I was wondering what software is available to scan my computer and network for any vunerabilities in my network?

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I am a student at Oklahoma State University persuing a degree in Information Assurance and Forensics, As of now I would say that my knowledge level is a little below par, but am very anxious to learn as much as I can about all aspects of computers and networking.

What vulnerabilities are you looking for?

Things like open ports or any other way a hacker could find his or her way into my network.

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I am a student at Oklahoma State University persuing a degree in Information Assurance and Forensics, As of now I would say that my knowledge level is a little below par, but am very anxious to learn as much as I can about all aspects of computers and networking.

Do normal anti-virus programs perform this type of function? If they don't, I definitely could use something that does because I have Norton and I have a lot of important, confidential information on my laptop.

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IT Certification Training

you can download Angry IP scanner, and scan your own IP and see if you have any open ports. The way most hackers work is through Trojan horses though, so if you haven't downloaded any suspicious files, I doubt your going to be hacked.
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This user added the following:
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Angry IP Scanner - Reviews and free Angry IP Scanner downloads at Download.com

here's the scanner

Oh ok, thanks for the reply tacotanker27. I haven't downloaded any suspicious files, nor have I had any problems so far since I got my laptop in July, but I am just paranoid about these things and very protective of the information I have on there. I will look into the Angry IP scanner. Thanks again for your help.

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IT Certification Training

Go to www.pcflank.com for a scan of your ports. Very accurate, without false positives.

Yo!