Hosts report

This report provides you with the number and type of hosts that have web servers. The hosts are categorized by domain and by operating system. The Hosts report tells you what machines are publicly accessible through your Internet or Intranet.

Why it matters

Because you might not know the physical topography of your web properties, this report will be useful when you are conducting a security assessment. Some hosts might be located in a facility where physical security is poor. This report can also help you identify rogue websites on an intranet.

Information you should know about this report

  • Hosts with no domain name are hosts that are only referred to by the IP address. Only when a host has reverse DNS information is it counted as a named host.
  • A host location shown in the report is likely that of the IP address block owner, and not the physical location of the host, unless they happen to be the same.
  • The address information provided uses WHOIS. There are some limitations with this tool and, to some extent, the information shown in this report:
    • WHOIS service might be unavailable.
    • WHOIS data might be incomplete or inaccurate; for example, Akamai uses the address of their headquarters for all the IP addresses that they support. Any Akamai host reported here would have an incorrect physical address.
    • The amount of information shown for the physical location depends on the amount of information entered in the WHOIS registry.
  • Sometimes the host name that is displayed in this report is not what you would expect. What is displayed in the report depends on whether a host name or an IP address was entered on the What to Scan page of content scan jobs. Here are the possible situations and how the display of the host name is impacted:
    • If a host name was entered whose IP address resolves to the same host name, the host name is displayed in the report.
    • If a host name was entered whose IP address resolves to a different host name, the correct host name is displayed in the report in the Reverse DNS Name column.
    • If an IP address was entered, but not a host name, and it resolves to a host name, that host name is displayed in the report.
    • If an IP address was entered that does not resolve to a host name, nothing is displayed in the report for the host name.