Two additional versions of CCleaner, CCleaner Home and CCleaner Business, are also available next to the free and network edition. And with the release of CCleaner Network Professional, users now have the choice between five different versions. Lets take a closer look at their differences:

• CCleaner Free: Free for non-commercial use.
• CCleaner Home: Like the free version but with priority technical support.
• CCleaner Business: Like the free version, but with premium business support.
• CCleaner Network Edition: Suggested for computer networks with ten or more computers. With SMB and Enterprise network support, simple one-click deployment onto clients and options to analyze single machines, workgroups or the entire network. Additional, the network edition supports Active Directory, management of all operations from one place and encrypted communications.

The newly released Network Professional version of the software looks on first glance much like the Network Edition. The only difference to the network edition is inclusion of the company’s disk defragmentation software Defraggler.

Interested users can download a trial version of the Network Professional version after filling out a form. The download link and product registration code will be send to the email address entered in the form. You won’t find the software download anywhere else on the Internet, as you are asked to enter the product key during installation.

The program offers to scan the entire network for client PCs after installation. The trial version is limited to 500 clients which should be sufficient for the majority of trials.

You can then install clients on connected systems right from the admin client. Once done, you get access to both CCleaner and Defraggler in tabs This is true when selecting a Workgroup or a single client PC.

The program itself works like the CCleaner Network Edition with an additional program included in the package and manageable from the same admin interface.

Interested users find more information about the Network Professional version of CCleaner at the Piriform website.

While it is possible to use external CD, DVD or Blu-Ray drives for that, or use USB drives as an alternative in most cases, it sometimes may be faster and cost-effective to use an existing device on another computer in the network. In my case, this would be my desktop PC running Windows 7.

Paragon Software has just released version 2.0 of their free Net Burner application. As the name implies, it offers the capabilities needed to share optical drives over a computer network. Sharing in this regard means mounting a CD, DVD or Blu-Ray drive on another computer in the same network.

Registration as always is kind of a hassle. Users need to fill out a form on the official website before they receive the product’s download link via email. The email contains a serial and product key, which surprisingly cannot be entered into the program. There is simply no menu or form for that anywhere. The program itself does not appear to be restricted though.

Net Burner is a single setup file that can install the full program, a client or server. The main idea is to install the server on a system with optical drive, and the client on PCs without. The full installation is probably available for testing purposes and for less-tech savvy users to make sure they install the right components on their systems.

Once you have at least one client and server running, you can access the server’s optical drive on the client computer. The program lists all devices in a program listing. You can use the refresh button to refresh the device listing or enter a local IP and port manually.

Once you have selected a drive it will be mounted on the client PC. This may take a few seconds and may prompt a “new hardware” dialog. Once it has been mounted you can make use of it like any other drive on the computer. This includes using it to burn a CD, DVD or Blu-Ray disc or to install a program from a disc.

The network drive can be dismounted with a right-click on Net Burner’s system tray icon and the selection of Remove Optical Drive.

Especially the ability to install software that ships on disc on a system without CD, DVD or Blu-Ray drive is handy.

The Net Burner application is compatible with all recent 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Microsoft Windows operating system. Windows users need to fill out a form to receive the program download link via email. (via)

The free Open Source software PrimeDesktop combines planning with mapping and even administration. When you start the program for the first time you can start creating a new network right away. You see a list of devices in the Unit Area on the left. You can drag and drop those devices on the planning board. Devices are divided into four groups:

• Desktop devices – Desktop and mobile end user devices.
• Server Devices – Proxy Server, Firewall Server, Printer, Database and Mails servers among others.
• External Devices – Scanners, printers, fax machines and external hard drives among others
• Network devices – Hubs, switches, routers, modems among others.

You can configure each device with a right-click and the selection of Open Device from the context menu. Here it is for instance possible to change the hardware or operating system, software and network settings like the device’s IP, MAC address or default gateway.

Once you have placed your devices on the screen, you can start connecting them with each other.

