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 available now as an unsigned public beta.
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.
- The portable beta is unsigned. SmartScreen warns on first run, and without signatures the desktop app and its Agent cannot verify each other, so it is less isolated than the signed Microsoft Store version that is planned.
The Windows x64 build today
Windows · x64 portable
Available · 0.8.0-betaPublic beta, unsigned. SmartScreen warns on first run (More info → Run anyway). Without signatures, the desktop app and its Agent cannot verify each other, so this build is less isolated than the Microsoft Store version will be.
A signed build lets the desktop interface and the scanning Agent check each other’s signature before they exchange a message. The unsigned beta relies instead on both programs running from the same folder. Download it, with its checksum.
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, local scan 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, local scan 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.