Port scanning is a network security technique used to discover open ports on a network host. It involves sending a series of packets to the host, each with a different destination port, and observing which packets elicit a response. Open ports are typically associated with running services, so port scanning can be used to identify the services that are available on a host.
Port scanning is an important security measure because it can help to identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers. For example, an attacker could use a port scan to find an open port that is associated with a vulnerable service, and then exploit that vulnerability to gain access to the host.
