which have a particular port open
- Port Scanning - Enumerating the open ports on one or more target computers
- Version Detection - Interrogating listening network services listening on remote computers to determine the application name and version number. [1]
- OS Detection - Remotely determining the operating system and some hardware characteristics of network devices.
Typical uses of Nmap:
- Auditing the security of a computer, by identifying the network connections which can be made to it [2]
- Identifying open ports on a target computer in preparation for attacking it [3]
- Network inventory, maintenance, and asset management
- Auditing the security of a network, by identifying unexpected new servers [4]
[edit] Platforms
Nmap runs on Unix-like systems such as Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X, and BSD, and also on Microsoft Windows and AmigaOS. [5].
[edit] Graphical interfaces
The official GUI frontend is nmapfe, originally written by Zach Smith, and integrated into Nmap since version 2.2 [6].
Various web-based interfaces are available for controlling Nmap from a web browser. Examples are LOCALSCAN [7], nmap-web [8], and Nmap-CGI [9].
NMapW [10] is an up-to-date Microsoft Windows GUI interface for Nmap written by Syhunt.
NMapWin [11] is another Win32 GUI interface for Nmap. It has not, however, been updated since v1.4.0 was released in June 2003.
A full-featured cross-platform GUI for Nmap is UMIT by Adriano Monteiro Marques.
[edit] History
Nmap was first published in September 1997, as an article in Phrack Magazine with source-code included [12]
Further development included better algorithms for determining which services were running [13], code rewrites (C to C++), additional scan types and protocol support (e.g. IPv6)
Nmap reached version 3.5 in February 2004, and version 4.0 in January 2006, with hundreds of improvements.
Changes in each release are recorded in the Nmap Changelog.
[edit] Controversy
Like most tools used in computer security, Nmap can be used for Black hat hacking [14], or attempting to gain unauthorized access to computer systems. It would typically be used to discover open ports which are likely to be running vulnerable services, in preparation for attacking those services with another program [15]. An example of this use is fictionalized in The Matrix, noted below.
System administrators often use Nmap to search for unauthorized servers on their network, or for computers which don't meet the organization's minimum level of security [16]. (Note that Nmap alone will only give a basic indication of a computer's vulnerability, and is normally used in conjunction with other tools and tests)
Nmap is often confused with host vulnerability assessment tools such as Nessus, which go further in their exploration of a target by testing for common vulnerabilities in the open ports found.
[edit] Nmap in popular culture
In The Matrix Reloaded, Trinity is seen using Nmap to access a power plant's computer system [17], allowing Neo to physically break-in to the building.
The appearance of Nmap in the film was widely discussed on internet forums [18], and hailed as an unusually realistic example of hacking compared to other movies [19]. It is thought that Trinity used the CRC32 compensation attack detector exploit [20] (discovered in 2001) to gain entry, once Nmap revealed the existence of a SSH service [21].
Nmap and NmapFE were used in The Listening, a 2006 movie about a former NSA officer who defects and mounts a clandestine counter-listening station high in the Italian alps.
Some Nmap source code can be seen in the movie Battle Royale [22].
Nmap was also featured in the Haxxxor erotic movie series.
Movie screenshots and other Nmap appearances are described at the Nmap in the News page
[edit] See also
- Port scanner for explanation on the basic concepts and a list of other port scanning tools.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- [23] Description of Nmap on the Official Site
- BBC News article on the Matrix event
- SecurityFocus interview with Fyodor after the release of version 4.00
![[21]](http://images.insecure.org/nmap/images/matrix/reload_nmap_c.jpg){kind=link}