To make specific applications work correctly, you must find the correct number to open a port. If you are wondering how you are supposed to find your port number, this guide, How to Find MyPort Numbers, makes it easy to do so.

How to Find MyPort Numbers: Guide for Beginners

A port number is used to identify a process or application on a network. Although 65,535 ports exist, not all of them are used daily. In fact, port numbers from 0 to 1023 are reserved for well-known companies such as Apple and File Transfer Protocol (FTP).

 

Knowing how to find your port numbers can be beneficial in having more control over software, especially regarding security. For example, if you can’t connect to the internet with a specific application, you will want to check your ports and see if they need to be opened or closed.

 

Are IP Address and Port Number Same?

While ports work with IP addresses to direct traffic channels, both are different. An IP address has its own numerical value assigned to the network using an Internet Service Provider (ISP) for communication and location.

 

Ports are like a switch that can set which traffic can access and those that do not. They are used to grant access to run an application or even connect to a server. Closing off ports from a specific destination will prevent users from being able to access it.

 

The port number is an extension of an IP address. For instance, your device’s IP address is 256.256.256.11.1. The Secure Shell port number is 22, which will append to the end of your IP address to appear 256.256.256.11.22.

 

The following section will talk about how to find myport numbers on Windows and Mac:

Note that netstat the command line is a useful tool for this.

How to Find Port Numbers on Windows

1. Input “cmd” in the search bar.
2. Open Command Prompt.
3. Enter “netstat -a”.
4. Press enter to view your open port numbers.

 

How to Find Port Numbers on Mac

1. Input “terminal” in the search bar.
2. Open Terminal.
3. Enter “netstat -a | grep -i “listen”” command.
4. Press enter to view the list of open ports.

 

How to Find Port Numbers on Linux

1. Input “cmd” in the search box.
2. Open Command Prompt
3. Enter “netstat -a”.
4. Press enter to view your open port numbers.

 

How to Find a Port Number from IP Address

1. Open the Chrome Browser
2. Open Developer Tools in the Chrome Browser.
3. Input the URL address in the search bar.
4. Press enter.
5. Look at the network tab, which shows the IP Address and the port number.

 

How to Find if a Port Number is Open for Windows

1. Enable Telenet via Windows Features.
2. Open Command Prompt.
3. Enter ipconfig and press.
4. Obtain an IP address.
5. Input “telenet” and press enter.
6. Input your IP address and any port number you want to see if they are open.
7. The port is open if the message says to enter or continue.

 

How to Find if a Port Number is Open for Mac

1. Input “terminal” in the search bar.
2. Open Terminal.
3. Input “netstat -nr | grep default” and enter.
4. Input NC -vz (your IP address) (any port number).
5. If the message says the connection succeeded, the port is open.

 

How to Use a Port Scanner?

A port scanner simply looks into a host or server to find open ports. It is generally used by server administrators for security purposes to ensure ports are closed (and for hackers, any open ports). Pentest and IPVoid are both the best free port scanners to use.