External PC Scan

How should I go about doing an external PC scan of my ports (open or closed), and for vulnerabilities? Is doing the scan online from PC Flank the same as doing it using another PC? Which is better, and what will I need to connect the PCs together?
I'm under the impression that all I would need is a single cable, but am unsure of what settings would be needed on each PC to ensure that they talk to one another. I would need to know the best software to accomplish this task. Could someone give a detailed answer please.

 

oops. Dern tab browsing. Wrong forum and not enough sleep.

 

Does anyone know how to do what I have asked? A link or search term that brings up good results. I have looked, and have posted to other forums but have received nothing useful.

Thanks.

 

Sorry about my first post...or lack of. Let me try again.

If you are connected to the Internet via high-speed then all most scan will see is the IP of the modem and its` open ports, not your PC. Doing a scan from one PC to another within a LAN will show the being tested PCs IP, and if a software firewall is not employed and properly configured will show open ports.

A single ethernet cable, a NIC on each PC, and if you are running XP on at least on of the PCs then the Internet Connection Wizard can do the rest.

 

Scanning between 2 PC`s can give you better options for the type of scans to make. A good tool for this is nmap. You will need to take some time to check out the help files.

For checking firewalls and its ability to filter, you can use a packet creation program. 2 examples (both are free):-
Packet Excalibur
Colasoft packet builder

For your PC setup\connection, if you dont have a router, then use a cable as mentioned by "ThunderZ". You can just place a fixed IP in both PC`s to place them on the same network (example: 192.168.1.100 in one PC and 192.168.1.200 in the other)

 

here read up an article I wrote to support my client base:

Are you sure you're firewall is protecting you?