Masscan is a high-speed TCP port scanner designed for large-scale network surveys. Key features include:
- Asynchronous Transmission: Operates asynchronously, enabling scans of the entire internet in under 5 minutes.
- High Packet Rate: Transmits up to 10 million packets per second from a single machine.
- Custom TCP/IP Stack: Utilizes its own TCP/IP stack, bypassing the OS kernel for increased speed and control.
- Nmap Compatibility: Offers usage and output similar to Nmap, facilitating easy adoption for existing Nmap users.
- Banner Grabbing: Supports banner grabbing for protocols like HTTP, SSH, FTP, and others.
- IPv6 Support: Scans both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses simultaneously.
- Exclusion Lists: Allows excluding specific IP ranges to avoid scanning sensitive or prohibited networks.
Masscan is ideal for security researchers, network administrators, and anyone needing to quickly assess the exposure of large networks. It's particularly useful for identifying open ports and services across vast IP address ranges.
