A vulnerability scanner is an automated program designed to look for weaknesses in computer systems, networks, and applications. The program probes a system by sending it data over a network. The responses are then compared to samples in a vulnerability database, and matches are used to enumerate vulnerabilities on the target.
Because of their different networking implementations, operating systems tend to respond differently when sent network probes. These unique responses serve as fingerprints for the operating systems’ various versions. Scanners use these fingerprints to determine the identity of the operating ...
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