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Simple IP Config , Configure Network Adapter Settings

Martin Brinkmann — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 08:14:20 +0000

Modern operating systems make it a lot easier for users to connect to the Internet. You may not need to configure network settings at all before connecting to the Internet via a network cable. Even wireless connections have become easier to configure, as it is usually only needed to enter the secure code to establish the connection.

Things get more complicated when you need to connect to a network or create a network. That’s when you come into contact with IP addresses, DNS servers or default gateways that you need to configure.

While you can do that under Windows’s control panel, it is not the most comfortable thing to do, especially not so if you have multiple network adapters installed on the system.

The free portable software Simple IP Config can be used to configure network settings for all installed network adapters.

You need to start by selecting a network adapter from the selection menu at the top. Hit the refresh button afterwards to refresh the information if it is not done automatically.

You should now see the adapters IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, dns server and IP type in the interface. You can start modifying settings on the right side of the screen. It is possible to clear, edit or add values to all fields.

Make sure you do not forget to hit the Submit button after you have finished configuring the settings for the selected network adapter.

Three additional options are available. You can hit the renew or release button on the left side to renew or release the IP address. It is furthermore possible to enable or disable the Windows Firewall and to enable DHCP.

Experienced users may not need to use Simple IP Config. It is nevertheless handy to have all settings on one screen. Inexperienced users can do all configuring of network adapter settings in one simple to use interface instead of having to make their way into the depths of the Windows control panel.

Interested users can download Simple IP Config from the project website over at Sourceforge. The portable program is compatible with all recent 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Microsoft Windows operating system.

Network Planning, Mapping Software PrimeDesktop

Martin Brinkmann — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 11:49:31 +0000

It is usually not necessary to use a software to plan a small home network that consists of a couple of PCs, a router and maybe other peripherals like a NAS or printer. But when it comes to medium sized or even larger networks, especially in a business environment, it pays off to plan before starting to build the network.

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.

WakeMeOnLan, Wake On Lan Program For Windows

Martin Brinkmann — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:07:41 +0000

One handy feature in a network administrator’s arsenal of tools is the ability to send Wake on Lan packets to remote computers to start them from a remote location. This can save the admin quite some time.

Nir Sofer has just released a new tool to assist network and system administrators in those tasks. When you first start the WakeMeOnLan tool it scans the computer network automatically. The portable program identifies all connected devices, collects their network addresses and saves the information to a file.

The computers are also displayed in the application interface, along with their local IP address, computer name if set, MAC address, network adapter information and status.

The saved list can then later be used to select computers that are either turned off or in standby to turn them on again.

WakeMeOnLan can be run on all 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system, from Windows 2000 all the way to the latest client and server versions of Windows (at the time of writing Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2).

The remote computers need to support the Wake On Lan feature. It also needs to be noted that this works only on wired networks and not wireless networks.

On some computers, Wake on Lan needs to be first enabled in the computer bios before it can be activated in the network card properties.

More information about that process is available on the Nirsoft website and the manufacturer manuals (Bios, network adapter).

To wake a computer on the local area network select it in the device listing in the program interface and click on the “wake up selected computers” button afterwards. You can alternatively right-click a device and select the same option, or use the F8 shortcut code to do so.

WakeMeOnLan supports command line parameters to wake up computers on the network. The basic command is WakeMeOnLan.exe /wakeup followed by the computer’s IP address, MAC address or computer name.

Windows users who work with computers in a network regularly can download WakeMeOnLan from the Nirsoft website.

Openfiles, Display Files Opened By Network Users

Martin Brinkmann — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 12:26:56 +0000

The command line tool openfiles has been part of the Windows operating system for a long time. It basically can be used to display all system files that are currently opened by users of the same computer network. One of its applications is to analyze file access errors. It is for instance usually not possible to delete or modify a file if it is currently opened by another user on the network.

The openfiles tool requires administrative privileges, at least under Windows 7. This means that you need to start the command prompt with elevated rights. One way to do that is to click on the start orb, select All Programs and then Accessories. Right-click the command prompt entry and select Run as administrator from the context menu.

