What Is Nmap & How Does It Work? (2024)

Nmap can be a solution to the problem of identifying activity on a network as it scans the entire system and makes a map of every part of it. A common issue with internet systems is that they are too complicated for the ordinary person to understand. Even a small home-based system is extremely complex. That complexity grows exponentially when it comes to larger companies and agencies that deal with hundreds or even thousands of computers on the network.

Stefan Thelberg January 29, 2021

What Nmap is used for?

Nmap, also known as Network Mapper, is a highly effective and adaptable network scanning tool. Its primary purpose is to explore networks and perform security audits. With Nmap, users can effortlessly discover hosts and services on a computer network, detect operating systems, identify open ports, and collect information about different network devices.

Common Use Cases For Nmap

  • Network Discovery: Nmap can scan an entire network or a range of IP addresses to identify active hosts available on the network.
  • Port Scanning: Nmap can scan target hosts to determine which ports are open, closed, or filtered. This information is valuable for assessing the security posture of a network and identifying potential vulnerabilities.
  • Service Version Detection: Nmap can probe open ports to determine the version and type of services running on those ports. This helps in identifying specific software versions and potential vulnerabilities associated with them.
  • Operating System Detection: Nmap can analyze network responses to identify the operating systems running on remote hosts. This information is helpful for network administrators to understand the composition of their network and implement appropriate security measures.
  • Scripting and Automation: Nmap provides a scripting engine (NSE - Nmap Scripting Engine) that allows users to write custom scripts to automate various network scanning tasks and perform specialized security checks.
Nmap is a widely used tool by network administrators, security professionals, and ethical hackers for network mapping, vulnerability assessment, and network security auditing.

If you want to know which ports are open and the corresponding rules, you can use Nmap. This program scans the network your computer is connected to and provides a list of ports, device names, operating systems, and other identifiers to help you understand your connection status.

However, hackers can also use Nmap to access uncontrolled ports on a system. They can run Nmap on a targeted approach, identify vulnerabilities, and exploit them. But Nmap is not only used by hackers - IT security companies also use it to simulate potential attacks that a system may face.

How Does it Work?

Nmap works by checking a network for hosts and services. Once found, the software platform sends information to those hosts and services which then respond. Nmap reads and interprets the response that comes back and uses the information to create a map of the network. The map that is created includes detailed information on what each port is doing and who (or what) is using it, how the hosts are connecting, what is and is not making it through the firewall, and listing any security issues that come up.

How is all of that accomplished? Nmap utilizes a complex system of scripts that communicate with every part of the network. The scripts act as communication tools between the network components and their human users. The scripts that Nmap uses are capable of vulnerability detection, backdoor detection, vulnerability exploitation, and network discovery. Nmap is an extremely powerful piece of software, but there does tend to be a good deal of background knowledge required to use it correctly.

Internet security companies can use Nmap to scan a system and understand what weaknesses exist that a hacker could potentially exploit. As the program is open-source and free, it is one of the more common tools used for scanning networks for open ports and other weaknesses. At Holm Security, we use this technology in a very effective way, as we provide an excellent web-based security service, which ensures that the clients’ ports remain securely closed to those not granted permission.

Conclusion

Whether you are a private user with important information on your system, a major corporation or a government agency protecting a wealth of highly sensitive data, Nmap can provide the level of knowledge and pre-emptive thought required to keep things safe.

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What Is Nmap & How Does It Work? (3)

Stefan Thelberg

Founder and CEO of Holm Security. Stefan is one of Sweden's most prominent cyber security entrepreneurs. With nearly 20 years of experience, he is a seasoned professional.

What Is Nmap & How Does It Work? (2024)

FAQs

What Is Nmap & How Does It Work? ›

Nmap works by checking a network for hosts and services. Once found, the software platform sends information to those hosts and services which then respond. Nmap reads and interprets the response that comes back and uses the information to create a map of the network.

What is Nmap used for? ›

Nmap ("Network Mapper") is a free and open source utility for network discovery and security auditing. Many systems and network administrators also find it useful for tasks such as network inventory, managing service upgrade schedules, and monitoring host or service uptime.

Is Nmap illegal? ›

When used properly, Nmap helps protect your network from invaders. But when used improperly, Nmap can (in rare cases) get you sued, fired, expelled, jailed, or banned by your ISP.

