Re: cannot scan

[David Fifield <david () bamsoftware com>]

On Sun, Oct 19, 2008 at 10:29:15PM -0400, Verde Denim wrote:
> > A limitation of Nmap on Windows is that in can only do raw-packet scans
> > on Ethernet devices. That's why you have to use --unprivileged on your
> > ppp0 interface. Unfortunately that means you can't run OS scan either.
> >
> > The error message is misleading. It really should say "TCP/IP
> > fingerprinting (for OS scan) requires raw packets" or something like
> > that. The error message is assuming that the only way you could fail to
> > have "root privileges" (in terms of raw packet sending) on Windows is
> > that WinPcap is not installed. However you have shown that it can also
> > be caused by the use of --unprivileged.
> >
> > The error message should not be too hard to fix. Does anyone have an
> > opinion as to the wording, or can you think of any other corner cases to
> > cause this error?
>
> Thanks for replying. I was beginning to get a bit mental trying to figure
> this out.
> So, in a nutshell, I cannot use (or should not) use nmap on windows with a
> wireless card.
> It's disappointing since I need to learn to use this tool for my job, and
> the wireless card is my only Internet access at the moment.
> Is this a function of the limitation of nmap, or is it a function of the way
> packets are processed on the Internet?
> Is nmap planned to include functionality to run with a wireless card without
> the --unprivileged restriction?
> Do you know of another tool which may provide fingerprinting capability with
> this setup (winxp/wireless card) ?
>
> I would also add some install notes for nmap to caution users that ppp0 will
> eliminate all but the most rudimentary functions of nmap.

This is a limitation of Windows. Microsoft removed raw socket support,
which is required for most advanced scans, from Windows a few years ago.
Nmap has a workaround of sending raw Ethernet frames, but it only works
on Ethernet interfaces. See http://seclists.org/nmap-hackers/2005/0004.html.

One alternative is to use an OS other than Windows for scanning, if you
can find another one that supports your wireless card.

David Fifield

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