Here is a feature overview:

• Visualization – A visual representation of all the devices in the network. All devices responsive to user interaction, moveable and connectable to other devices.
• Different Connection Types – Decide how devices connect to each other depending on the available ports. Change ports, manipulate hardware or add/remove hardware to change types of connections possible to and from devices in the network.
• Drag’n'Drop Device Selection – Drag and drop devices into the network from the list of standard devices.
• Networks Overview -Keep track of your open networks with tabs.
• Hardware Overview – Have total control over what hardware each device contains. Install and remove hardware components, like CPU, Motherboard and Ram, to match the machines specific purpose. Configure each hardware component with detailed settings.
• Software Overview – Setup the software on computers. Install and remove programs and operating systems, including softwave specific settings like filesystem support and security settings.
• Network Rules – Control your network with Network Rules. Set what is and is not allowed in your network, with the option to exempt specific devices from the rules.
• Custom Device Icons – Customize the icons for the devices in your network.
• Export Network to a file, so you can share with others, or export the network as an image for easy presentation
• Create rooms in your network to separate and distinguish between network separation.
• Export all aspects of your system, including your standard devices list with icons and custom operating systems. Import others customization and share your work with others.

PrimeDesktop is a Java application which means that you need to have the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) installed on your computer to run the networking planning and mapping software. You can download the latest version of the program from the application’s home over at Sourceforge.

]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2011/09/24/network-planning-mapping-software-primedesktop/feed/ 9 http://www.ghacks.net/2011/09/19/growl-windows-system-network-notifications/ http://www.ghacks.net/2011/09/19/growl-windows-system-network-notifications/#comments Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:42:43 +0000 Martin Brinkmann http://www.ghacks.net/?p=50616 Growl for Windows is a system and network notification software. Put simply, it informs the user when things happen on the operating system. This can be new email in the Thunderbird email client, a new post on your favorite website or when cpu or computer memory resource usage peaks.

The notifications are powered by apps that are either plugins for existing programs or standalone applications running on the system. You can for instance install a Firefox add-on to receive notifications when Firefox finishes downloading files or quits, a Gmail app that notifies you about new emails in Gmail or a plugin for Microsoft Outlook to receive email notifications.

The first thing that you need to do is to download the latest version of Growl for Windows and run the installer. You then need to revisit the Growl homepage and select the apps that you want to use. You need to pay attention to the installation process of each app, as there can be significant differences. Most of the time though you will be either installing a standalone application or software plugin.

Growl should take automatic note of each new program that sends data to the program. These applications then are listed in the Applications tab of the program. Most apps come with configuration options. This includes the duration and style of the notification as well as optional things like sound alerts.

One interesting feature of Growl for Windows is the ability to forward notifications to other computers. You could theoretically setup Growl on multiple computers to forward notifications to the computer you are working on. Computers in a network can be added either by their IP address or by installing the Bonjour service which takes care of that automatically.

Growl is an interesting tool for users who want to receive notifications for specific events on their computer. Network support makes the program interesting for users who work with multiple systems on one computer network.

]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2011/09/19/growl-windows-system-network-notifications/feed/ 7 http://www.ghacks.net/2009/08/04/control-computer-hardware-and-workstations-in-a-computer-network/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/08/04/control-computer-hardware-and-workstations-in-a-computer-network/#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:07:28 +0000 Martin Brinkmann http://www.ghacks.net/?p=15025 AdminDeviceLan is a computer software program for the Windows operating system that can be used to control computer hardware devices and workstations. The program comes with an admin and client interface that need to be installed on the computer systems. The admin interface obviously needs to be installed on the computer of the system administrator while the client interface needs to be installed on all computers of the computer network that the admin wants to control.

The admin can then control the computer systems that run the client software and are connected to the computer network. The admin can use the interface to get an overview of all client computers that are currently connected. Basic options include running a ping or tracert command. The major functions on the other hand become available after clicking on the Package Work button.

This menu gives the administrator the option to enable or disable cd-rom drives, flash (read only) devices, floppy drives and flash drives. It is furthermore possible to restart a connected client computer or synchronize the time between computers. The client version of the software program uses less than three Megabytes of computer memory while running which is perfectly acceptable for a software of this kind.

Block operation of devices Flash, CD-ROM,FDD … drives on network remote computers, thereby interferes thefts of the information from computers, unapproved installation of programs, to penetration of viruses from removable mass storages. Handle of probably any quantity of computers, but it is possible and on one. There is a batch mode which allows to set and carry out the job for several computers one click, possibility of saving of the job in a file or the menu command. Time synchronisation, inclusion and reboot of remote computers and others has additional functions. Possibility of concealment of the program from the user, the access prohibition to handle and customisations under the password. Intuitively clear interface, simplicity of operation.

