Well Known ports (also known as system ports) are numbered from 0 through 1023. In computer networking, the term port can refer to either physical or virtual connection points.
Physical network ports allow connecting cables to computers, routers, modems and other peripheral devices. Several different types of physical ports available on computer network hardware include:
- Ethernet ports
- USB ports
- Serial ports
Virtual ports are part of TCP/IP networking. These ports allow software applications to share hardware resources without interfering with each other. Computers and routers automatically manage network traffic traveling via their virtual ports. Network firewalls additionally provide some control over the flow of traffic on each virtual port for security purposes.
Port number is part of the addressing information used to identify the senders and receivers of messages. Port
numbers are most commonly used with TCP/IP connections. Home network routers and computer software work with ports and sometimes allow you to configure port number settings. These port numbers allow different applications on the same computer to share network resources simultaneously.
How Port Numbers Work
Port numbers are associated with network addresses. For example, in TCP/IP networking, both TCP and UDP utilize their own set of ports that work together with IP addresses.
Port numbers work like telephone extensions. Just as a business telephone switchboard can use a main phone number and assign each employee an extension number (like x100, x101, etc.), so a computer has a main address and a set of port numbers to handle incoming and outgoing connections.
In both TCP and UDP, port numbers start at 0 and go up to 65535. Numbers in the lower ranges are dedicated to common Internet Protocols (like 21 for FTP, 80 for HTTP, etc.).
The port numbers from 1024 to 49151 are called registered ports. Unlike well-known ports, anyone can use these port numbers for their servers or any other use.
- 0-1023 Well-known Ports
- 1024-49151 Registered Ports
- 49152-65535 Dynamic of Private Ports
A two computers began to communicate, they store the information about the session – the endpoints – so that they know where to send and receive data. For this you can use Netstat utility with command “netstat -n” where you will see many more than just two connections.
List of Commonly used Well Known Ports are:
Port # / Layer | Name | Comment |
---|---|---|
1 | tcpmux | TCP port service multiplexer |
5 | rje | Remote Job Entry |
7 | echo | Echo service |
9 | discard | Null service for connection testing |
11 | systat | System Status service for listing connected ports |
13 | daytime | Sends date and time to requesting host |
17 | qotd | Sends quote of the day to connected host |
18 | msp | Message Send Protocol |
19 | chargen | Character Generation service; sends endless stream of characters |
20 | ftp-data | FTP data port |
21 | ftp | File Transfer Protocol (FTP) port; sometimes used by File Service Protocol (FSP) |
22 | ssh | Secure Shell (SSH) service |
23 | telnet | The Telnet service |
25 | smtp | Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) |
37 | time | Time Protocol |
39 | rlp | Resource Location Protocol |
42 | nameserver | Internet Name Service |
43 | nicname | WHOIS directory service |
49 | tacacs | Terminal Access Controller Access Control System for TCP/IP based authentication and access |
50 | re-mail-ck | Remote Mail Checking Protocol |
53 | domain | domain name services (such as BIND) |
63 | whois++ | WHOIS++, extended WHOIS services |
67 | bootps | Bootstrap Protocol (BOOTP) services; also used by Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) services |
68 | bootpc | Bootstrap (BOOTP) client; also used by Dynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP) clients |
69 | tftp | Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) |
70 | gopher | Gopher Internet document search and retrieval |
71 | netrjs-1 | Remote Job Service |
72 | netrjs-2 | Remote Job Service |
73 | netrjs-3 | Remote Job Service |
73 | netrjs-4 | Remote Job Service |
79 | finger | Finger service for user contact information |
80 | http | HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) for World Wide Web (WWW) services |
88 | kerberos | Kerberos network authentication system |
95 | supdup | Telnet protocol extension |
101 | hostname | Hostname services on SRI-NIC machines |
102/tcp | iso-tsap | ISO Development Environment (ISODE) network applications |
105 | csnet-ns | Mailbox nameserver; also used by CSO nameserver |
107 | rtelnet | Remote Telnet |
109 | pop2 | Post Office Protocol version 2 |
110 | pop3 | Post Office Protocol version 3 |
111 | sunrpc | Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Protocol for remote command execution, used by Network Filesystem (NFS) |
113 | auth | Authentication and Ident protocols |
115 | sftp | Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) services |