Enter openfiles and hit enter to run the command on the system.

Windows admins who are new to the command can use openfiles /? to display a list of available parameters:

OPENFILES /parameter [arguments]
Description: Enables an administrator to list or disconnect files and folders that have been opened on a system.
Parameter List:
/Disconnect Disconnects one or more open files.
/Query Displays files opened locally or from shared folders.
/Local Enables / Disables the display of local open files.
/? Displays this help message.

As you can see from the parameters, it is not only possible to display all open files, but also to disconnect a user from your system. Lets say you need to access a file that is blocked by another user in the network. You can use the command openfiles /disconnect /ID xx to disconnect users. Just replace xx with the ID of the file that is shown in the open files listing.

It is furthermore possible to disconnect a user completely with the command openfiles /disconnect /a user where user is the name of the user that is currently accessing the files remotely.

Additional information about the commands can be accessed in the following way:

OPENFILES /Disconnect /?
OPENFILES /Query /?
OPENFILES /Local /?

Disconnecting options include disconnecting all open file connections by names or modes. Wildcards are allowed to be used which means that the commands can be used to disconnect all users currently accessing files on the local system.

Network Troubleshooting Basics: Some Simple Steps

Ryan D. Lang — Mon, 30 May 2011 10:38:13 +0000

This article is the fourth and final part of a series on the basics of network troubleshooting. The tools covered in the previous articles (ping, ipconfig, tracert and pathping) will be combined into a troubleshooting method. This guide will teach you valuable steps in finding where a problem is on a network connection.

One of my networking classes included the basics of troubleshooting a network connection. It included basic command line tools that really were very easy to use and understand. Most of the students thought they were fun to use.

Knowing these commands before having to deal with the frustration of a network connection problem is not a bad idea. A working connection shows you what is supposed to happen. If you see something different, you will know something is up. When problems strike, at the least you can get an idea of what is going on.

Step 0: Check the Cords & Power

The first thing you should always do is check to make sure everything is plugged in: your computer, router, device, etc. Many laptops have a button to turn off the wireless connection; the icon looks like a signal tower. When in doubt, read the manual (which you can often download from the manufacturer’s website). Bear in mind, we all forget this step at some point, so do not feel too silly when it happens to you.

Step 1: Ping Yourself

You want to test that your machine is working properly. To do this, you want to ping yourself. You use the loop-back address (127.0.0.1) to do this. Pinging the loop-back address tests to make sure software on your computer is working properly. Typically, if something is not working at this stage, you may just need to restart your computer.

ping
http://www.ghacks.net/2011/05/12/network-troubleshooting-basics-the-ping-command/

Step 2: Ping Your Router (AKA: the Default Gateway)

The next step would be to ping your router. You can find your router’s IP address with ipconfig as well (it should be on the bottom of the unit and listed in the manual too). Remember that ipconfig lists your router as the “Default Gateway.” It is very likely to be 192.168.1.1 or a similar number.

This is done to test if your router is responding. If it is not, and you have already checked to make sure it is on, then it may need to be turned off and turned on. Every once in a while it may need a refresh. If the problem continues, contact you ISP for assistance to see if they can help.

Note: Routers, like anything else in the IT world, will someday fail. There is a chance that this has happened. Your ISP help desk should be able to help you determine this. If the router is one of theirs, they will likely send you out a new one.

Step 3: Ping Yourself with Your IP Address

We want to test to make sure everything is working correctly between your router and your computer. To do this, ping your IP address. It is listed in the ipconfig command at the same time the router IP number is. If this works, you can be pretty confident that a problem is outside your home (or maybe small office) network.

Step 4: Ping and Tracert Outside Your Network

From here, you want to test something outside your network. In a medium or larger network setting, a server on another branch of the network will do. For a home network, the Internet is often your only option. Since chances are the problem is that one or more websites are (or seem) down, this is a logical thing to check.

