netcat

Availability and IPv6 support

Description

Netcat is a simple Unix utility which reads and writes data across network connections using TCP or UDP protocol. It is designed to be a reliable "back-end" tool that can be used directly or easily driven by other programs and scripts. At the same time it is a feature-rich network debugging and exploration tool, since it can create almost any kind of connection you would need and has several interesting built-in capabilities. Some of netcat's major features are: Outbound or inbound connections, TCP or UDP, to or from any ports Full DNS forward/reverse checking, with appropriate warnings Ability to use any local source port Ability to use any locally-configured network source address Built-in port-scanning capabilities, with randomizer Built-in loose source-routing capability Can read command line arguments from standard input Slow-send mode, one line every N seconds Hex dump of transmitted and received data Optional ability to let another program service established connections Optional telnet-options responder A very short list of potential uses: Script backends Scanning ports and inventorying services, automated probes Backup handlers File transfers Server testing, simulation, debugging, and hijacking Firewall testing Proxy gatewaying Network performance testing Address spoofing tests Protecting X servers 1001 other uses you'll likely come up with

Comments

Usage information

Categories

CategoryApps, CategoryAppssysutils, CategoryAppsmiscelaneous

Source of information

KAME port repository