Traceroute on Windows and Linux

Did you know that the Linux version of traceroute uses UDP packets with various TTLs instead of ICMP echo requests by default? I sure didn't, but thinking about it is a very smart way to do it. My only question would be: doesn't this interfere with the operation of a server if you happen to choose a destination port which is listening for UDP packets? For me this seems a little hackish to do and in the future I'll make sure that I use the ICMP echo requests under Linux.

• A discussion on the friends in tech forum about the topic
• A short presentation abou the topic by the PaulDotCom guys
• Episode 46 of the PaulDotCom podcast in which they discuss this topic