>_ScanNet365

field guide · windows

Network Scanner: every share, every printer

LizardSystems' scanner is built for one environment — a LAN of Windows machines — and in that environment it finds things the others gloss over.

reviewed 15 september 2026

Download Network Scanner free edition · windows · paid licence lifts the device cap

01Why this tool exists

A generic sweeper tells you a computer is alive. On a Windows LAN the interesting question is what that computer is sharing: folders, printers, maybe a share someone opened in 2019 and forgot. Network Scanner asks exactly that question, host by host, and then — its party trick — tries to open each share and records whether it could read, write, or nothing at all.

LizardSystems Network Scanner with a scanned range and a tree of computers and shares
the result tree: computers, then shares under each computer. screenshot: lizardsystems.com

02The workflow

  1. Feed it your ranges

    Target → Add IP Range, then Detect IP Range to autofill the subnet of the adapter you are on. Several ranges can sit in the list for networks split across VLANs.

  2. Choose the probes

    In the scan settings, Netbios (Samba) with Check access is the default heart of the scan. Add FTP or HTTP probing only if your LAN actually runs those, or the sweep drags.

  3. Tune the engine

    Preferences → Scanning sets thread count and name-resolution method (DNS or NetBIOS). On small LANs defaults are fine; raise threads only if the wait annoys you.

  4. Run it and read the tree

    Start scan fills the left tree: computers first, shares nested under each. The icons carry state — a share you could write to looks different from one that denied you, and that difference is the audit.

  5. Filter to the finding

    The Filter tab narrows the tree by state, resource type and access rights. Set it to writable shares and what is left is your to-do list for the afternoon.

03Limits worth knowing

  • Windows only as an application, though it happily probes Samba shares hosted on Linux boxes and NAS units.
  • The free edition caps how many computers it reports; the paid licence lifts the cap. Numbers live on the vendor's page.
  • It inventories; it does not map. No switch ports, no topology diagram — that is SNMP territory and the Toolset's job.

04Asked around

Is LizardSystems Network Scanner free?

Partly. A free edition covers small networks up to a device cap; a paid licence removes it, and a time-limited trial of the full product is available from lizardsystems.com. Check the vendor's page for the current cap and price.

Does it work on macOS or Linux?

The program needs Windows. It can still see non-Windows machines that speak Samba, because SMB is the protocol doing the work — but you have to run it from a Windows box.

What does the access-rights check actually test?

For every share found, it attempts enumeration and an open with your current credentials, then records Read, Write, Access denied or Error. It answers the question "what could I do if I wanted to?", which is exactly what an auditor asks.