07.06.2023

How to install ncat tool on Windows and Linux

What is netcat

Ncat is popular tool for network diagnistic. Now it is a part on Nmap software. It is available for all "mainstream" operation systems.

Install nmap on Windows

To install nmap (and ncat as part of nmap) please do follow:

ncat -v

Checking example

To check ncat is really working, open two terminal windows.

ncat -l <any_port>
ncat -C localhost <choosen_port>

You can "chat" between the windows:

 

Install nmap on Linux OS

Setup process on Linux (Ubuntu 20.o4 as example is very simple. Just complete this instruction:

apt-get update; apt install -y netcat

Using example the same - open two terminal windows and run these commands:

nc -l # In one session, to check "server-mode"

nc -C # In another terminal, to check "client-mode"

Conclusion

In this article I explained how to install and use ncat tool on Windows 2022 Server and Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.