Assignment task:
Due to limited time, network scanning is becoming cyclical. Without thorough testing, you can't be sure of your systems' security. A comprehensive network scan will uncover malicious devices and connections. Please read the following article and think carefully about the possibilities suggested regarding network scanning. Analyze the synopsis of the steps that were proposed by them to judge how beneficial they were.
To identify and remove the hazards posed by malicious devices, corrupted connections, and access points, network scanning inspects all active devices on a network. This method of controlling vulnerabilities is preventative. A company's network may be scanned to find unauthorized access points, devices, and gadgets. To ensure the integrity of all network hardware and the safety of information assets, regular network scanning is required. Finding open ports is made easier using "Port Scanning." To identify vulnerable ports before an attacker exploits them, a server or host is scanned for open and closed ports using the port scanning approach. Data is analyzed by port scanning, which finds eavesdropping ports between 1 and 65,535. Sending a message to each network port and waiting for a response will allow you to determine if it is open, closed, or filtered. Accessible ports are operational and available for requests, making them susceptible to intrusion. Port scanning reveals host services, network administrators, operating system services, anonymous logins, and network services that need authentication.
Port numbers typically range from 0 to 65,536. The well-known and crucial ports 0 through 1023 are needed for a smooth network operation. Ports 1,024 to 49,151 are registered and request-based, but ports 49,152 to 65,535 are private and unregistered. Port 80 is used for HTTP communication, port 443 is used for secure web traffic, port 23 is used for plain text/unsecured Telnet, ports 20 and 21 are used for FTP, port 22 is used for SSH, and port 110 is used for POP3 email. Nmap is a trustworthy command-line port scanner. It works by infiltrating a network to reveal its weaknesses, can quickly scan hundreds of network devices, and is excellent for network inventory and mapping (Keary, 2022). Make sure nmap is set up on your Ubuntu or Debian system before anything else. If it is already installed, open a terminal and type 'pconfig' followed by 'netstat -a' to list all available port numbers." 192.168.0.1's "nmap -p 80" searches for port 80, "nmap -p 1-200" searches for a port range, "nmap -F 192.168.0.1" searches for the most popular ports, and "nmap -p- 192.168.0.1" searches for a single port "each of the 655 ports is examined (Jevtic, 2019). The results of this scan will provide the ports on the network, along with their open, closed, or blocked state and the services that utilize them (Borges, 2019). If any superfluous open ports are found in the scan data, block or deactivate them by putting firewall rules in place to limit traffic. Unauthorized device access may be avoided with firewalls and other network security tools, which may also detect malicious traffic and limit port exposure. Regular port scanning benefits a company's network resources and security posture.