nmap banner grabing define other tool Welcome back, my greenhorn hackers! For over 15 years, a tiny but powerful tool has been used by hackers for a wide-range of activities. This tool goes by the name of netcat , and although well known in hacking circles, it's virtually unknown outside. It's so powerful and useful, that many people within the hacking community refer to it as the "Swiss Army knife of hacking tools." In this tutorial, we'll look at the capabilities of this simple tool and how the aspiring hacker can use it. What Is Netcat, Really? Netcat—like so many hacker tools—was created to be a network analysis tool. Developed by a fellow only known as "Hobbit," he gave away this tool to the IT community without compensation, but has received scores of accolades. Thanks, Hobbit! As such, you can use it to open up TCP and UDP connections between two machines over any port your heart desires. It can als...