You can use a few different tools. First try the ping command because it is the fastest. It will only tell you if the site is working or not. For more detailed information, use tracert and pathping. They can give a better idea of what is going on. For instance, if you can reach your router, but no further, the node that connects you to the Internet may be down: an ISP issue. If you can reach only a couple (one or two) steps past your router, then it still is probably an ISP issue. Your Internet is down. If you can reach a lot further, the site may be having issues (see is Facebook down, ways to check if a website is really down, for pointers) There even is a chance that other sites, either from the same proximity or even hosting service, are having the same problem. If it is an e-commerce site, there may be a number to call, but there probably is not much to do besides wait. At least you know where the problem is.

Parting Thought

On a parting note, one other benefit of trying these commands out on a nice day like today is that it creates a positive mental association with the tools. That might change with enough problems, but they are worthy of a good first impression. Having the skills to deal with a problem ahead of time is always a good idea.

Network Troubleshooting Basics: Tracert & Pathping

Ryan D. Lang — Tue, 24 May 2011 09:30:55 +0000

This article is the third in a series of the basics of network troubleshooting. So far ping and ipconfig have been covered. Now tracert and pathping, which are similar commands, will be covered. While this is a basic tutorial, there are some intermediate tips and topics included. The focus will be on Windows based systems (with a tip or two for other systems).

Both of these commands are designed to give you more detailed information than the ping command. They will tell you about steps along the way. This can help you narrow down where a problem is.

The Tracert Command Basics

The tracert command is also called traceroute on other systems, such as on a Mac or in Cisco’s IOS (used in its routers and switches). It is used to find out what other devices are on the path to a destination. It works by sending out a number of signals. Each signal has an amount of locations it can jump to, called a time to live (TTL). When it reaches that number, the device it reaches sends back an error message. For example, the first packet of data sent out would just have one hop, so it would stop at your home router. Your router sends back a signal, and the tracert command records it. The next signal would have to go two hops and so on, until the destination is reached.

Using the command is simple. You type in tracert and an IP number or website’s name after it. You can see extra options by typing tracert /? in the command line.

To get the the command line, go to Start, Run, type cmd in, and press the Enter key.

After that, type tracert google.com in and hit Enter again. You should get something like this:

In Linux, the equivalent command is tracepath, but traceroute is available. Both commands perform similar actions, but you have to install traceroute on some systems (e.g. Ubuntu). Type in “sudo apt-get install traceroute” from the terminal to grab it. Enter the name of the command and a IP number or a website’s name to trace the path.

The Pathping Command Basics

The pathping command is more similar to tracert than a simple ping. Just like the tracert command, pathping will give you information about all the steps along the path to the website you want to test. It does this by sending out full ping commands along the way, gathering more information. This is done over a period of time, yielding a detailed report. The extra information is good to have, but the time required is a disadvantage. It can take a few minutes. Typically, tracert is the preferred command.

The command works the same way that tracert or ping do, where you type in the name of the command and the name of the site you want to test. There are some option, which you can see by typing “pathping /?” into the command line. For something similar in Linux, use the mtr command.

Assuming you did not close the command line window from befor, type “pathping google.com” in and hit Enter. You should get a report similar to tracert, but it will tell you to wait for the extra results. There is a lot of information, so you may have to scroll a little to see it all.

Controlling Pathping

Waiting roughly 6 minutes for a report is a bit much for one command. You can shorten the time to create the report with a command line option. Instead of sending 100 pings, “pathping google.com -q 10″ will send 10 per hop, or “pathping google.com -q 3″ will send 3 per hop.

Cleaning-Up Tracert or Pathping Output

Tracert command is notorious for lines that spill past the width of the screen; the pathping command never fits in a screen. By saving the output to a file, it will remove line breaks automatically. There is no manual editing involved, and the output is nicer.

To do this for tracert, type in “tracert google.com > file.txt” into the command line. If you are not familiar with Dos, or you are not sure where you put the file, you can use “notepad file.txt” (or even just “file.txt”) in the command line to easily retrieve the file.

