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Network Scanning Best Practices

Guidelines for effective and responsible network scanning.

Authorization​

Always obtain written authorization before scanning:

  • Internal networks: IT/Security approval
  • External networks: Pentesting agreement
  • Cloud environments: Account owner permission

Unauthorized scanning may violate laws (CFAA, Computer Misuse Act).

Scan Planning​

1. Define Scope​

# Include targets
pentora scan --targets 192.168.1.0/24

# Exclude sensitive hosts
pentora scan --targets 10.0.0.0/16 --exclude-file sensitive.txt

2. Choose Profile​

  • quick: Initial reconnaissance
  • standard: General assessment
  • deep: Comprehensive audit

3. Schedule​

Avoid business hours for production networks:

# Schedule for 2 AM daily
pentora scan --targets prod.txt --schedule "0 2 * * *" --server https://pentora.company.com

Rate Limiting​

Prevent network disruption:

# Conservative rate (production)
pentora scan --targets prod-network.txt --rate 100 --concurrency 10

# Standard rate (dev/test)
pentora scan --targets dev-network.txt --rate 1000 --concurrency 50

# Aggressive rate (lab/offline)
pentora scan --targets lab.txt --rate 5000 --concurrency 200

Discovery Strategies​

ICMP Blocked​

Use TCP-based discovery:

pentora scan --targets 192.168.1.0/24 --discover-profile tcp

Large Networks​

Split into phases:

# Phase 1: Discovery
pentora scan --targets 10.0.0.0/8 --only-discover -o live-hosts.txt

# Phase 2: Detailed scan
pentora scan --target-file live-hosts.txt --no-discover --profile standard

Handling False Positives​

Review and refine:

# Compare scans
pentora workspace show scan-1 > scan-1.json
pentora workspace show scan-2 > scan-2.json
diff scan-1.json scan-2.json
  • Obtain authorization
  • Follow scope boundaries
  • Respect rate limits
  • Document findings
  • Report responsibly

See Vulnerability Assessment Guide for CVE analysis.