I've found that using the command nmap -A gives me the most reliable results and according to the reference guide the option -A includes service detection, traceroute, and OS detection. I want to do an nmap scan that only includes the service/port scanning used in the option -A but I'm not quite sure what type of service/port scan is used in option -A. I read somewhere that it was a script scan, but a basic script scan did not give the same results. Does anyone know what the exact commands are when option -A is used in nmap?
Gilles 'SO- stop being evil'
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asked Apr 18 '12 at 3:14
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Does -sV and/or -O give you what you want? – lew Apr 18 '12 at 3:51
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not at all. I think -A may stand for advanced options, which would include upping the intensity of the service/port scan but I'm not sure. – Bhubhu Hbuhdbus Apr 18 '12 at 4:13
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Never mind; I figured it out. Equivalent command for just service/port scanning is --traceroute -sV -sC. – Bhubhu Hbuhdbus Apr 18 '12 at 7:20
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Relevant: Nmap Guide - Misc Options – Gurzo Apr 18 '12 at 18:44
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@BhubhuHbuhdbus make that an answer and accept it, so that this question can be closed. Also, link to where you discovered the info. – schroeder♦ Apr 18 '12 at 19:14
According to nmap man page:
-A: Enables OS detection and Version detection, Script scanning and Traceroute.
-sV: Enables version detection, as discussed above. Alternatively, you can use -A, which enables version detection among other things.
It's the same as -O -sV -sC --traceroute.