Passwords can be added to the server version of the software to protect it from unauthorized access. AdminDeviceLan is definitely not the most sophisticated tool to control hardware devices in a computer network but it handles its tasks nicely.

Update: The latest version of Admin Device Lan is version 2.0. The program is still free for non-commercial use. A new feature is the ability to run batch jobs to run commands on multiple computer systems.

]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2009/08/04/control-computer-hardware-and-workstations-in-a-computer-network/feed/ 2 http://www.ghacks.net/2009/05/28/network-monitoring-software/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/05/28/network-monitoring-software/#comments Thu, 28 May 2009 14:14:01 +0000 Martin Brinkmann http://www.ghacks.net/?p=13128 Open Monitor is an Open Source network monitoring software for the Windows operating system. It comes with the option to monitor multiple local and remote servers and notify the system administrator if services or programs are not accessible.

The main interface of the monitoring software is divided into a quick server check option at the bottom which can be used to check if services such as HTTP, FTP or POP are running on a IP or domain. The networking monitoring software will automatically display the results in the same interface. Probably more interesting than the quick check function is the option to add servers permanently to the monitoring tool.

The user needs to enter a server name which is used for identification and a server address which is usually an IP address. A list of services are preselected and will be checked unless unchecked by the user. Alerts can be enabled or disabled in the same interface as well. These do have to be configured separately and can inform the user by email, screen message, executing a program or playing a sound.

There is also the possibility to add http url checks next to the default services that can be monitored by Open Monitor. This allows a user to specify an url, port, alerts and words that the page should include or exclude. This can be used for example to verify that a page is up by checking for a word on that page that is always appearing. Can also be used to run scripts that output a simple message in the end, e.g. a database check that is displaying ok if the database is up and running.

Open Monitor is a straightforward, easy to use, network monitoring software that can monitor popular services. Alternative programs are the server monitoring software IT Service View, Newt, the website monitoring software SiteMonitor or the Microsoft Network Monitor.

]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2009/05/28/network-monitoring-software/feed/ 38 http://www.ghacks.net/2009/02/18/internet-maniac-networking-software/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/02/18/internet-maniac-networking-software/#comments Tue, 17 Feb 2009 22:56:06 +0000 Martin Brinkmann http://www.ghacks.net/?p=10621 Rarst reviewed an interesting networking software today on his excellent blog (you should check it out if you are interested in tech). Internet Maniac is a old school networking software that has not been updated in ten years. Old software does not necessarily have to be bad or outdated especially if it deals with elements that have not changed in the last ten years as well.

Internet Maniac combines a set of networking tools in its interface. The portable software provides access to functions like traceroutes, pings, host lookups, whois information, lookup IPs or domain names and more. Every option is directly accessible from the main interface.

A click on an option will usually display a second window that can be used to enter data, say a domain name for Whois. The same window will also display the results of the function directly in its window.

The tool is completely portable and requires less than 5 Megabytes of computer memory. The homepage of the developer has been deleted a long time ago. You can download the latest available version of Internet Maniac right here at Ghacks (internet maniac).

]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2009/02/18/internet-maniac-networking-software/feed/ 3 http://www.ghacks.net/2009/01/27/network-security-analysis-with-network-miner/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/01/27/network-security-analysis-with-network-miner/#comments Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:05:45 +0000 Martin Brinkmann http://www.ghacks.net/?p=10174 Network Miner is a portable Open Source network security analysis tool that can monitor the traffic of a connected network adapter in the Windows operating system. It utilizes a build in passive network sniffer / packet capturing tool that can detect IPs, hostnames, operating systems, ports and various other information of every connection. The network security tool requires the – separate – installation of WinPcap to function properly and reliable.

The main purpose of Network Miner is data collection for future analysis (such as forensic evidence analysis) rather than collecting data regarding the traffic on the network. Information are grouped by host rather than by packets or frames although it is possible to switch the view modes easily in the software interface.

Network Miner can – among other things – extract files and certificates transferred over the network. This can be used to save media files that are streamed across the network.

Another interesting ability is the extraction of user credentials – that is usernames and passwords for supported protocols which are then displayed in the credentials tab in Network Miner.

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