There is one problem with this method: it looks nothing is happening. This is even more evident with the pathping command, which can take several minutes to run (hence why controlling the pathping is covered above). Be patient; this is normal.

Side note: This is call “redirecting,” and it is commonly done at the command line. Use one greater-than sign (>) to overwrite a file; use two greater-than signs (>>) to append data to a file.

This can also be done in Linux, but it is not necessary. If the tracepath command spills over the edge, you can re-size the terminal and run the command again. The Dos prompt has a fixed character width, so resizing the window will not help.

What You Can Infer

Tracert and pathping are useful in seeing where a problem is. If a command recognizes your router, but not much further, something is probably wrong with your ISP. If a command trails off, but cannot find the destination, the website probably is having a problem. Typically, it is better to start testing with the ping command because it faster than its counterparts.

Closing

There is going to be one last article in this series that puts all three commands together. Each one is a piece that you need to understand in order to use it. Combining them can make finding a problem easier.

Configure Windows 7 Network Adapter Binding Priority

Martin Brinkmann — Fri, 13 May 2011 10:29:04 +0000

A computer running Windows 7 may connect to networks with various adapters. Probably the most common example is a notebook or mobile device that can connect to the Internet via a wireless connection or a wired connection. If you have a device that can connect to networks in multiple ways, you may wonder how Windows determines the priority of the installed network adapters.

Say you want to make sure that your computer uses a wired connection when available as the main means of connecting to a network, and a wireless connection otherwise.

Network connection priorities are configured in the Windows Control Panel. The configuration setting is deeply hidden, and you have to click several times before you finally reach the settings.

Open the Windows Control Panel. You can do that with a click on the start orb, and the selection of Control Panel from the Windows start menu.

Locate and click on Network and Internet, and then on Network and Sharing Center on the next screen.

Find Change Adapter Settings under the left sidebar and click the link. This opens a new screen with all of the configured network connections of the operating system.

Select Advanced > Advanced Settings from the menubar. This opens the Advanced Settings under Network Connections.

You see a list of your connections under the Adapters and Bindings tab there.

Left-click on of the connections to select it, and use the up and down arrow buttons to move it up or down in the listing. The topmost connection is the default connection used on the computer. This way, you can change the network adapter binding priority under Windows 7.

You need to click on the ok button after making changes to save them. The new network connection priority is active from that moment on.

Here is a quick tip how to find out which connection is used on your computer right now. Open the Windows Task Manager with Ctrl-Alt-Esc and switch to the Networking tab.

At the bottom you find adapter names and their connection status and history. Just access a website or service that requires a network or Internet connection and watch the information under Networking in the task manager. The network adapter used to establish the connection should show bandwidth utilization, while other adapters should not show anything.

And that’s how you check which network adapter is used on your computer, and how you change the binding priority of all network adapters.

Network Troubleshooting Basics: The Ping Command

Ryan D. Lang — Thu, 12 May 2011 08:24:53 +0000

This article is the first in a series delving into the basics of network troubleshooting. It covers what tools to use and how to use them. While this is a basic tutorial, there are some advanced tips and topics included. The focus will be on Windows based systems (with a tip or two for others).

Overview

Knowing the basics of network troubleshoot can help you find out where problems are. It could be your computer, your home router, your ISP (Internet Service Provided), the website itself, or something in between. First each tool will be looked at individually and then the process with be explained. The tools used will be the commands ping, ipconfig, and tracert. The process that will be covered is one of the most basic ones.

Step 1: Ping yourself with the loopback address.
Step 2: Ping the router (default gateway) and how to get that address (ipconfig).
Step 3: Ping or tracert outside the network (e.g. the Internet).

The Ping Command Basics

The ping command got its name from the sound sonar makes when it “sees” something. In sonar, you send out a signal and measure the time it takes to get there. The ping command does the same thing. This tells if a computer or device is out there or not, which is the purpose of the command.

