" Network tools " means talking about programs, sometimes simple and sometimes more complex, which are used to control the network resources connected to your PC and to improve internet performance. They can have multiple uses both in corporate environments and in the configuration of home PC connections.
This very special list of free programs lists some tools to solve speed problems, for network management, for security, for file sharing, for sniffing and more.
These tools are also light, often portable, which can also be copied to a USB stick and which do not take up more than 10 MB of disk space.
1) eTools is a great little program with a complete suite of tools to monitor a network in all its aspects. Even if it is in English and it has a very Spartan graphic interface which can be not very "user friendly" if you don't have a minimum of knowledge on Networking terminology. For example, the program can display the IP addresses (both local and external) of all the PCs that are connected to the same router, it can detect MAC addresses, execute commands such as ping or traceroute on specific network addresses.
It is also possible to set up a proxy on your computer in which to pass the internet connection from other devices, to capture packets and to configure the Wake-On-Lan, that is to turn on the computer remotely.
For simpler programs, in another article I had listed programs for scanning a network to find connected computers and how it is theoretically possible to Enter PCs and see the shared folders of other computers.
2) DNS Jumper is instead a tool that I recommend everyone to use to improve online security, free the internet from geographical restrictions and improve browsing speed. DNS Jumper not only allows you to easily change the DNS, but also to choose the faster one, suggesting alternative addresses to the default one of your provider.
3) NetCrunch Network Tools is a large collection of network tools, all of which can be freely used to manage and diagnose the internet connection and connections between computers.
To use the program you just need to create an account with an email address (even bogus), then it is free and worth the effort.
Among the most useful network tools are:
- Ping
- Traceroute, to trace the path from the local computer to the host or IP address).
- Wake on LAN, to switch on a networked PC)
- DNS info
- WhoIs to find out who a site or domain is.
- DNS audit to identify DNS errors.
- MAC Resolver, to scan Mac addresses for each IP address.
- Subnet Calculator, to quickly perform Subnet calculations.
- Ping Scanner, to scan a range of IP addresses.
- Network Services Scanner
- Scanner doors to see if they are open
4) WinPcap is the tool to make a Windows computer capable of capturing packets on the network. By intercepting the traffic passing through a network it is possible to spy on and control which sites are visited by other computers without having to install on these other programs. After installing WinPCap, other programs can be used to read the captured data in different ways.
You can read, in other articles, how to sniff the PC network and intercept internet traffic and passwords and how to enter a protected wifi network to capture packets and spy on what you do on the internet
5) CloseTheDoor Portable is a very small protection tool that lists all the ports, protocols, processes, Windows services and much more that uses the internet connection. It can therefore be checked whether any virus or unauthorized software is exchanging data on the internet externally and blocking it.
If Closethedoor is not intuitive to use, you may prefer a clearer and graphically cured program such as Connection Watcher or CurrPorts, listed in the article on how to see connections, ports and use of the internet
6) BlueLife Hosts Editor is a small program to more easily edit the Hosts file which contains addresses to block them or to identify them as safe. Just launch the program to view the HOSTS file on your computer and add or remove entries according to your needs. If you want to block navigation on a specific site, there is also the "Flush DNS" button to make the change immediately active.
7. Network Activity Indicator is a very small tool that brings back the Windows XP network icon in Windows 7. This icon, visible underneath near the clock, allows you to read, by moving the mouse cursor over it, the amount of data downloaded and exchanged on the internet so as to know the traffic data at all times.
8) RemoteRebootX is a small program that is used to restart a computer on the network, remotely.
9) HFS is a small tool to share files and folders on the network that also allows you to create a file server. If the computer is accessible remotely, all files shared with HFS are downloadable from any other computer.
In another article, some other programs to create a file server "in the cloud" accessible via the internet (and therefore not only on the network).
10) Simple IP Config is used to quickly change network addresses to connect. If you use a laptop both at home and in other places or offices, it may be necessary to change the IP addresses, the proxy, the gateway, the subnet mask and other parameters every time.
To keep these configurations in memory and select them when they are needed quickly, you can use this small tool or, if you prefer, other tools to change the IP and network profile.
11) Fast Software Audit is a small ultra-compact Windows tool that scans programs installed on other connected computers. From one location, it is possible to inventory all the software used on the other PCs in the home or office, connected to the same router.
I am aware that, without having any knowledge of "networks", it can be complicated to use these programs which, however simple, still require some experience.
In other articles you can read some more theoretical guides about:
- How to set fixed and static IP address;
- Create a server on your computer to share resources on the internet
- Tests and ways to improve the quality of the internet connection
- Programs for network analysis between PCs and diagnostics of connectivity problems
- Faster connection and lower network latency by reducing the connection time (Ping)
