Moo0 FileMonitor is a free file monitoring software for the Windows operating system. The program is available as a portable version and installer.

File access is monitored on all hard drives by default, with options to filter the storage devices and file access operations at the top.

It is for instance possible to select a specific drive for monitoring, and select one or multiple file operations. Available operations are file creations, modifications, renaming and deletion. A user could use the program to monitor file creations on the c: drive, or file deletions on another drive.

filemonitor

The program displays all operations in its main interface, sorted by time, with options to stop and resume the recording of data at anytime.

Table headers are available to sort the recorded file operations by time, type of change, file name, size, folder or extension.

Statistics and additional controls are displayed in the footer of the program. The disk usage is displayed as a percentage value and a graph, and the read and write bandwidth is displayed there as well.

It is possible to save the recorded information to a log file in HTM format, to process it in another application at a later time, or as proof of the changes on the system.

The View menu contains options to change the file monitor’s update frequency, from the resource intensive real time monitoring to one minute or more. Logs are also limited by 2000 entries by default, which can be changed to a value between 100 and 20000 in the View menu as well.

Moo0 FileMonitor could use filtering options, to monitor only specific directories or exclude directories and files from being monitored by the application. A search would also come in handy.

The file monitor is compatible with most 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Microsoft Windows operating system. Both the portable version and the installer are available for download at the developer website.

This aids the user in keeping an eye on files that grow over time. Examples are log files, mailboxes or caches.

Users can add files in several ways. It is possible to pick individual files using the file browser or by selecting a folder instead. All files of the selected folder are added to the list of monitored files then automatically.

size matters

All files are listed with their file name, path, size in Bytes, Kilobytes, Megabytes and Gigabytes. The list view can be sorted by clicking on the header of each column, that way it is possible to display the biggest culprits directly.

Size Matters can be configured to automatically refresh the listing every x minutes. Selected rows can be exported into a csv file to work with the information in another program or store them as backup.

The application currently has a few shortcomings. It for instance does not have an option to react on file size changes. This could be something as simple as playing an alarm sound to advanced features like running external programs.

Size Matters does not update the list with new files that are added in folders that have been previously added to the program. This makes it impossible to monitor a download folder for instance, as the program fails to add the new files to the list.

This option could be combined with the ability to set rules for folders, like setting a maximum size limit for a folder, again with alarms that go off if the limit is reached.

Size Matters has been created by a Donation Coder member, you can visit the initial forum thread here or visit the developer’s website directly to download the software.

The Folder Spy is a handy portable software program for Windows that can be used to monitor specific folders and their files.

Folder Spy offers several advanced features despite its tiny file size of 50 Kilobytes that can make it interesting for users looking for a folder monitor for Windows.

Folders can be added with a click on the Add item link in the main interface. Here it is possible to select a folder from the file browser, specify file filters and a program that should be executed whenever changes are noticed.

The file filter can be used to monitor only specific file types or file names in the selected folder while the program that can be executed could be used to automatically react on folder changes. A possible scenario would be to monitor a temp directory and run a temp cleaner on that directory regularly with the folder monitor.

Adding folders to the folder monitoring tool leads to a confusing situation. The settings window will remain open after adding folders to it. This window displays all the folders that are monitored while the main program window, which looks just like the settings window, will only display changes in the monitored folders.

The program lists all changes made in the monitored folder for a period of 30 seconds in its interface. It is possible to save the information to a log file in that time. The Folder Spy does lack settings to adjust the interval in which the files are cleared from the interface. There is also no option to automatically save all changes to a file.

This limits the use of the program as the user needs to actively monitor the program window to see the changes in the monitored folders.

TheFolderSpy can be downloaded from the developer’s website.

Disk Pulse is initially configured to monitor file changes of the main hard drive of the computer system. It is possible to add, edit or delete locations easily from the main interface that lists all monitored directories.

Each file that is changed will be displayed with the time, date and full path in the interface as well giving the user an overview of the file operations in those monitored directories.

The lower third of the program interface displays statistics about the file changes. Here it is possible to categorize the file changes by extension, change type, username, file size or file date.

Disk Pulse displays the subcategories, file count, total file size and the percentage of changes that it makes up.

One interesting aspect here is that the files that are displayed in the interface change depending on the user’s category selection.

Some possibilities include displaying only large files that have been changed, files that have been changed by a specific user or files with a specific extension that have been changed.

The disk monitoring software supports profiles that can be used to monitor different directories or events more easily and with less noise.

Other interesting features include the ability to export and import configurations, configure a proxy server, use keyboard shortcuts or change the level of information that are displayed in Disk Pulse.

Disk Pulse can be downloaded from the developer’s website. The software is offered as a 32-bit and 64-bit edition. There are also pro and ultimate versions of the program which add functionality but need to be purchased.

Say a user is surfing the web and suddenly the system informs him that an executable file has been replaced in his Windows folder. Should he be suspicious ? Yes absolutely. This could help fight spyware and malicious software right from the start.

Spy the Spy is a software for Windows that monitors folders and subfolders (and even network folders) for file changes and additions. Only selected file extensions are being reported though. I was not able to find a list of all file extensions but a quick test revealed that .exe, .dll and .bat file extensions where included in the warnings. There are probably a few more that will initiate a warning.

By default only the Windows folder and its subfolders are monitored by the application. Other folders can be added with ease though, it’s probably a good idea to add the Program Files folder and the Documents and Settings folder as well.

Once a file gets added or changed in the monitored folders a warning will popup giving the user a handful of possibilities. The file can be moved to quarantine, the procedure can be logged and a System File Check can be initiated.

Spy The Spy is limited to reporting file changes and has a few limitations that make it a great addition to spyware tools. It cannot remove changes to the Windows Registry nor can it scan files to determine if they are indeed spyware or legit applications. Most importantly though it cannot deny read or write access to files and a file that produces a warning is already running on the system.

Logistep uses a software called File Sharing Monitor that targets E-Donkey and Gnutella users. Here is how it works:

• The software connects to a p2p server and requests a filename recording all IP addresses that offer that name
• They request to download the file and if the download is permitted record the following information into a database
• Filename, file size, IP of the distributor, P2P protocol, P2P application, the time and the username
• When this is inserted the application does a automatic whois and is able to send an infringement letter to the ISP

I think it is interesting to note that this is almost an automatic process which leads to some questions. How do they know which archive has the correct size and is actually their product and not a broken archive ? Is not it only possible to know the exact file size if they downloaded it at least once to verify that is is indeed their product ?

Let us assume that they are not stupid and that they filter out every file below a certain size to prevent that users who do share mods or patches get sued. Let us further assume that a file that is labeled a certain way (with group tags) and shared among many users is the right program. Does this mean that the user that they are suing is responsible ? They will always sue the account holder which could or could not be the person who shared the files.

What possible solutions can I think of that make the Logistep file monitor useless ? Please note that this is hypothetic, I’m not advising anyone to actually use the methods listed below.

• don’t share files
• share only files with no plausible filename (3dpd)
• use encryption to share the files
• use vpns like Relakks
  to share them
• switch to Usenet
• buy the game ;)

Can you think of anything else left to say ?

Can be used, for example, to detect incoming information over a network or to detect tampering of files

[tags]freeware, notify, windows, monitor, application, tool, utility[/tags]