To use the ping command, you type “ping” followed by an IP number or a website name. It will show you if a destination is reachable and how long it takes to get there. It will work in Windows from the Dos Box, Linux from the terminal, and Mac from the terminal (or the Network Utility).

Click on the “Start” button > “run” > and type in “cmd” & enter to bring up the command line.

Type in ping ghacks.net and hit enter (there is a space between the two g’s).

The Loop-Back Address

Step 1 in the process is to ping yourself. To do that, we use the loop-back address. This is a special IP number, 127.0.0.1, and is useful in checking your own computer. When you ping this IP number, you ping your computer to test if the system is working. It is an internal process. If this does not work, you know the problem is in your computer. In this case, you may simply need to reboot the machine, but it could be a more serious issue.

Type in ping 127.0.0.1 and hit enter (there is a space between the “g” and the “1″).

Exceptions to the Rule

When it comes to websites and servers, not all of them will let you ping them. For example, Microsoft’s website will not show up if you ping it, but Google will. These sites, while working, will give you a “Request timed out.” error message.

How can a website show up on your browser and not on the ping command? The Internet works using a system of standard instructions called protocols, TCP in a website’s case. The ping command works with another protocol called ICMP. The main use for ICMP is to test connections and find out where a problem is. It is supposed to send back information to the sender letting them know if the message was received. If you turn off ICMP, then ping will not work. A firewall is usually used to do this.

In school, when we tried to ping classmates; this was a problem. With the firewall on, we could not ping each other until we turned it off. That is not something you should do at home, but it can explain why you cannot ping a computer on your home network. If you do decide to try out something that requires turning off your firewall (not recommended), unplug your router from the Internet and do not plug it back in until your firewall is running again.

Ping Command Options

The ping command will try to reach site four times by default. Personally, I think twice is enough. You can limit the number of times by using some switches. Switches are extra text you include with a command to tweak what it does.

In MS Windows, use ping -n 2 destination
In Linux, use ping -c 2 destination
On a Mac, use ping -c 2 destination

Some people think once or thrice is enough, so feel fee to swap that 2 for a 1 or a 3. There are more options too, but this is what I find useful. You can always type “ping” by itself to see all the options (in dos, ping /? works too). Tip: If you are using Linux, and the ping command just keeps going, use ctrl+c to stop it.

Closing

The first step is to ping yourself. The next step is to ping your router. To do that you need to know how to use the ipconfig command, which will be covered in the next article.

Why Your Home Router is 192.168.1.1

Ryan D. Lang — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 07:13:18 +0000

These days, there is one piece of networking equipment that has become much more common: the router. Many of them actually have the same IP (Internet Protocol) number, 192.168.1.1, and for an interesting reason.

Every website, router, and computer has an IP address. It is how computers uniquely identify themselves on a network or on the Internet. Typically, in a home network, your router assigns one to your computer. How does it make sure the IP address on your home computer is not the same as one on the Internet? There actually is a list of numbers that is reserved for private use (home, office, corporate, etc.). They are never used for a public website. While the details of how IP numbers are used is intricate, the ranges of reserved numbers are straight forward:

10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255
172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255
192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255

Notice how the last section starts with 192.168.0.0 and that looks a lot like the 192.168.1.1 router address. It may sound strange, but the 192.168.0.0 is actually used to refer to a group of computers. It is OK if that seems odd or does not seem to make sense. The important thing to recognize is that 192.168.1.1 was chosen because it is a low number in this special range. Your computer’s IP number, given to it by the router, will be similar. It should be something like 192.168.1.x (x is a number between 2 & 255).

The nice thing about this convention is that you can memorize this number one for many routers. It may work for every router you ever own. It also should work with the routers of family and friends. This is useful for configuring routers and trouble shooting networks.

