Why can a website scan my internal network and how can I stop it?

Some malicious download sites run invisible scripts that silently scan the ports of your `localhost` (127.0.0.1) or your home network (192.168.x.x) to probe for security vulnerabilities in your local environment.

Perimeter shielding for local IPs and localhost

Browser-based port scanning is performed through local AJAX requests. AdBlock Network blocks these calls at the root. The extension makes read-only asynchronous requests to multiple independent endpoints to keep the firewall updated, blocking any outgoing web request directed to your local address at the Address layer.