In this article, I’ll talk about two apps that can be used to catch unauthorized users on your network. I’ll also mention desktop apps that you can run on Windows and Mac OS X. ..
Network scanning tools can be helpful for security purposes, as they can provide information about devices on a network and their IP addresses. This information can be used to identify potential security threats or vulnerabilities. ..
To make your network more secure, be sure to keep track of which folders are being shared on your network and who has access to them. You can do this by using a folder sharing management tool or by manually checking each folder for shared files. ..
If you’re ever looking at open ports for a computer or device, it’s important to be aware of the remote desktop security risk. By having remote desktop enabled, you’re opening yourself up to potential attacks from someone who has access to your computer. If you never connect remotely, then this is a risk you’re taking by not disabling remote desktop.
Windows Network Scanner
Windows 10 users can download the SoftPerfect Network Scanner for free to help identify and fix network issues. The program is updated often and can be used on any computer, without installation. ..
When you run the executable file for your version of Windows, you might see a message saying that Windows Firewall has blocked the program. Make sure Private networks is checked and then click on Allow access.
Once the program loads, you’ll need to enter your network starting and ending IP address range. If you don’t know this, don’t worry. Just click on Options, IP Address and then click on Auto Detect Local IP Range.
If you have any network cards installed in your computer, Windows will detect their IP addresses and display them in a popup window. The most common card you’ll see listed under IPv4 and IPv6 is the one for your home network. Unless you have IPv6 set up, you should click on the network card listed under IPv6. ..
You can now click on the IP address range to see all of the IP addresses in that range.
To scan your network for devices, you first need to set the scanning options. Click on Options and then Program Options. On the General tab, you’ll see a checkbox called Always analyze device. By default, this box is checked, so the scanning program will only show you devices that respond to certain requests. However, if you uncheck this box, the scanning program will analyze all devices on your network. ..
The scan does take quite a bit longer (several minutes compared to several seconds), but it’s worth it if you really want to see every device on your network. The Additional and Workstation tabs are really only useful for corporate environments where you have many machines on the same network and you want to get information about each computer. The Ports tab is where we can go next.
Click on the little paper icon at the far right of the text box to open a window that lists out some TCP port groups. You want to click on HTTP and Proxy and then press the SHIFT key and click on Database servers to select all three items.
You can now see all the UDP ports that are open on your computer. Click on the one you want to check and it will list all the ports that are open. You can also click on the OK button to close the port list.
The program was able to find 16 devices on the network when checking the Always analyze device option compared to just 11 items when not checked. Any item with a plus sign to the left of the IP address means that it has shared folders. You can click on the + sign to see the shared folders.
The Host Name column should give you an easy to understand name for the device. On the right, you’ll see a column called TCP Ports, which will list out all the open ports for that device. Obviously, the numbers don’t make much sense unless you know what they means, so check out this Wikipedia page that describes each port number in detail.
If you see a port listed on your computer, it’s likely that there is a web interface on the machine and you can try connecting to it by typing in the IP address. Port 443 is for secure HTTP (HTTPS), which means you can connect to it securely too. ..
Mac Network Scanner
The other option is AirPort Utility. This app is available on the Mac App Store and it does a much more comprehensive scan of your network and displays all of the devices on your network, as well as their MAC addresses and Hostnames. The app is a bit more expensive, but it’s worth it because it will also list any open ports on your network.
You’ll notice that it only found 12 items and that’s because it doesn’t have any options to scan each IP address regardless of whether it responds or not. A better network scanner for the Mac is Angry IP Scanner shown below. It’s open source and works on Windows, Mac and Linux. ..
The LanScan program is a default security feature on most Macs. However, the program has been criticized for scanning open ports which LanScan does not do. Additionally, Java is a security risk and is disabled by default on most Macs, so users would have to enable it manually in order to use the program. ..
Smartphone Apps
The app I use is called “MyFitnessPal.” It’s a free app that lets you track your fitness and diet. It has a lot of features, such as the ability to see your progress over time, as well as the ability to share your results with others. The app I use is called “Strava.” It’s a paid app that lets you track your fitness and activity data. It has a lot of features, such as the ability to see your progress over time, as well as the ability to share your results with others.
Fing is a free app that can be found on the Google Play store and the iTunes store. It has a user-friendly interface and doesn’t require you to enter any IP address range. Once you start a scan, you’ll get a list of devices with some basic information like hostname, MAC address, IP address etc. ..
If you tap on a device, you’ll get another screen where you can give the device a custom name (a feature I really like), enter a location and even add additional notes. If you scroll down, you’ll see an option called Services, which lets you see scan the device for open ports.
The app does not list all the devices on the network, which can be a downside.
Net Analyzer is a great app for checking your device activity and performance. It’s available for free on the App Store.
I used the Net Analyzer app to get a list of devices on my network, and then I used the UPNP and DLNA tools to see which devices had specific services enabled. The green P meant that the device was pingable, the brown B meant Bonjour services were available (Apple devices), the red G meant it was a gateway device (router, etc), and a blue U meant UPNP and DLNA services were available.
You can query devices by tapping on the Query with Tools option.
You’ll see a list of ports on your computer. Choose a port and then tap Start to start the connection.
As the scan progresses, you’ll see the ports that are open and active on your device and also which ports are blocked. The app also has other tools that you can use to scan specific devices on the network to get more information.
This article will show you how to use a few tools to help you see what devices are on your network and what ports are open. If you have any questions, feel free to post a comment. ..
