Usage Examples

This section provides examples for common scans combining the available command options. All commands below assume a valid license key is configured.

Network Security Assessment

Scan remote hosts and networks to identify TLS configurations, detect post-quantum vulnerable cipher suites, and assess quantum readiness across your infrastructure. Supports CIDR ranges, multiple hosts, and comprehensive cipher enumeration.

Windows POWERSHELL:

# Comprehensive network scan with PQC detection
.\certscanner-windows-amd64.exe -host 192.168.1.0/24 -ports 443,22,8443,993,995 -cipherscanquick -outputformat html

# Quick security assessment
.\certscanner-windows-amd64.exe -host example.com,mail.example.com -quickscan -outputformat json

# Resource-friendly cipher scan (low CPU usage)
.\certscanner-windows-amd64.exe -host example.com -cipherscanquick -cputhrottle low -outputformat json

# Generate CBOM for compliance
.\certscanner-windows-amd64.exe -host example.com -cipherscanquick -outputformat cbom -output compliance-report.cbom.json

Linux BASH:

# Comprehensive network scan with PQC detection
./certscanner-linux-x64 -host 192.168.1.0/24 -ports 443,22,8443,993,995 -cipherscanquick -outputformat html

# Quick security assessment
./certscanner-linux-x64 -host example.com,mail.example.com -quickscan -outputformat json

# Resource-friendly cipher scan (low CPU usage)
./certscanner-linux-x64 -host example.com -cipherscanquick -cputhrottle low -outputformat json

# Generate CBOM for compliance
./certscanner-linux-x64 -host example.com -cipherscanquick -outputformat cbom -output compliance-report.cbom.json

macOS BASH:

# Comprehensive network scan with PQC detection
./certscanner-darwin-amd64 -host 192.168.1.0/24 -ports 443,22,8443,993,995 -cipherscanquick -outputformat html

# Quick security assessment
./certscanner-darwin-amd64 -host example.com,mail.example.com -quickscan -outputformat json

# Resource-friendly cipher scan (low CPU usage)
./certscanner-darwin-amd64 -host example.com -cipherscanquick -cputhrottle low -outputformat json

# Generate CBOM for compliance
./certscanner-darwin-amd64 -host example.com -cipherscanquick -outputformat cbom -output compliance-report.cbom.json

Local System Audit

Inventory all certificates and cryptographic libraries on the local system. Scans certificate stores, filesystem paths, running process memory, Outlook archives (PST/OST), and active TLS connections. Ideal for endpoint compliance and vulnerability assessment.

Windows POWERSHELL:

# Complete system audit
.\certscanner-windows-amd64.exe -mode local -scanfilesystem -scanmemory -scanconnected -scanoutlookarchives -outputformat html

# Focus on cryptographic libraries
.\certscanner-windows-amd64.exe -mode local -scanmemory -outputformat flatndjson

# Certificate inventory
.\certscanner-windows-amd64.exe -mode local -scanfilesystem -outputformat cbom

Linux BASH:

# Complete system audit
./certscanner-linux-x64 -mode local -scanfilesystem -scanmemory -scanconnected -scanoutlookarchives -outputformat html

# Focus on cryptographic libraries
./certscanner-linux-x64 -mode local -scanmemory -outputformat flatndjson

# Certificate inventory
./certscanner-linux-x64 -mode local -scanfilesystem -outputformat cbom

macOS BASH:

# Complete system audit
./certscanner-darwin-amd64 -mode local -scanfilesystem -scanconnected -scanoutlookarchives -outputformat html

# Certificate inventory
./certscanner-darwin-amd64 -mode local -scanfilesystem -outputformat cbom

# Note: Memory scanning not available on macOS

SIEM Integration

Stream scan results directly to security information and event management (SIEM) platforms. Supports Elasticsearch, Splunk, Kafka, and native Windows EventLog. Use flat NDJSON format for log aggregators and real-time streaming for monitoring dashboards.

Windows POWERSHELL:

# Stream to Elasticsearch
.\certscanner-windows-amd64.exe -host example.com -posttoelastic -elasticnode "https://elastic.company.com:9200" -elasticapikey "key"

# Stream to Kafka (real-time events)
.\certscanner-windows-amd64.exe -host example.com -posttokafka -kafkabrokers "kafka1:9092,kafka2:9092" -kafkatopic "crypto-events"

# Windows EventLog integration
.\certscanner-windows-amd64.exe -mode local -outputformat eventlog

# Flat format for log aggregation
.\certscanner-windows-amd64.exe -host example.com -outputformat flatndjson -output C:\logs\crypto-scan.ndjson

Linux BASH:

# Stream to Elasticsearch
./certscanner-linux-x64 -host example.com -posttoelastic -elasticnode "https://elastic.company.com:9200" -elasticapikey "key"

