Scanning Glossary

Browse 8 scanning terms defined in plain English, from the cultural dictionary of computing.

8 Scanning Terms

Active Scanning
A discovery technique that sends packets, requests, or probes to hosts and services in order to identify systems, ports, software, or vulnerabilities. It...
Automated Scanning
The use of software to systematically scan systems, applications, or networks for vulnerabilities, exposures, or misconfigurations. Automated scanning improves...
Banner Grabbing
A reconnaissance technique that collects identifying information from network services by reading banners, headers, or protocol responses. Attackers and...
Code Scanner
A tool that inspects source code or repositories to find patterns such as bugs, policy violations, secrets, style issues, or security weaknesses. Code scanners...
Nmap
Nmap (Network Mapper) is a free, open-source tool used for network discovery, security auditing, and port scanning. Created by Gordon Lyon (known as Fyodor)...
Passive Scanning
The observation and analysis of existing traffic or broadcasts to identify devices, services, or vulnerabilities without actively probing targets. Passive...
Port Scanning
The process of probing network ports to identify exposed services, protocols, and potential attack paths. It shows up in application security, identity,...
Trivy
A security scanner for container images, filesystems, repositories, and related software artifacts.

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