This site has some good information and port scanner to test your network:
https://www.grc.com/x/ne.d
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My boss has just heard about some nefarious computer activities called ping sweeps and port scans. He wants to know more about them and what the impact of these activities might be on your company. I
My boss has just heard about some nefarious computer activities called ping sweeps and port scans. He wants to know more about them and what the impact of these activities might be on your company. Is this activity something to worry about or not?
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Answers
You're not going to stop port scans but you can reduce your risk:
A firewall, either a port based or application based product.
-you have buy the hardware
-you have annual maintenance if you want support
-you'll need someone to manage it (training, your time or a consultant to maintain/administrate it
A third party firewall/IDS/IPS service.
-A one time setup fee, then a monthly fee
-They do most of the work leaving you free to do other things
You shouldn't be worried about port scans. Your boss just heard of them, but what he doesn't know is that this has been around nearly as long as the internet. Many small companies running networks are not even aware of the scans, unless they are running firewalls capable of detecting it.
Your boss _should_ be concerned about network security in general. If you run a public network, you must manage the good with the bad. So any services that are exposed should be:
1) Actively monitored, so you always know who is accessing what
2) Secure, so access to those services is only allowed for your actual customers
The first step to network security is knowing what is happening. If you don't have firewalls or IDS systems, then you have no way of even knowing that you are probably getting scanned multiple times daily, and if you are running services such as remote login (SSH, RDP) then you are already under attack. You need to implement IDS such that attacks are immediately addressed. It is not free. It costs time and/or money whether you do it in-house or use a third party.
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by: hunt007Posted on 2009-11-01 at 10:00:13ID: 25714609
Port scans are signals send to your computer with a malicious intent of stealing data(usually).
Specific signals are send to ports and the response received gives the hacker an idea of the system weaknesses and to help set themselves up for a later intrusion.
eg. hacker perceives that system is listening of port 23 which is telnet (standard for remote host admin)
and can launch a brute force attack. Other types of port scans like "fragmentation scan" can crash software.
Port scans are an early warning sign of an attack. However, you can't prevent the port scan itself, and it is probably the best use of your resources to secure your systems as much as possible, so the scanner does not find an attractive target.