The test will be performed in Internet Explorer after accepting to install an Active X control in the web browser. It will test the network devices, the computer, router and network, wireless security and Internet threats.

Not all of the tests can be performed on all routers and networks and the online application will list those that could not be tested in the scan results.

An overall security score will be displayed after the test has finished that indicates how poor, fair or good a network is protected.

These results again have to be taken with a grain of salt as some results have been interpreted incorrectly at least on our network environment.

The network security scan did not recognize the security software that is installed on the computer system the test was running on which dropped the score of the network. It also reported the hosts file had been modified even though it was the default host file of the operating system (Windows 7 Professional).

Pure Networks Security Scan is still an interesting online service regardless of the improper analysis of some of the scan results. It can hint at problems that exist in the computer network that need to be addressed by the user.

Windows users who want to try the test can point their Internet Explorer browser to the Pure Networks Security Scan page at Linksys.

It is possible to set a subnet range, for example from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.200. Among the data that can be retrieved are the domain, cpu speed, role, gateway, office version, ram, operating system, service packs, installed software, bios, disk information, cpu type and Windows registration key.

Not everything has to be selected though: It is up to the user to select the search parameters. Results will be automatically saved in a Microsoft Excel document. A click on Start will initiate the scan of the subnet.

Subnet Scan will display a progress report in its interface. The Excel document will be opened as well as soon as the first successful scan has finished.

It can automatically detect the Local IP Range, External IP Addresses and IP Range from a Host Name. Those information are automatically inserted into the scanning parameters. A scan resolves host names, pings the servers, detects MAC addresses, hidden shared folders and write accessible shares.

Some of the options are disabled by default and have to be enabled in the program’s options. This is for example the case for MAC address detection and discovery of Open Ports. The ports have to be entered in a comma separated list, by default only port 80 is checked.

The network scanner has been designed to scan local and remote networks. Basically any IP range can be entered and Softperfect Network Scanner will scan it.

The network scanner supports additional features that make it interesting. I can launch third party applications that can be integrated into the software. It does support Wake-On-Lan and Remote Shutdown, can mount and explore network resources and retrieve logged in users.