Angry IP Scanner

Angry IP Scanner is a lightweight, cross-platform network reconnaissance tool written in Java, using the Eclipse SWT library to render native GUI controls on Windows, macOS, and Linux without sacrificing portability. Its scanning engine operates on a producer-consumer threading model: a configurable number of worker threads (default 100, max 500) are dispatched concurrently across the target address space, with adaptive timeout logic that calibrates wait times based on observed roundtrip measurements.

The application is structured around four interchangeable component types. Feeders generate address sequences from IP ranges, CIDR blocks, random distributions, or imported text files. Fetchers retrieve per-host attributes — ICMP ping, TTL, reverse DNS, NetBIOS metadata (machine name, workgroup, current user), MAC address, and TCP/UDP port state. Pingers abstract the underlying connectivity primitive (ICMP echo, UDP, TCP SYN, or the Windows ICMP.DLL). Exporters serialise results to CSV, TXT, XML, or bare IP:Port lists. All four component types are exposed as a Java plugin API.

With over 29 million downloads since its initial release, Angry IP Scanner is widely deployed by network administrators, security auditors, and sysadmins for asset discovery, subnet inventorying, and lightweight perimeter checks. Its no-installation JAR distribution and minimal resource footprint make it a practical first-pass reconnaissance tool, particularly valued for its simplicity and accessibility to non-specialist users.