Port 70: Gopher
Port 70 is Gopher, a menu-driven document retrieval protocol that predates the web. It largely died out after HTTP took over in the 1990s, though a small community still runs Gopher servers today.
| Port number | 70 |
|---|---|
| Service | Gopher protocol |
| Protocol | TCP |
| Category | Legacy protocols |
| Default encryption | No |
How do I check whether port 70 is open?
Port 70 carries TCP, so a connection either completes its handshake or it does not, which makes the check definitive.
| Question | Command | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Is it open on a remote host? | nc -vz example.com 70 | A TCP handshake either completes or it does not, so netcat gives a definitive answer in one line. |
| Same check on Windows | Test-NetConnection example.com -Port 70 | Built into PowerShell. TcpTestSucceeded in the output is the answer; telnet is not installed by default on modern Windows. |
| What is listening locally? | ss -tlnp | grep ':70 ' | Lists the process bound to port 70 on Linux. On macOS use lsof -nP -iTCP:70 -sTCP:LISTEN, on Windows netstat -ano | findstr :70 |
Replace example.com with the host you are testing. A blocked port and a port with nothing listening on it look identical from the outside, so if a service should be running, check locally before blaming the firewall.
Frequently asked questions
What is port 70 used for?
Port 70 is Gopher, a menu-driven document retrieval protocol that predates the web. It largely died out after HTTP took over in the 1990s, though a small community still runs Gopher servers today.
Is port 70 TCP or UDP?
Port 70 (Gopher) uses TCP.
Is port 70 secure?
Port 70 is not encrypted by default. Where possible, use an encrypted alternative or tunnel it over TLS or a VPN.
Should I open port 70 on my firewall?
Only if you specifically need Gopher. Expose it to the smallest set of trusted sources, and never open database or Windows-service ports to the whole internet.