Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Robusta Port Forwarder VS netcat

Compare Robusta Port Forwarder VS netcat and see what are their differences

Robusta Port Forwarder logo Robusta Port Forwarder

This tool is created with the primary intention of making it easy to the end user to set forwarding rules in his router....

netcat logo netcat

Netcat is a featured networking utility which reads and writes data across network connections...
  • Robusta Port Forwarder Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-09
  • netcat Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-11-19

Robusta Port Forwarder features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Robusta Port Forwarder features an intuitive and easy-to-navigate graphical user interface, making it accessible for both beginners and advanced users.
  • Lightweight
    The software is lightweight and doesn't consume much system resources, allowing for smooth operation alongside other applications.
  • Freeware
    Robusta Port Forwarder is available for free, making it accessible to users without any financial commitment.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    The application supports Windows operating systems, providing flexibility for users on different versions of Windows.

Possible disadvantages of Robusta Port Forwarder

  • Limited Advanced Features
    Robusta Port Forwarder may lack some advanced features that are available in other, more robust port forwarding tools, limiting its functionality for tech-savvy users needing advanced configurations.
  • Windows Only
    The software is only available for Windows, which restricts its use for users operating on other platforms such as macOS or Linux.
  • Support and Updates
    As freeware, support and regular updates might be less comprehensive compared to paid software options, potentially leading to security or compatibility issues.

netcat features and specs

  • Versatility
    Netcat can be used for a wide variety of network-related tasks, including port scanning, file transfers, and working as a backdoor.
  • Simplicity
    Netcat operates with simple command-line arguments, making it easy to use for those familiar with command-line interfaces.
  • Speed
    Netcat is lightweight and performs network operations quickly, without the overhead associated with more complex tools.
  • Scriptability
    Netcat is highly scriptable, allowing users to automate network tasks by including it in bash or other scripts.
  • Cross-Platform
    Netcat is available on multiple operating systems including Unix, Linux, and Windows, making it a versatile tool for different environments.

Possible disadvantages of netcat

  • Security
    Netcat can be misused, as it is often favored by attackers for creating reverse shells and other malicious activities.
  • Lack of Encryption
    Netcat does not natively support encrypted connections, meaning data transmitted can be vulnerable to interception.
  • Minimal Logging
    Netcat provides minimal logging capabilities, which can make it difficult to track usage or troubleshoot issues.
  • Basic Functionality
    Netcat provides core networking functions but lacks advanced features found in specialized tools.
  • Cannot Handle High Load
    Netcat is not designed to handle high traffic loads effectively, making it less suitable for some enterprise use cases.

Analysis of netcat

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Netcat is considered a valuable tool in network troubleshooting and testing. Its simplicity and efficiency have garnered it a positive reputation in the networking community.

Why this product is good

  • Netcat is a versatile networking utility that is often described as a 'Swiss-army knife' for network engineers. It can be used for reading and writing data across network connections, making it perfect for port scanning, banner grabbing, or as a simple web server. Its lightweight nature and ease of use make it a popular choice among IT professionals.

Recommended for

    Netcat is recommended for network administrators, cybersecurity professionals, system engineers, and IT enthusiasts who need a flexible and straightforward tool for network diagnostics, data transfer, or security testing purposes.

Robusta Port Forwarder videos

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netcat videos

Linux Terminal 101: Netcat

More videos:

  • Review - Advanced Netcat and TCP Fun - Hak5 1922
  • Review - Netcat 101: Remote Shells in Windows, HakTip 86

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Robusta Port Forwarder and netcat)
Monitoring Tools
21 21%
79% 79
Productivity
27 27%
73% 73
Log Management
0 0%
100% 100
OS & Utilities
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Robusta Port Forwarder and netcat

Robusta Port Forwarder Reviews

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netcat Reviews

9 Best Angry IP Scanner Alternatives Reviewed 2021 (Free & Paid)
Netcat lacks a lot of the documentation you can easily find with software like AngryIP or Nmap which in my opinion is its biggest drawback. If you’re thinking about trying out Netcat, check out our Netcat Cheat Sheet to quickly pull up powerful and useful commands. Netcat is compatible with Windows, Linux, and macOS systems.
Top 5 Best Port Scanners
Netcat is one of the oldest network tools in the "Unixverse", it's been there since 1995, and the last official version is from 2004. Although it has many forks and variants that work pretty well on modern operating systems, like ncat from the Nmap suite, or this alternative Netcat version from Mike Frysinger.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, netcat seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 7 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Robusta Port Forwarder mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Robusta Port Forwarder yet. Tracking of Robusta Port Forwarder recommendations started around Mar 2021.

netcat mentions (7)

  • could not connect to the rhel-9 from putty in windows machine
    If you don't like using telnet, that's fine. Don't use it. There are plenty of other options available. Use netcat. Or use netcat. Or use netcat. Or read and write directly to /dev/tcp/hostname/port using shell constructs. Or run openssl s_client if you suspect something complicated is listening on the other end. There is more than one way to do it and ways that are not your way still work. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • The HTTP crash course nobody asked for
    Reminder, there are many different netcats, here are some of the most commons: - netcat-traditional http://www.stearns.org/nc/ - netcat-openbsd : https://github.com/openbsd/src/blob/master/usr.bin/nc/netcat.c (also packaged in Debian) - ncat https://nmap.org/ncat/ - netcat GNU: https://netcat.sourceforge.net/ (quite rare) To prevent any confusion, I like to recommend socat: http://www.dest-unreach.org/socat/. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Gaining remote access to a computer with a reverse shell attack in Node.js
    A common tool to execute a reverse shell is called netcat. If you're using macOS, it should be installed by default. You can check by running nc -help in a terminal window. - Source: dev.to / almost 3 years ago
  • Programm to send and receive TCP/UDP Packets
    You could try using Ncat on Windows or netcat on Linux, though it's a command-line only tool if that matters. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Is there a way to copy a file from a remote shell to local without using scp?
    If you have netcat, you can easily set up a transfer from one machine to the other:. Source: almost 4 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Robusta Port Forwarder and netcat, you can also consider the following products

PFConfig - PortForward's PFConfig Software lets you forward ports on any router for any program.

Wireshark - Wireshark is a network protocol analyzer for Unix and Windows. It lets you capture and interactively browse the traffic running on a computer network.

AUTAPF - Reliable TCP and UDP port forwarding for Windows.

tcpdump - tcpdump is a common packet analyzer that runs under the command line.

Simple Port Forwarding - Simple Port Forwarding works with WebPages and not directly with your router.

Ettercap - Ettercap is a suite for man in the middle attacks on LAN.