Angry IP Scanner vs PortScan.com

Angry IP Scanner is a free, open-source desktop tool for scanning IP addresses and ports. It accepts address ranges, random addresses, or files in any format as scan input. The scanner checks whether hosts respond to pings and can optionally resolve hostnames, identify MAC addresses, and scan ports. It also supports NetBIOS information, favorite IP ranges, web server detection, and customizable openers. Java plugins can extend scanning and data gathering with fetchers, pingers, exporters, and feeders. Results can be saved as CSV, TXT, XML, or IP-Port list files, and a command-line interface is available. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows under GPLv2. The maker says installation is unnecessary and that the software can be copied and used anywhere. It is described as particularly useful to network administrators monitoring and managing networks. The FAQ notes that some antivirus vendors have flagged the older ipscan.exe, while saying version 3.x is not detected.

PortScan.com is a free cloud service that checks TCP ports on the public IP address making the request and reports whether each is open, closed or filtered. Fast scan checks 32 common ports in about 20 seconds. Deep scan checks all 65,535 TCP ports and includes service version detection. The target comes from the visitor’s connection, so another IP address cannot be entered. An API offers polling endpoints and a streaming v2 endpoint, requires no signup or API key, and supports IPv4 and IPv6. Webhook callbacks can report scan completion or failure for CI/CD pipelines and monitoring scripts. An MCP server provides fast_scan and deep_scan tools with setup instructions for several coding and chat tools. The API supports JSON exports, TCP scans only, and results expire after 24 hours. PortScan.com lists scanning nodes in the Netherlands, France and the UK, with results stored in an EU database. It says metadata is logged for 180 days and that the scan is a basic port check, not a security audit; results may be incomplete or inaccurate.