Port 9999Urchin Analytics

Urchin Web Analytics is a discontinued web traffic analysis software suite, historically used to analyze web server log files and provide insightful reports on website visitors, behaviors, and traffic sources. It was a popular tool for webmasters and marketers before being acquired and eventually phased out by Google in favor of Google Analytics. Port 9999 was often utilized in default setups for the Urchin administrative console or remote data collection agents..

transport
unknown

single transport

in transit
cleartext

payload readable on path

assignment
unofficial

used by convention

risk
4/10

caution

lookups
13,751

rank 258 of 993 · top 26%

2 other services are registered on port 9999. compare all 3

Technical Details

what runs on :9999

Overview:

Urchin Web Analytics is legacy software designed to analyze server log files for website visitor trends, search engine activity, and marketing campaign efficacy. It supports the collection and processing of raw log data or JavaScript-based page-tagging data, providing detailed insights through customizable reports.

Port Usage:

Port 9999 is not an officially assigned port but became a common default for Urchin's administrative HTTP service or data collector agents while running on the host system. This high port number reduced risk of collision with standard services. The port facilitated remote management and data retrieval, communicating either over HTTP or proprietary protocols, depending on deployment specifics.

Service Status:

Given Urchin’s discontinuation and the unofficial nature of port 9999, it generally sees minimal legitimate traffic on modern networks. Its presence today often signals outdated infrastructures or repurposed usages unrelated to analytics.

Security Information

exposure of :9999

risk score

4/ 10caution

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

web services averages 3.9 across 112 ports — this one sits 0.1 above.

in transit

cleartext

credentials and payloads are readable by anyone on path

assignment

unofficial

used by convention, not registered — what answers here varies by deployment

reachable over

unknown

every listening transport is another surface to filter at the edge

security overview

Common vulnerabilities:

  • Use of unofficial and high-numbered ports often escapes basic scanning, making systems obscure but not secure.
  • Historical lack of encryption can expose credentials or analytics data in transit.
  • Outdated Urchin installations may have unpatched software vulnerabilities, susceptible to exploit or privilege escalation.
  • Potential for service hijacking if the port is exposed and misconfigured.

Mitigations:

  • Decommission all obsolete Urchin analytics instances and replace with supported solutions.
  • Implement strict access controls, including firewall rules restricting port 9999 to authorized hosts.
  • Employ network segmentation and monitoring to detect anomalous traffic related to port 9999.
  • If legacy systems remain operational, wrap communications in VPN tunnels or use reverse proxies with enforced TLS encryption.
  • Regularly scan external and internal attack surfaces to identify and remediate unexpected open services.

the 8 most looked-up other ports in web services — 112 ports carry that label.

risk mix of the 8 listed

  • safe13%
  • caution88%

0 of 8 encrypted