Frequently asked questions

Yes. Every lesson is on this site with no account, no email sign-up and no paywall. We run no ads and no analytics. The only cost is Network Scanner itself if you use it commercially — see licensing below.

You can read any lesson on its own, but the exercises build on each other. The address plan from lesson 2 becomes the scan target in lesson 4; the result saved in lesson 4 is the baseline in lesson 7; the share register from lesson 3 is what Module C checks against. If you jump in halfway, skim the syllabus first.

About eight hours of reading and hands-on work in total, which most people spread over two or three weeks. Lesson 12, where you fix things and write the report, takes longest.

No. It is a fictional 35-person accounting firm, built to look like a typical small office so that the examples feel familiar. Its addresses, names and findings are consistent across every lesson. The screenshots of Network Scanner itself come from the vendor and show the vendor’s own sample network, which is why they show 192.168.1.x addresses.

Yes. Everything about planning, scanning, reading results and checking access works the same on a workgroup network. Where a lesson uses Active Directory or Group Policy, do the equivalent on each PC, or use local accounts for the test user in lesson 11.

No, but you will use it. Every command in the course is shown in full, with its output, and explained. They are ordinary Windows commands such as ipconfig, Get-SmbShare, icacls and Test-NetConnection.

It scans IP ranges, address expressions and lists of computer names, and for each active host shows shared resources: NetBIOS (SMB/Samba) shares including hidden and administrative ones, FTP servers and web servers. It can check whether an account can read or write each share, and it exports results to HTML, XML or TXT.

Neither. It checks whether hosts are online (by ping or by connecting to ports you list) and then asks them for shares, FTP and web resources. It does not sweep all ports and it does not look for vulnerabilities. The course uses Windows’ own Test-NetConnection where it needs to check a specific port.

No. Its columns are Name, Address, Latency and Comment, plus First scan and Last scan. When the course needs a hardware address, it takes it from the DHCP server (lesson 7).

It exports to HTML, XML and TXT; there is no CSV export and no command-line mode or built-in scheduler. Open the HTML export in Excel if you need a spreadsheet, or process the XML with PowerShell.

The vendor lists Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10, and Windows Server 2008 R2, 2012, 2012 R2 and 2016. Newer versions are not on the list; test on your own system before relying on it.

The vendor offers an installer, netscanner_setup.exe. Since version 4.4.221 it can install without administrator rights for the current user, which covers most of the reasons people look for a portable version.

21.07, released July 7, 2021, at the time of writing (September 2026). Check the vendor’s releases page for anything newer.

No. Scanning needs no administrator privileges. That is also why a scan as an ordinary user (lesson 11) shows what a normal account can reach.

Scanning a network you own or are responsible for, with the permission of whoever owns it, is routine administration. Scanning a network without the owner’s permission can be illegal. Get authorisation in writing that lists the ranges — lesson 1 has a template — and stay inside it.

They did not answer the online check. Windows Firewall often blocks ping; some segments are isolated. Switch on TCP checks on ports such as 445 and the fallback option — lesson 6 covers this in detail.

Listing shares is something Windows PCs do constantly, and a NetBIOS scan of a small office is light. Access checks and FTP logins are more visible, so run them within your authorisation and tell whoever monitors the servers. Very old devices occasionally misbehave when scanned; lower the thread count if you suspect it.

Not by themselves: Windows creates them, and only administrators can use them. They become a problem when many people are administrators or every PC shares one local administrator password. Lesson 10 explains what to check.

A very common one in small offices is a share someone opened to Everyone to fix an “access denied” error in a hurry. Lesson 9 finds these in one pass.

Use only a dedicated test account, never a real person’s password, and remove it from the Netbios (Samba) preferences and disable the account when you finish. Or run the program with runas so no password is stored.

For personal, non-commercial use, yes: the vendor offers a free, perpetual personal licence through “Get free license”. Commercial use needs a business licence.

US$79.95 per licence, per machine, perpetual, with one year of free updates and email and ticket support — as listed on the vendor’s purchase page in September 2026. Check there for current prices and volume licences.

Yes. The 30-day evaluation has no functional limitations; unregistered copies show reminder screens.

Only from the vendor’s own download page. We do not host or mirror it. The download guide shows how to check the file’s SHA-256 hash and signature before you run it.

No. LANScan365 is independent; we are not paid by LizardSystems and do not sell licences. For product support, contact the vendor at support@lizardsystems.com.