Advanced IP Scanner is a completely free program for Windows operating systems. This program will allow us to analyze all the computers on the local network, and also the private IP addressing that we want, because it is not necessary to be on the same subnet to scan the different network devices. With this program we can scan all devices, see all shared folders after authentication, we could also connect to web servers, FTP, SSH and incorporates other basic network tools. Today in this article we are going to explain all the options available in Advanced IP Scanner.
Main features
Advanced IP Scanner will allow us to scan the entire local home network where we are, and also all the subnets to which we have access. This program integrates the possibility of connecting via HTTP / HTTPS to a web server that we locate in the local network, we can also connect to an FTP server and even an SSH server, this program does not incorporate clients to enter the different services, but rather they can be “linked” with other programs to facilitate connection to these devices, but the program itself will not.
In the event that you make use of remote control programs such as Radmin, this program integrates a Radmin client and we can also install the Radmin server so that other devices can access our equipment. Also, in the case of not using Radmin you can always make use of RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) because this does have it integrated. Other interesting features of this free tool is that it will allow us to turn on local network computers through WoL (Wake On LAN) and many other basic networking tasks. Finally, this program will be able to export all the information in CSV format for later study or to store the information.
Installation or commissioning
One feature that we liked a lot is that it is not necessary to install it on our PC. When we download the installer and select the Spanish language, it will allow us two options: install or run the program. In other words, this program includes both the installer for our Windows computer, as well as the possibility of running the portable version without having to install it. Finally, it will tell us that we must accept the license agreement.
If we are going to use this program a few times, it would be ideal to use it directly in portable mode without having to install it, in this way, we will not need to have more and more programs installed on our PC, saving disk space.
This is how Advanced IP Scanner works by scanning the local network
This program is very easy to use, the first thing we will see when executing this program is a very large green button that indicates «Explore». By default, the program will be able to detect all the local subnets of the different physical and virtual network interfaces installed on our PC, for this reason, we have different subnets that the program can verify. Our physical local network corresponds to the address 10.11.1.1/24, the rest of the address is the interfaces of VMware and Virtual Box respectively.
Once we have entered the program, and we have automatically set the IP addressing range, we can click on “Explore” and wait a few minutes for the process to finish.
After waiting a few minutes, we can see the status of the different devices found, the name (hostname), the IP address, the manufacturer if it is known, the MAC address of the device and some comments that we can put ourselves to identify the different devices.
Something that especially catches our attention is that it is capable of detecting shared folders via Samba from our QNAP NAS server, using the PC’s own credentials to enter it.
If we right-click on each of the computers, we can exploit the computer, make use of “Radmin” if we have it installed on the remote computer, and run different basic external networking tools that we can use, such as :
- Ping
- Tracert
- Telnet
- SSH
- HTTP
- HTTPS
- FTP
- RDP
In the case of ping or tracert, it will automatically open a console (cmd) in Windows to use the destination IP address, for example, if we use HTTP or HTTPS it will launch the default web browser on our computer. In the case of using SSH or FTP, it will launch programs specifically dedicated to this, in addition, then we can select which programs it should launch when using these instruments. Finally, we can also copy the information, rediscover it, add to favorites, change the name, modify the “Comment” section and we can even use the built-in Wake on LAN, turn it off or cancel the shutdown.
Below, you can see what happens when launching an FTP session and also the typical ping to a remote computer, as you can see, the Advanced IP Scanner itself does not integrate these functionalities but uses external programs.
At the top of the program we will be able to access the “File” section to explore all the equipment from a file, load the favorites, save the information and even print the information. We can also configure the “View” by expanding everything, collapsing everything, and we can even show the active, inactive or unknown.
Regarding the “Configuration” section, we can enable the possibility of exploring resources such as HTTPS, NetBIOS group, RDP and more, in addition to those that already come by default (shared folders and printers, HTTP and FTP). In the «Others» section we can load the different SSH, Telnet, FTP and HTTP clients to launch them when we need them. Finally, in the “Help” section we can see a small tutorial, install Radmin Viewer directly and even the server as well.
In the event that we look for IP addresses that are in another subnet other than ours, and if the firewall allows it, we will be able to see the list of devices that are up at a certain moment, as you can see below.
As you have seen, Advanced IP Scanner is a really useful program that will allow us to see all the devices that are in the domestic local network and also in other networks, in addition, we have the possibility of making use of different external programs to use the ping , tracert, launch the web browser or an FTP and SSH client among many other options. This program is very simple but effective, and will allow us to have a complete list of devices connected to the local network easily and quickly.
Finally, a feature that we really liked about this program is the possibility of running it in portable mode, without the need to install it, in this way, we will not need to install another program on our PC.