Re: Port scanning legal

[Alex Rubenstein <alex () nac net>]

On Tue, 19 Dec 2000, Shawn McMahon wrote:

> How many ports must be scanned before you deem it an attack?  Is one port
> enough?  Five?  50?

I don't deem a port scan as vicious or an attack.


> If you pick a number here, is that arbitrary, or do you have a valid
> logical (and legally-supportable) reason for the number?

No.


> If one port is sufficient, then the act of typing an IP address into a
> web browser to see if there's a web server listening is a crime.

Agreed, which is why I said the first.