How to audit open network ports across remote clients using PowerShell and log results. Unmonitored network ports are open doors for attackers, leaving your remote clients vulnerable to exploitation. Today, we'll show you how to audit open network ports using PowerShell to secure your endpoints. Before we begin, be sure to subscribe to NinjaOne's IT Video Hub and our YouTube channel for more tech content like this. The risks of unmonitored network ports. An unmonitored port exposed to the internet is a significant security risk. Regularly performing an audit open network ports routine is important for enforcing security policies and ensuring only approved services are active. Whether you're deploying new hardware or conducting maintenance, visibility is your first line of defense. PowerShell methods for port auditing. Native Windows commands offer the fastest way to audit open network ports without extra software. Use Get-NetTCPConnection to filter for ports in a listen state. Use Get-NetUdpeEndpoint to capture connectionless UDP listeners, often missed. Combine both commands into a single script to export audit results to a CSV report. Scale the process using Invoke-Command to query thousands of remote clients simultaneously. Centralized logging and registry tracking. For long-term monitoring, you can log the results of your audit open network ports directly into the Windows registry. By writing the timestamp and total port count to a custom HKLM key, you create a permanent status record. Central monitoring tools can then read these values to trigger alerts when port counts exceed your baseline. Advanced hardening with GPO and scaling. Standardizing your environment ensures your audit open network ports results remain consistent and secure. Deploy group policy objects to centrally manage and enforce inbound firewall rules. Block high-risk protocols like SMBv1 and unauthorized RDP access across all endpoints. Filter out local loopback addresses 127.0.0.1 to focus only on network-exposed risks. Ensure PowerShell remoting, WinRM, is enabled via GPO to maintain seamless remote PowerShell execution. In an era of remote work, the need to audit open network ports has never been more critical for reducing your attack surface. These PowerShell scripts provide the visibility needed to identify vulnerabilities before they are exploited. Stay one step ahead of potential breaches by standardizing your port management and logging. For more information, check out our official blog post on how to audit open network ports across remote clients using PowerShell and log results linked in the description below.