apt-get install clang git gcc make libpcap-dev The first step is to install the necessary dependencies for Masscan to run in this case, a C compiler is the primary dependency Masscan needs. Installing Masscan on Linux (Debian/Ubuntu) Masscan is compatible with the three major operating systems, but we will cover only the Linux and macOS installation procedures. Masscan also does not perform any DNS name sorting and supports only IP addresses, while Nmap provides support for both DNS and IP addresses. Masscan usage and output are very similar to that of Nmap, with speed being a major difference.Īpart from speed, Nmap scans, by default, about 1000 ports Masscan has no ports to scan by default. One of the significant features that make Masscan readily adoptable by security experts is its compatibility with the widely used Nmap scanner. In addition to its fast port scanning ability, Masscan can also fetch basic banner information from FTP, HTTP, SMTP, SSL, Telnet, and some other protocols.
The Masscan software can be compiled, installed, and run on major operating systems, including Linux, Windows, and macOS. This feature gives it the ability to transmit up to 10 million packets per second. Masscan uses an asynchronous transmission architecture that allows it to send out probes without having to wait for replies. Masscan is written in C programming language and is made open source with over 49 contributors on GitHub. The creator, Robert Graham, affirms that it takes only 6 minutes at around 10 million packets per second to scan the entire internet. Masscan is an asynchronous TCP port scanner that works similarly to the popular Nmap scanner.Įven though it is easily used for offensive purposes, Masscan was created to help security experts scan ports on the internet as fast as possible. In this tutorial, we will learn about Masscan and how you can use it to scan the internet in 5 minutes. However, Masscan is a tool that combines the ability of these popular tools with a high speed of up to ten million packets per second and allows you to scan the entire internet in a few minutes. To carry out the port scanning task, various tools have been developed such as Nmap. Port scanning is helpful for various research and ethical hacking purposes such as penetration testing because it allows cybersecurity teams to identify loopholes and strengthen the system against such attacks. For information security personnel and bug bounty hunters, scanning a local network or, at the wildest, the internet for open ports is crucial for identifying vulnerabilities in a system.