How can I enumerate NetBIOS shares on a Windows machine using command-line tools

Question

I’m trying to list available NetBIOS shares on a Windows machine for network analysis purposes. Are there specific command-line tools or commands that I can use to enumerate these shares effectively? I’ve heard that certain Windows commands or network utilities might help, but I’m not sure which ones are best for this task.

Any examples of command usage or steps to perform effective NetBIOS enumeration would be helpful.

Answer 1

In order to enumerate NetBIOS shares on a Windows machine using command-line tools, here are some effective methods:

1. Net View:

The net view command lists shared resources on a remote or local system.

net view \\<target_ip_or_hostname>

This will display the available NetBIOS shares on the specified machine.

2. Net Share:

The net share command lists all the shares available on the local machine.

net share

This shows the shares set up on your own machine.

3. NBTStat:

The nbtstat command is used to gather information about NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT).

nbtstat -A <target_ip>

This gives detailed information about the NetBIOS name table on the target machine, which can help identify shared resources.

4. PowerShell (Get-WmiObject):

Using PowerShell, you can query shared folders remotely.

Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Share -ComputerName <target_ip>

This provides a list of shared folders on the remote machine, including the name and path of each share.

5. NBTScan:

NBTScan is a tool that scans a range of IP addresses for active NetBIOS shares.

nbtscan <target_range>

This tool is useful for network-wide enumeration of NetBIOS shares.

Comments

Using PowerShell’s Get-WmiObject is a powerful method, but it assumes the target machine allows remote WMI queries. Highlighting the importance of configuring proper firewall rules or authentication settings for remote access could make this more actionable.