Namp (Network Mapper) is a security scanner originally written by Gordon Lyon used to discover hosts and services on a computer network, thus creating a map of the network. To accomplish its goal, Nmap sends specials crafted packets to the target host and then analyzes the responses.

Namp provides a number of features for probing networks, including host discovery and service and operating system detection. These features are extensible by scripts that provide more advanced service detection, vulnerability detection, 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.

Namp was originally a Linux only utility, but it was ported to Windows, Solaris, HP-UX, BSD variants (including OSX), AmigaOS, and IRIX. Linux is the most popular platform, followed closely by Windows.

 

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.

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.

 

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.

Identifying open ports on a target host in preparation for auditing.

Network inventory, network mapping, and maintenance and asset management.

Auditing the security of a network by identifying new servers.

Generating traffic to hosts on a network, response analysis and response time measurement.

Find and exploit vulnerabilities in a network.

Wikipedia Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nmap#cite_note-Nmap_Scripting_Engine-3

Nmap website: https://nmap.org/