# Terminal 2 – connect as a client > echo Hello world! | winpc-nc.exe 127.0.0.1 9999 You should see Hello world! appear in the first terminal. If it does, the binary is functional and you’ve confirmed basic networking works. | Concern | Recommendation | |---------|----------------| | Running as Administrator | WinPC‑NC does not require elevated privileges for normal client/listener use. Only use elevated rights if you must bind to ports < 1024 . | | Firewall prompts | Windows Defender Firewall will usually ask whether to allow inbound connections for winpc-nc.exe . Allow only on private networks (or create a rule that limits the allowed ports). | | Malware‑free | Because it’s a single binary, treat it like any other executable: scan with up‑to‑date antivirus before first run. | | Logging | If you plan to use it in production scripts, redirect output to a log file so you can audit traffic patterns. | | Legal/Policy compliance | Use it only on systems you own or for which you have explicit permission. Scanning or connecting to external hosts without consent can violate policy or law. | | Version control | Keep the binary and its hash in a version‑controlled repository (e.g., a private Git repo) if you rely on it in CI/CD pipelines. This prevents accidental upgrades to a malicious fork. | 7. Quick Reference Cheat Sheet | Command | What it does | |---------|--------------| | winpc-nc.exe host port | Connect to host : port (TCP) and forward stdin/stdout. | | winpc-nc.exe -u host port | Same as above, but uses UDP . | | winpc-nc.exe -l -p 4444 | Listen on local port 4444 (TCP). | | winpc-nc.exe -lu -p 4444 | Listen on local port 4444 (UDP). | | winpc-nc.exe -z -v -n 10.0.0.5 20-30 | Zero‑I/O scan ( -z ) with verbose output ( -v ) on ports 20‑30. | | winpc-nc.exe -e cmd.exe 192.168.1.100 4444 | Execute cmd.exe and bind its I/O to a remote socket (use cautiously ). | | winpc-nc.exe -L -p 5555 -e powershell.exe | Listen and spawn PowerShell on each incoming connection (again, only on systems you control). |

> winpc-nc.exe -h You should see the help screen with the list of options. That’s it – no registry entries, no services, nothing else to configure. Run a simple “echo server” test on your own machine:

# Terminal 1 – start a listener on port 9999 > winpc-nc.exe -l -p 9999 Open another Command Prompt: