Intro to nmap / zenmap

I installed Zenmap, and started to play around with it. I ran a scan on my home network, found some things that kind of confused me. (What device is running WinXP? Is this a device with a network service that first appeared in XP?)

Zenmap is the GUI version of the popular network analysis tool called nmap, popular in pen-testing and also seen, in command line form, in some really great movies.

Zenmap allows you to select an IP address or range and scan it to detect devices, ports, and protocols present on the network. I think. It looks like it does a lot, and I, as you know, barely know anything about this stuff.

But I do know penetration testing is an important part of the movies—I mean IT security—so this fits in nicely with the story.

I’m going to add this to my list of things to start learning. watched a couple of these videos from Hak5:

This all reminded me that I’m also supposed to learn about the packet analysis tool known as Wireshark. But one thing at a time.

Anyone have any tips for someone looking to learn Zenmap?

Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, 2nd Edition | by Jon Erickson

The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing, Second Edition | by Patrick Engebretson

Metasploit: The Penetration Tester's Guide | by David Kennedy