117 | uucp-path | Unix-to-Unix Copy Protocol (UUCP) Path services |
119 | nntp | Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) for the USENET discussion system |
123 | ntp | Network Time Protocol (NTP) |
137 | netbios-ns | NETBIOS Name Service used in Red Hat Enterprise Linux by Samba |
138 | netbios-dgm | NETBIOS Datagram Service used in Red Hat Enterprise Linux by Samba |
139 | netbios-ssn | NETBIOS Session Service used in Red Hat Enterprise Linux by Samba |
143 | imap | Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) |
161 | snmp | Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) |
162 | snmptrap | Traps for SNMP |
163 | cmip-man | Common Management Information Protocol (CMIP) |
164 | cmip-agent | Common Management Information Protocol (CMIP) |
174 | mailq | MAILQ email transport queue |
177 | xdmcp | X Display Manager Control Protocol (XDMCP) |
178 | nextstep | NeXTStep window server |
179 | bgp | Border Gateway Protocol |
191 | prospero | Prospero distributed filesystem services |
194 | irc | Internet Relay Chat (IRC) |
199 | smux | SNMP UNIX Multiplexer |
201 | at-rtmp | AppleTalk routing |
202 | at-nbp | AppleTalk name binding |
204 | at-echo | AppleTalk echo |
206 | at-zis | AppleTalk zone information |
209 | qmtp | Quick Mail Transfer Protocol (QMTP) |
210 | z39.50 | NISO Z39.50 database |
213 | ipx | Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX), a datagram protocol commonly used in Novell Netware environments |
220 | imap3 | Internet Message Access Protocol version 3 |
245 | link | LINK / 3-DNS iQuery service |
347 | fatserv | FATMEN file and tape management server |
363 | rsvp_tunnel | RSVP Tunnel |
369 | rpc2portmap | Coda file system portmapper |
370 | codaauth2 | Coda file system authentication services |
372 | ulistproc | UNIX LISTSERV |
389 | ldap | Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) |
427 | svrloc | Service Location Protocol (SLP) |
434 | mobileip-agent | Mobile Internet Protocol (IP) agent |
435 | mobilip-mn | Mobile Internet Protocol (IP) manager |
443 | https | Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) |
444 | snpp | Simple Network Paging Protocol |
445 | microsoft-ds | Server Message Block (SMB) over TCP/IP |
464 | kpasswd | Kerberos password and key changing services |
468 | photuris | Photuris session key management protocol |
487 | saft | Simple Asynchronous File Transfer (SAFT) protocol |
488 | gss-http | Generic Security Services (GSS) for HTTP |
496 | pim-rp-disc | Rendezvous Point Discovery (RP-DISC) for Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) services |
500 | isakmp | Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol (ISAKMP) |
535 | iiop | Internet Inter-Orb Protocol (IIOP) |
538 | gdomap | GNUstep Distributed Objects Mapper (GDOMAP) |
546 | dhcpv6-client | Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) version 6 client |
547 | dhcpv6-server | Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) version 6 Service |
554 | rtsp | Real Time Stream Control Protocol (RTSP) |
563 | nntps | Network News Transport Protocol over Secure Sockets Layer (NNTPS) |
565 | whoami | whoami user ID listing |
587 | submission | Mail Message Submission Agent (MSA) |
610 | npmp-local | Network Peripheral Management Protocol (NPMP) local / Distributed Queueing System (DQS) |
611 | npmp-gui | Network Peripheral Management Protocol (NPMP) GUI / Distributed Queueing System (DQS) |
612 | hmmp-ind | HyperMedia Management Protocol (HMMP) Indication / DQS |
631 | ipp | Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) |
636 | ldaps | Lightweight Directory Access Protocol over Secure Sockets Layer (LDAPS) |
674 | acap | Application Configuration Access Protocol (ACAP) |
694 | ha-cluster | Heartbeat services for High-Availability Clusters |
749 | kerberos-adm | Kerberos version 5 (v5) ‘kadmin’ database administration |
750 | kerberos-iv | Kerberos version 4 (v4) services |
765 | webster | Network Dictionary |
767 | phonebook | Network Phonebook |
873 | rsync | rsync file transfer services |
992 | telnets | Telnet over Secure Sockets Layer (TelnetS) |
993 | imaps | Internet Message Access Protocol over Secure Sockets Layer (IMAPS) |
994 | ircs | Internet Relay Chat over Secure Sockets Layer (IRCS) |
995 | pop3s | Post Office Protocol version 3 over Secure Sockets Layer (POP3S) |
- Most Common Online Threats – Protecting Yourself from Digital Scams
- 10 Steps to Secure and Manage Your Passwords
- Gmail and Facebook Users Advised to Secure Their Accounts Immediately
- Pentagon’s Proactive Approach to Cybersecurity – Over 50,000 Vulnerability Reports Since 2016
- Windows Hardening – Key Points To Remember
- Top 10 Fundamental Questions for Network Security
- How to Remove x-powered-by in Apache/PHP for Enhanced Security
- 12 Point Checklist – PHP Security Best Practices
- Secure Programming Checklist – 2023 Compilation Guide
- The Ultimate Network Security Checklist – 2023 Complete Guide