Using the number, 192.168.1.1, is actually an easy way to configure your router. For most modern home routers you can just type it into your browser. A configuration page should come up. What it will look like will change from manufacturer to manufacturer. Some may require a username and router password to see anything, others will at least tell you if you are connected to the Internet or not. If you cannot connect to a few different sites, you may be able to check here to see if your Internet connection is down. (Once I typed it in and nothing came up: someone unplugged the router.) Be sure to read your router’s manual before changing any settings. You probably need to log-in to do any real damage, though.

Important note: If your router does not require a password to edit core settings, you have a serious security problem. Please contact your Internet Service Provider for help and instructions on how address that issue. Ghacks has a guide to secure your wireless router that you should take into consideration. It is very easy for someone to change the settings on your router if there is no password protecting in.

Do all routers use this number to identify themselves? No. Some routers will default to a different number. There is no rule or law stating that it has to be 192.168.1.1; it is just a convention. If you look on the bottom of your router, or its manual, you will usually find out what that number is. Typically it is a 192.168.x.x number, but 172.x.x.x or 10.x.x.x are possibilities too. It would be very strange for it to be something else. The IP number on your computer should still be similar to the router’s number (the number before the first decimal point has to be the same). (Sometimes routers displays domain names instead, like speedport.ip which they resolve internally to the IP, meaning you can enter both the IP or domain name to load the router configuration)

Some other common numbers are 192.168.0.1 (ex. D-Link & Netgear) and 192.168.2.1 (according to 19216811.net). While 192.168.1.1 is often mentioned as a Linksys convention, it is used by other brands such as Speedtouch. If you are using a router from an Internet Service Provider, it may actually be made by Linksys. Cisco uses 192.168.1.1 for some of its routers (such as those for small business), but that is no surprise as they own Linksys. Here is a list of some more examples.

One of the easiest ways to find out the IP address of your router is to open a command prompt (by pressing Ctrl-R, typing cmd and then the enter key) and enter the command ipconfig in it. Locate the Default Gateway entry, which in most cases is your router’s IP address.

Create Network Connection Profiles With NetCon Manager

Martin Brinkmann — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:11:41 +0000

Having to connect to several networks with one computer can be time consuming in some instances, especially if the networks have specific connection requirements that need to be applied to the local computer whenever the network connection needs to be switched.

An automated solution can be beneficial to the user, as it offers to change to a different network profile in seconds.

NetCon Manager is a basic program for the job. It can be used to create different network profiles like the previously reviewed TCP Profiles Manager. Basic in this regard means that it only offers a basic set of parameters per profile.

The supported parameters include the local IP address, subnet mask, gateway and DNS servers. It is in this regard inferior to Quick Config which offers to change additional settings such as the hosts file, computer name, workgroup and domain memberships or the default system printer.

New profiles can be created, deleted and activated in the main interface of the program. Each profile uses the aforementioned values.A comfortable option is the ability to load the current configuration for the active network connection, which can save some typing.

To change the network settings the user would either have to click on the change network settings button in the program interface, or right-click on the system tray icon of the program and pick the desired network profile from the list of all available profiles.

Netcon Manager can be configured to run at Windows system start. The free program may prove useful for some users. An overview of the program’s features and options is available at the developer website.

TCP Profiles Manager, Configure Multiple Network Profiles

Martin Brinkmann — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 17:39:49 +0000

Even the latest version of the Windows operating system does not offer options to maintain multiple network profiles, if only one network adapter is installed. While that is not a problem for most desktop PCs, it can become quite a nuisance for IT workers who use their mobile PCs to connect to different work related networks.

Manually changing a network adapter’s IP address, and other network related information may be an option if done irregularly, but a software to automate most of the process could save a lot of time.

TCP Profiles Manager is a basic software for this purpose. It supports the creation of multiple network profiles, but limits the parameters that may be changed to TCP/IP and DNS settings.

tcp profiles manager

The program on startup displays a list of available profiles, and options to create, delete, edit and activate profiles in the left sidebar. First time users should make sure that English is the selected language of the program. As a side note, the installation is only available in French, the software itself in English and French.

