J_K9 @ Linux

Nmap 4.00 Released

February 5, 2006 on 5:16 pm | In Linux, Security |

I am finally able to post here! Anyway, it is with great pleasure that I (re-)announce the release of nmap 4.00! I have tested it and it is not only faster than its predecessor, but also has more accurate OS detection. Here is part of Fyodor’s interview on this new release:

You just released Nmap 4.00 after two years of work since 3.50. What are the most exciting changes?

Fyodor: Well, the Changelog shows more than 230 improvements since that release, so it is hard to choose just a few favorites. But some really do stand out. The port scanning engine has been rewritten to be much faster and (after the “diet Nmap” project) more memory efficient. The low-level packet sending subsystem has changed dramatically as well. Nmap can now send and route raw Ethernet frames rather than rely on the host’s raw sockets implementation. This is critical for Windows, since Microsoft disabled raw sockets as of Windows XP SP2. And all platforms benefit from the new ARP scanning and MAC address spoofing functionality that this change allows.

Nmap 4.0 has new, better organized and more comprehensive documentation, including a rewritten man page available in seven languages. Huge improvements have also been made in version detection, which offers many new features and saw its signature database triple in size.

Many Nmap users pick runtime interaction as their favorite new feature. If you find yourself staring at the screen wondering when Nmap will finish, just press [enter] for an estimate. If you forgot to enable verbose mode, press ‘v’ to enable it. Or press ‘V’ to turn it off. Packet tracing and debugging can be enabled or disabled on a whim as well.

Read more at SecurityFocus