How to scan IP address using Nmap? ›

You can append / <numbits> to an IP address or hostname and Nmap will scan every IP address for which the first <numbits> are the same as for the reference IP or hostname given. For example, 192.168. 10.0/24 would scan the 256 hosts between 192.168. 10.0 (binary: 11000000 10101000 00001010 00000000 ) and 192.168.

What is the difference between Wireshark and Nmap? ›

In summary, Nmap is geared towards discovering and profiling network hosts, while Wireshark is focused on capturing and analyzing the actual data flowing through a network. They can complement each other in network analysis and security assessments.

Why do hackers use Nmap? ›

However, hackers can also use Nmap to access uncontrolled ports on a system. They can run Nmap on a targeted approach, identify vulnerabilities, and exploit them. But Nmap is not only used by hackers - IT security companies also use it to simulate potential attacks that a system may face.

How much does Nmap cost? ›

The perpetual license to use Nmap OEM in all company products costs $89,980, plus an optional annual maintenance fee of $22,980. The quarterly term license option (which includes maintenance) costs $13,980 every 3 months. To qualify for this license, a company must meet all these criteria: 500 or fewer employees.

Can Nmap be traced? ›

Log monitoring tools such as Logwatch and Swatch can certainly help, but the reality is that system logs are only marginally effective at detecting Nmap activity. Special purpose port scan detectors are a more effective approach to detecting Nmap activity. Two common examples are PortSentry and Scanlogd.

Do people still use Nmap? ›

Nmap users include everyone from beginners to cyber security professionals. Network administrators use Nmap (and Zenmap) to map subnets and discover hosts. Cyber security professionals use Nmap to scan target systems for open ports and services they might be running.

Is Nmap a malware? ›

Nmap.exe is a powerful network scanning tool developed by Nmap Software LLC. The app "Nmap" is designed to provide users with a comprehensive and versatile way to discover, monitor, and secure their network.

What does 24 mean in IP address? ›

10.20 network with a /24 subnet. The /24 means 24 bits out of the 32 bits will be used by the network. The remaining 8 bits will be used by the host. To determine the total amount of addresses we can use the formula 28 = 256. In a standard network the first address and last address is reserved.

How do I see all IP addresses on my network? ›

On Windows, type the command “ipconfig” and press Return. Get more information by typing the command “arp -a.” You should now see a basic list of the IP addresses for devices connected to your network.

Can I use Nmap on my own network? ›

Use Nmap, the open source network mapper tool, to better understand what's happening in your network. Nmap , which stands for "Network Mapper," is an open source tool that lets you perform scans on local and remote networks.

What does Nmap reveal? ›

What is Nmap? At its core, Nmap is a network scanning tool that uses IP packets to identify all the devices connected to a network and to provide information on the services and operating systems they are running.

Is there anything better than Nmap? ›

Angry IP Scan

An angry IP scanner is the best alternative for Nmap for the port scan tool. It is mainly used for the fast scanning speed of port and IP address scanners, as it has a multi-thread process that separates each scan. Moreover, it is free and supports operating systems Linux, Windows, Mac, etc.

What is more powerful than Wireshark? ›

Best Paid & Free Alternatives to Wireshark
  • SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor.
  • Paessler PRTG.
  • PingPlotter.
  • Nagios Network Analyzer.
  • Zabbix.
  • SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer.
  • Cacti.
  • Dynatrace.

Why is Nmap scan used? ›

Nmap is short for Network Mapper. It is an open-source Linux command-line tool that is used to scan IP addresses and ports in a network and to detect installed applications. Nmap allows network admins to find which devices are running on their network, discover open ports and services, and detect vulnerabilities.

Should I delete Nmap? ›

Removing Nmap is a good idea if you are changing install methods (such as from source to RPM or vice versa) or if you are not using Nmap anymore and you care about the few megabytes of disk space it consumes. How to remove Nmap depends on how you installed it initially (see previous sections).

Why are Nmap scripts used? ›

The Nmap Scripting Engine (NSE) is one of Nmap's most powerful and flexible features. It allows users to write (and share) simple scripts to automate a wide variety of networking tasks. Those scripts are then executed in parallel with the speed and efficiency you expect from Nmap.

Is Nmap a vulnerability scanner? ›

Nmap is an essential tool for network mapping and vulnerability scanning for security professionals or ethical hackers and penetration testers alike.

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