What is Scanning?

Scanning is a phase where attacker try to find which systems are alive and what services are running on them. They basically looking for open ports, weak points, and small mistakes in network. Tools like Nmap or Masscan help them to scan whole network fast. If they find something open or outdated, then they plan how to move next for attack. Scanning gives them first idea where they can break the security.

Types Of Scanning:

1️.Network Scanning: Used to find which devices are alive in network. Like attacker checking "who is online here?"

2️. Port Scanning: They check which ports are open on system, so they know where to knock for entry.

3️. Vulnerability Scanning: Here they try to find weak softwares or old versions which easily get hacked.

4️. Service Scanning: Attacker look what services and versions running on open ports, like FTP, SSH, etc.

5️. OS Fingerprinting: They try to guess which operating system target is using, Windows ya Linux, so attack will work properly.

What is Enumeration?

Enumeration is the next step after scanning where attacker try to collect more detailed info from the target. They try to find usernames, shared folders, network resources and all things which can help them to go deeper inside. It's like opening the door a little and trying to see what's happening inside the system. Tools like enum4linux, SNMP scans or SMB checks help attacker to grab that secret info. If they get useful details, then hacking become more easy for them.

Difference between Scanning and Enumeration:

Scanning is mostly about finding what is available on the network like open ports and active systems. Enumeration go more deeper, trying to pull out important details from those system. Scanning tell "where is the target?", and enumeration tell "how to hack that target?". One is like seeing which doors are open, and the other is like checking if the key is lying nearby. Both are super important for hacker to plan the full attack.

Defensive Measures:

To stop scanning and enumeration, companies need to always watch their network properly. Firewalls and IDS/IPS should block weird scanning traffic before it get inside. Regular patching and closing unused ports make hacker job more harder. Also, strong access control and monitoring logs help catch attacker early. If security team stay alert, hackers plan mostly fail before even starting.