Netcat is a simple Unix utility which reads and writes data across
network connections using TCP or UDP protocol. It is designed to be a
reliable "back-end" tool that can be used directly or easily driven by
other programs and scripts. At the same time it is a feature-rich
network debugging and exploration tool, since it can create almost any
kind of connection you would need and has several interesting built-in
capabilities.
Some of netcat's major features are:
Outbound or inbound connections, IPv4 or IPv6, TCP or UDP,
to or from any ports
Full DNS forward/reverse checking, with appropriate warnings
Ability to use any local source port
Ability to use any locally-configured network source address
Built-in port-scanning capabilities, with randomizer
Built-in loose source-routing capability
Can read command line arguments from standard input
Slow-send mode, one line every N seconds
Hex dump of transmitted and received data
Optional ability to let another program service established connections
Optional telnet-options responder
A very short list of potential uses:
Script backends
Scanning ports and inventorying services, automated probes
Backup handlers
File transfers
Server testing, simulation, debugging, and hijacking
Firewall testing
Proxy gatewaying
Network performance testing
Address spoofing tests
Protecting X servers
1001 other uses you'll likely come up with
_H* 960320
405'/>
FreeBSD GNOME current development ports (https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-ports-gnome)