Port 754Tell Send

Port 754, commonly known as Tell Send, is historically associated with legacy UNIX-based messaging utilities. It enables simple message passing between users on networked systems, primarily used in academic or internal organizational environments. While largely obsolete today, it represents an early form of network communication predating modern instant messaging and collaboration tools..

transport
tcp

single transport

in transit
cleartext

payload readable on path

assignment
official

registered with iana

risk
4/10

caution

lookups
4,904

rank 929 of 993 · top 94%

1 other service is registered on port 754. compare all 2

Technical Details

what runs on :754

Port 754 was traditionally assigned to Tell Send, a lightweight service enabling users on UNIX and similar systems to transmit short text notifications between terminals on a network. This functionality supported administrative messaging and informal notifications in multi-user computing infrastructures.

Technically, Tell Send operates over TCP, establishing direct socket connections to facilitate text transfer. The implementation is straightforward, often relying on underlying operating system functions related to user sessions, without complex session management or encryption. Such simplicity made it easy to develop and integrate within early networked environments.

Today, this protocol is largely obsolete, replaced by secure, feature-rich messaging systems (e.g., SSH messaging, email, chat platforms). However, awareness of its existence remains relevant during legacy system audits and in forensic analyses of unusual traffic on non-standard ports.

Security Information

exposure of :754

risk score

4/ 10caution

worth attention. how exposed you are depends on configuration — don't leave it reachable from the internet without a reason.

network services averages 3.9 across 604 ports — this one sits 0.1 above.

in transit

cleartext

credentials and payloads are readable by anyone on path

assignment

official

registered with iana for this service — scanners fingerprint it by number

reachable over

tcp

every listening transport is another surface to filter at the edge

security overview

Common vulnerabilities:

  • Lack of authentication or encryption, making message contents visible to network sniffing.
  • Susceptibility to spoofing or unauthorized message injection.
  • Possibility of abuse for information gathering or social engineering.

Common mitigations:

  • Disable or block port 754 unless explicitly required.
  • Use modern, authenticated messaging protocols with encryption.
  • Apply network segmentation and strict access controls.
  • Monitor for unauthorized attempts to access or utilize this port, raising alerts on legacy service traffic.

the 8 most looked-up other ports in network services — 604 ports carry that label.

risk mix of the 8 listed

  • caution100%

0 of 8 encrypted