A new network profile requires the selection of a name, icon, network interface, either manual or automatic IP address settings, and a manual or automatic selection of DNS servers.

internet protocol

TCP Profiles Manager lacks some of the features that previously reviewed applications offer. Network Settings Manager for instance offers options to configure default printers, network drives, WINS or scripts for each network profile.

Even the similar Network Profile Switcher supports plugins to change settings like the Internet Explorer proxy automatically for each network profile.

Still, Windows users who are looking for a program that changes IP and DNS related network settings automatically, may take a look at TCP Profiles Switcher. Advanced users, and users who require more functionality may be better of with NetSetMan.

TCP Profiles Manager is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system. It has been tested on a Windows 7 Pro 64-bit system.

The Dude, Network Environment Management Software

Martin Brinkmann — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:58:13 +0000

Third party software can assist network administrators in their tasks, from basic monitoring tasks like making sure the computers or servers are up to more sophisticated operations like link monitoring or device management tools.

The Dude is a professional network monitoring software, available as a stable version and a beta version for the Windows operating system.

Both versions are completely free of charge, offering loads of features.

The configuration of the program usually begins with the addition of at least one network device. Supported are plain and secure connections, on all ports and with authentication if necessary.

network monitoring

The application supports automatic network discovery and layout generation. The computer network is shown on a map after a successful connection. Individual devices are displayed with their IP addresses, names, icons, as well as cpu and disk utilization. Connections are shown with their current bandwidth usage and maximum capacities.

It is possible to add additional networks or devices to the program at any time and link them to the existing map manually or automatically.

A click on a device or link opens detailed information. This includes the MAC addresses, DNS names, types, services, outages information, Snmp, polling or history details and tools.

This section alone is very extensive, and likely very confusing for users who have little to no experience monitoring or managing computer networks.

The left sidebar menu lists available tools and options to manage and monitor the computer network.

computer network

Available are for example services running on the devices in the computer network, access to various log files, files view, Mib Nodes and access to networking tools.

network device view

Feature List

The Dude is free of charge!
Auto network discovery and layout
Discovers any type or brand of device
Device, Link monitoring, and notifications
Includes SVG icons for devices, and supports custom icons and backgrounds
Easy installation and usage
Allows you to draw your own maps and add custom devices
Supports SNMP, ICMP, DNS and TCP monitoring for devices that support it
Individual Link usage monitoring and graphs
Direct access to remote control tools for device management
Supports remote Dude server and local client
Runs in Linux Wine environment, MacOS Darwine, and Windows

The developers have created an online help and pdf version which explains the majority of available features. Users who are still stick can use the well frequented user forum for additional help and support.

The Dude is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as Linux Wine and MacOS Darwine. Downloads are provided on the developer’s homepage.

Hide Navigation Pane Items In Windows 7

Martin Brinkmann — Mon, 10 May 2010 10:34:34 +0000

If you open Windows Explorer in Windows 7 you see a left sidebar with the items Favorites, Libraries, Homegroup, Computer and Network. This sidebar is called the navigation pane. Each item in the navigation pane can contain links to folders, drives or other computer systems. The computer section will for instance list all partitions of the computer system and optical drives with media.

Not every Windows 7 user needs all the links and items in the Windows 7 navigation pane. There is however no direct option to hide them in Windows Explorer. The only known way is to hide them using the Windows Registry.

Windows users who are not using the Homegroup, Network, Favorites or Library feature might want to hide them to reduce the clutter from the navigation pane. This has the additional benefit that the remaining items are easier accessible.

Hide the Homegroup item from Windows Explorer

Open the Windows Registry editor by clicking on the start button in the taskbar, typing in regedit into the run form and selecting regedit.exe from the available results.

Navigate to the Registry key

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B4FB3F98-C1EA-428d-A78A-D1F5659CBA93}\ShellFolder

You now need to change the value of the key Attributes from b084010c to b094010c. You first need permission to do that. Right-click on ShellFolder and select Permissions from the context menu.

Select the user profile of the logged in user and click the Allow Full Control box to give the user full control over the key.

