Advanced Port Scanner for Mac and iPhone: What to Use Instead

By Paul Snyman · October 18, 2026 · 7 min read

Advanced Port Scanner is the sibling of Famatech's better-known Advanced IP Scanner, and like it, it is a Windows application. Famatech's page lists Windows 11, 10, 8 and 7 and offers a single .exe download (version 2.5.3869 in the file name), as listed on October 18, 2026. There is no macOS build and no iPhone app. If you came here from Advanced IP Scanner for Mac or Advanced IP Scanner for iPhone and Mac, this is the port-scanning half of the same story.

Full disclosure: I build PingKit, so weigh the recommendation accordingly. On a Mac, nmap is a better port scanner than mine, and I say where below. Scan only equipment you own or administer.

What Advanced Port Scanner Does

From Famatech's page, read on October 18, 2026, it does three kinds of thing:

• Scans ports quickly, with many threads at once.
• Identifies what is running on each open port, including the program's version.
• Acts on what it finds: opens HTTP, HTTPS, FTP and shared folders, connects over RDP and Radmin, and sends Wake-on-LAN, remote shutdown and remote commands.

The first two have good Apple equivalents. The third is Windows administration, and most of it does not travel.

On a Mac: nc, nmap and PingKit Agent

nc, already installed

nc -zv 192.168.1.50 22
nc -zv 192.168.1.50 1-1024

The first line checks one port; the second checks every TCP port from 1 to 1024 on the same device and reports which accept a connection. Add -u for UDP, knowing that a silent UDP port proves little. No service names, no versions, one host at a time.

nmap, for version detection

brew install nmap
nmap -sV 192.168.1.50

-sV probes each open port and reports the service and version it finds, which is the Advanced Port Scanner feature people miss most. nmap goes further, with SYN scans and OS detection under sudo; nmap on a Mac covers installing it, and Zenmap.

PingKit Agent, next to your device list

PingKit Agent, free on the Mac App Store, has a port scanner among its tools. Pick a preset (a short list of the most common ports, 1 to 1024, or the web ports 80, 443, 8080 and 8443) or a custom range up to 65535, and it lists the open TCP ports with the usual service name for each. Its reason to exist is context: the same app keeps a list of the devices on your network, so you can go from an unfamiliar device to what it is running without looking up its address.

Two limits, stated plainly. The Agent's scanner checks TCP only, with no UDP. And, like the iPhone app, it scans only addresses on your own local network: it refuses a public address, and it resolves a hostname first so a name cannot point it at the internet.

On iPhone: PingKit's Port Scanner

An iPhone cannot run nmap. iOS gives apps no raw sockets, so SYN scans and OS detection are off the table for every App Store app. A plain connect scan works fine, and that is what PingKit's port scanner does, free with all 19 tools, no ads and no account.

• TCP, UDP or both. TCP checks whether a port accepts a connection. UDP sends a probe: a port that answers or stays silent is listed as open, and one the device refuses is listed as closed, so a silent port may only be filtered.
• Presets or any range. The 21 most common ports, 1 to 1024, the web ports, or a custom range up to 65535.
• Your own network only. It accepts private and link-local addresses and refuses public ones, including a hostname that resolves to one.

The one exception in the app is narrow on purpose. The Security Scan tries seven ports that are often left open by mistake (22, 23, 80, 443, 3389, 5900 and 8080) on the public address your own network is using, so you can see what your router exposes from outside. It takes no address from you.

Feature by Feature

Which Should You Use?

You want service versions or a deep scan, on a Mac: nmap. It is the better port scanner, and it is free.

You want a quick check of one port: nc -zv, already on your Mac.

You want port checks tied to the devices you are already watching: PingKit Agent, which also keeps the device list and alerts you when something new joins, while your Mac is awake.

You are on your iPhone at the router: PingKit's port scanner, for TCP and UDP on your own devices. How to check if a port is open walks through reading the result.

Honest Limits

• No version detection. PingKit names a port by its usual service, such as SSH on 22, and does not probe which program answers. nmap's -sV does.
• TCP only on the Mac. The Agent's scanner has no UDP; the iPhone's does.
• Your own network only, on both. Neither will scan a public address you type in. For a server you run on the internet, use nmap from a machine you control.
• UDP is a hint. A silent UDP port is listed as open but may be filtered; only a refusal is certain.
• No Windows administration. Nothing in PingKit replaces Radmin, RDP or remote shutdown of a Windows PC.
• The Agent needs macOS 15 or later.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Advanced Port Scanner available for Mac?

No. Famatech's Advanced Port Scanner is a free Windows program, listed for Windows 11, 10, 8 and 7, with no macOS or iPhone version. On a Mac, nc is already installed, nmap adds service version detection, and PingKit Agent includes a free TCP port scanner for your own network.

Is there an Advanced Port Scanner for iPhone?

No. The closest equivalent on iPhone is a connect-based port scanner such as PingKit's, which is free and probes TCP and UDP ports on devices on your own network, with presets or any range up to 65535. iOS gives apps no raw sockets, so no iPhone app can run SYN scans or OS detection.

Can PingKit show which program and version runs on a port?

No. PingKit lists each open port with its usual service name and does not probe for the program or its version. On a Mac, nmap -sV does that.

Can PingKit scan a public IP address or a server on the internet?

No. On both iPhone and Mac, PingKit's port scanner only accepts addresses on your own local network and refuses a hostname that resolves to a public address. It is built for checking your own devices.

Does the PingKit Agent port scanner on Mac scan UDP?

No. PingKit Agent's port scanner checks TCP ports only. PingKit for iPhone scans TCP, UDP or both. On a Mac, nc -u or nmap -sU cover UDP.

Related Articles

• Port Scanner App for iPhone
• Advanced IP Scanner for Mac
• Advanced IP Scanner for iPhone and Mac
• Port Scanner for Mac
• nmap on a Mac