No administrator rights
On a managed work laptop you often cannot run an installer at all. A portable build sidesteps the installer, not the security policy — see the limits below.
WINDOWS · NO INSTALLER
Portable IP scanner for Windows
A portable IP scanner runs straight from a folder or a USB stick with no installer and no administrator rights. The Windows x64 build of IPScanner.Pro is built that way and bundles its own runtime, so there is nothing to install alongside it. It is in private testing while Authenticode signing is completed.
Why people want a portable scanner
Nothing left behind
No installed program entry, no service, no scattered files. Delete the folder and the tool is gone, which matters when you are working on someone else’s machine.
Carry it to the network
Network problems live where the network is. A scanner on a USB stick or a synced folder is there when you arrive at the site, without a download over a connection you are trying to diagnose.
No runtime hunt
The package is self-contained: the .NET runtime ships inside it. There is no separate framework or Java install to chase before you can scan.
What portable does not get around
Portability removes the installer. It does not remove the rules of the machine you are on, and a tool that implied otherwise would be selling you something.
- Your firewall still asks. Windows will prompt for private-network access the first time, and an organisation policy can refuse on your behalf regardless of where the program lives.
- Group Policy and application allow-listing still apply. Tools such as AppLocker or Windows Defender Application Control judge the executable, not the installer, so a blocked binary stays blocked when it is portable.
- Portable is not anonymous. Scanning is a visible activity on a monitored network. Run it on networks you own or are authorised to test.
- An unsigned portable build is a bad trade. Skipping the installer should not mean skipping the signature, which is why nothing is offered here until the package is signed.
The Windows x64 build today
Windows · x64 portable
Signing in progressThe x64 package is unsigned, and the desktop UI and the Agent require matching, trusted signatures before they exchange a single message, so an unsigned package cannot run. There is no signed Windows artifact for testers yet, and native Windows acceptance is still outstanding.
The desktop interface and the scanning Agent refuse to exchange a message unless both sides carry matching trusted signatures. That is a deliberate protection against a tampered peer, and it is also why an unsigned portable package cannot simply be handed out early. Ask to be told when it opens.
What it does once it runs
- Pick a detected interface or type an authorised private range, then confirm before anything is sent.
- Quick, Balanced or Thorough discovery, with rows appearing while the scan is still going.
- Full ports on devices you select, priced as devices × 65,535 attempts before you confirm it.
- Evidence behind every identification, encrypted local history, and CSV or JSON export.
- No account, and Local Only results are never uploaded.
Common questions
What makes a network scanner portable?
It runs from wherever you unzip it, keeps its settings beside itself rather than across the system, and needs no installer and no administrator rights to start. Removing it means deleting the folder.
Do I need administrator rights to run a portable IP scanner?
Not for ordinary TCP discovery of a private range. You may still see a Windows firewall prompt on first run, and some deeper techniques — raw ICMP in particular — can require more privilege than a standard user account has.
Can I run it from a USB stick?
That is the intended shape of the Windows x64 build: extract the folder anywhere, including removable storage, and run it from there. Expect it to start more slowly from a slow stick than from an internal disk.
Is there a portable build for macOS?
macOS works differently: applications are already self-contained bundles, so the useful question there is notarization rather than portability. The macOS build is an Apple silicon app bundle, and Developer ID signing with notarization is the outstanding step.
Is the portable build the same scanner as the installed one?
Yes. Portable describes how it is packaged, not a reduced feature set. Discovery profiles, Full ports on selected devices, evidence, encrypted local history and export are the same.
If something here is wrong, out of date, or does not match what you see on your own machine, we would like to know. A short note beats a silent bounce.