# Stream to Kafka (real-time events)
./certscanner-linux-x64 -host example.com -posttokafka -kafkabrokers "kafka1:9092,kafka2:9092" -kafkatopic "crypto-events"

# Flat format for log aggregation
./certscanner-linux-x64 -host example.com -outputformat flatndjson -output /var/log/crypto-scan.ndjson

macOS BASH:

# Stream to Elasticsearch
./certscanner-darwin-amd64 -host example.com -posttoelastic -elasticnode "https://elastic.company.com:9200" -elasticapikey "key"

# Stream to Kafka (real-time events)
./certscanner-darwin-amd64 -host example.com -posttokafka -kafkabrokers "kafka1:9092,kafka2:9092" -kafkatopic "crypto-events"

# Flat format for log aggregation
./certscanner-darwin-amd64 -host example.com -outputformat flatndjson -output /var/log/crypto-scan.ndjson

Secure Configuration (FIPS 140-3)

Securely store API keys, credentials, and secrets using FIPS 140-3 certified encryption. Configure once with the -config flag to encrypt and save credentials locally, then run scans without exposing sensitive data in command-line arguments or environment variables.

Windows POWERSHELL:

# One-time credential setup (FIPS 140-3 encrypted storage)
# Example: Configuring Elasticsearch integration
.\certscanner-windows-amd64.exe -config `
  -config-elasticnode "https://elastic.company.com:9200" `
  -config-elasticapikey "your-elastic-api-key"

# Simplified usage afterwards - credentials loaded automatically
.\certscanner-windows-amd64.exe -host example.com -posttoelastic -elasticindex "production"

Linux BASH:

# One-time credential setup (FIPS 140-3 encrypted storage)
# Example: Configuring Elasticsearch integration
./certscanner-linux-x64 -config \
  -config-elasticnode "https://elastic.company.com:9200" \
  -config-elasticapikey "your-elastic-api-key"

# Simplified usage afterwards - credentials loaded automatically
./certscanner-linux-x64 -host example.com -posttoelastic -elasticindex "production"

macOS BASH:

# One-time credential setup (FIPS 140-3 encrypted storage)
# Example: Configuring Elasticsearch integration
./certscanner-darwin-amd64 -config \
  -config-elasticnode "https://elastic.company.com:9200" \
  -config-elasticapikey "your-elastic-api-key"

# Simplified usage afterwards - credentials loaded automatically
./certscanner-darwin-amd64 -host example.com -posttoelastic -elasticindex "production"

Output Features: Split Outputs & Detail Levels

Control output organization and size with split outputs (separate files per dataset) and detail levels (reduce verbosity). Perfect for real-time monitoring, bandwidth-constrained environments, and SIEM integration.

Windows

# Split outputs - separate files per dataset
.\certscanner-windows-amd64.exe -mode local -split-outputs -output report.json

# Result: Creates 8 separate files (skips empty datasets)
#   report_quantum.json, report_network.json, report_memory.json, etc.

# Minimal detail level - ~60-70% size reduction
.\certscanner-windows-amd64.exe -mode local -detail-level minimal -output report.json

# Combined: Maximum efficiency for real-time monitoring
.\certscanner-windows-amd64.exe -mode local -split-outputs -detail-level minimal -output report.json

# Standard detail for SIEM integration (~30-40% smaller)
.\certscanner-windows-amd64.exe -host example.com -split-outputs -detail-level standard -output report.json

# Keep both split and consolidated files
.\certscanner-windows-amd64.exe -mode local -split-outputs -keep-consolidated -output report.json

Linux

# Split outputs - separate files per dataset
./certscanner-linux-x64 -mode local -split-outputs -output report.json

# Minimal detail level - ~60-70% size reduction
./certscanner-linux-x64 -mode local -detail-level minimal -output report.json

# Combined: Maximum efficiency for real-time monitoring
./certscanner-linux-x64 -mode local -split-outputs -detail-level minimal -output report.json

# Standard detail for SIEM integration (~30-40% smaller)
./certscanner-linux-x64 -host example.com -split-outputs -detail-level standard -output report.json

# Keep both split and consolidated files
./certscanner-linux-x64 -mode local -split-outputs -keep-consolidated -output report.json

macOS

# Split outputs - separate files per dataset
./certscanner-darwin-arm64 -mode local -split-outputs -output report.json

# Minimal detail level - ~60-70% size reduction
./certscanner-darwin-arm64 -mode local -detail-level minimal -output report.json

# Combined: Maximum efficiency for real-time monitoring
./certscanner-darwin-arm64 -mode local -split-outputs -detail-level minimal -output report.json

# Standard detail for SIEM integration (~30-40% smaller)
./certscanner-darwin-arm64 -host example.com -split-outputs -detail-level standard -output report.json

# Keep both split and consolidated files
./certscanner-darwin-arm64 -mode local -split-outputs -keep-consolidated -output report.json