The network activity icon was used by Microsoft in pre-Windows 7 operating systems to indicate network activity in the Windows System Tray. Windows users who have switched to Windows 7 may have noticed that this network activity indicator was removed in the operating system so that no visual indication of network activity is shown to the user.
The free portable program Network Activity Indicator brings back the “two-monitor” icon in the System Tray go give the user a visual indication of computer network activity.
It will display the network activity icon in the System Tray upon startup. A right-click on the icon displays a host of options including a link to the program’s settings to change the design of the icons from XP to Vista style. The settings can also be used to change the traffic that is indicated.
The Network Activity Indicator by default will display traffic from all network adapters. This can be changed to display the traffic of only a selected adapter. It is furthermore possible to define the traffic type. Only TCP packets are indicated by default. The indicator can be switched to UDP or ICMP packets instead or a combination of the three.
The right-click menu contains links to other options as well. It is for instance possible to open network statistics, Windows Firewall Settings, Network Sharing Center and other network related settings and options.
The program uses roughly 4 Megabytes of computer memory while running which should be fairly acceptable for users who like to see the activity indicator icon in Windows 7. The program, including its source code, is available for download at the developer’s website.
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Love it. Now I can see download/upload totals for the session without going into menu.
Thanks for this. Very handy to have.
Where’s the download button?