While it is possible to configure the dial up connection to redial whenever the connection gets dropped, it is sometimes better to prevent it from being dropped in the first place.

That’s where software like Connection Keeper come into play. Those programs all use the same methodology to keep the connection alive: Create artificial network traffic.

connection keeper

The program can be configured to request a nonexistent url or an url from a list of configured sites. The first option uses less bandwidth, but may not be enough to keep the connection alive. This depends on the ISP and needs to be tested by the dial up user.

Connection parameters like query interval in minutes, timeout and delay can be configured in the main interface as well. The program supports error logs and an option to email errors to an email address.

Connection Keeper supports all configured dial up connections in Windows.

The application offers several features on top of the keep alive functionality. For one, it can be configured to automatically close popup windows that display a notification to the user asking whether to keep the connection alive. Several methods can be used to automatically deal with those popup windows, including sending a simulated button click, keystrokes or a direct Windows message.

Several command line parameters are available, for instance to test download a web page and report errors that may have occurred, good for troubleshooting the Internet connection.

Finally, Connection Keeper offers monitoring as well. It can monitor web sites and DNS records, and create error reports whenever an error is recorded.

Connection Keeper is a sophisticated free software for the Windows operating system that can be used to keep a dial up connection alive. It is fully compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows 95 to Windows 7. The program is available for download at the developer website.

Dial Up users need to transfer data between the local computer and the Internet to keep the connection alive. This can be done manually by refreshing a website every other minute or by using dial up software like Connection Keeper that operates in the background performing the task to keep the connection alive.

Connection Keeper simulates a web browser loading an Internet page every two minutes. Two minutes is the default value which can be changed in the options. The software program can either query existing websites that have been added to the application by the user or simulate the traffic only without querying a real website.

Keep Connection Alive

Connection Keeper provides access to a few features that customize the process further. The user can pick a duration in hours that he wants Connection Keeper to run and decided if the application should terminate the Internet connection after that time.

The same window contains options to set the maximum query time for each request and error reporting which can be set to log errors to a file or to email errors to a recipient.

It comes with a few skins and an option to manually request a query to keep the connection alive. Best of all it is only using 1.5 Megabytes of computer memory in minimized state. Connection Keeper runs on all Microsoft operating systems from Windows 98 to Windows Vista.