Another unix command line tool. I had a missing device on my network that I was trying to find. I didn’t know what IP address a print server was using and I needed to know to get a Windows machine to print to it.
Enter nmap.
I downloaded the source and compiled it on my Mac G5. Worked great. I can run commands to see everything on my network and what ports are open on each machine. It even makes an intelligent guess as to what operating system is on the machine.
Some cool trivia: In the film “Matrix Reloaded”, the character Trinity uses nmap to gain access to a power plant’s control server. She used nmap to discover that port 22 (ssh) was open. She then used this knowledge to exploit the port, gaining access root access (all at Hollywood speed).
