Understanding the network scanner

A network scanner is used to scan a provided range of network IDs in both layer 2 and layer 3. It can send requests and analyze responses for hundreds of thousands of computers. Also, you can expand its functionality to show some shared resources, via Samba and NetBIOS protocols, and the content of unprotected data on servers running sharing protocols. Another usage for the network scanner in penetration testing is when a white hat hacker tries to simulate an attack on network resources to find vulnerabilities and to evaluate company security. The final goal of the penetration test is to generate a report with all of the weaknesses in the target system so the origin point can reinforce and enhance security policies against the potential real attack.