Accept the changes and double-click Attributes again afterwards. Enter the new value b094010c into the form and click ok to accept the change.

Hide the Libraries item from Windows Explorer

Open the Registry editor as outlined above. Navigate to the Registry key

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}\ShellFolder

Double-click the key Attributes and change the value from b080010d to b090010d. You need to have permissions to do that. Perform the same steps as above to get the permissions for the ShellFolder key.

Hide the Network item from Windows Explorer

Navigate to the following Registry key

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{F02C1A0D-BE21-4350-88B0-7367FC96EF3C}\ShellFolder

Change the permissions of the key to give the active user full control over the key. Double-click the Attributes value afterwards and change its value from b0040064 to b0940064.

Hide the Favorites item from Windows Explorer

Navigate to the Registry key

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{323CA680-C24D-4099-B94D-446DD2D7249E}\ShellFolder

Change the permissions of that key so that the current user has full control over the key. Then double-click on attributes and change the value from a0900100 to a9400100.

Hide the Computer item from Windows Explorer

Perform the same steps as outlined in the Homegroup removal guide. The Registry key that you need to navigate to is

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ShellFolder

You now need to create a Dword by right-clicking in the right column and selecting new > Dword 32-bit from the menu. Name the new Dword Attributes and give it the value b094010c.

The changes can be reverted by deleting the Attributes key.

Final Step

The changes are not visible immediately. You can restart the computer, log off and on again or kill the explorer.exe process in the task manager to see the updated navigation pane in Windows Explorer.

Do you have another helpful Windows Explorer tip? Let us know in the comments.

Network Activity Indicator For Windows 7

Martin Brinkmann — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:29:10 +0000

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.

Display Network Information With Win IP Config

Martin Brinkmann — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 08:18:09 +0000

Many administrators and users rely on the command line when they troubleshoot networking issues. Basic commands like ping, netstat, ipconfig or traceroute can provide them with valuable information about the state of the network and the connections.

Win IP Config is a program for Windows that makes some of these tools available in a graphical user interface. The interface uses tabs to divide the information and functionality, available are the tabs host info, IP info, interfaces, routes (filtered), netstat and report.

Win IP Config will for instance display in depth information about the network adapters including their gateway, IP, DHCP (DHCP server and lease time) or DNS.

The networking software will also display the current routes and an output of the netstat command in its tabs. Those information alone are valuable and quickly accessible.

Win IP Config provides access to controls in the header as well. Those can be used for instance to renew the IP address or add a new one, to add or delete routes or to display detailed IP statistics including header and address errors plus other problems related to that.

The report tab basically displays all the collected information in an easily readable format. It is possible to export the report as a text document for further processing.

Win IP Config is a handy program for users who prefer to work with a graphical user interface instead of the command line. It does not totally replace the command line as it does not provide access to commands like traceroute or ping.

The program can be downloaded from the developers website. It has not been updated in a while but worked without complications on our 64-bit Windows 7 Professional test system. (via 4Sysops)

System Information For Windows Pro Review

Martin Brinkmann — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 07:45:15 +0000

SIW, which stands for System Information For Windows, is an excellent software program to display information about a Windows computer system. The program is offered as a free version and a pro version which is available as a business and technician version.

System Information for Windows can display information about a computer system’s software and hardware inventory and network information. It furthermore provides access to a set of tools that can perform a variety of tasks from changing a network adapter’s MAC address to dumping the computer bios or testing the computer monitor.

The system information can be accessed from the left sidebar that sorts them into software, hardware and network categories or the header of the application that provides access to all information that are accessible on the sidebar and the tools menu that links to all tools that are included.

The information that are displayed are very extensive, the program lists for example the following:

Software Inventory: Operating System, Installed Software and Hotfixes, Processes, Services, Users, Open Files, System Uptime, Installed Codecs, Software Licenses (Product Keys / Serial Numbers / CD Key), Secrets (Password Recovery).
Hardware Inventory: Motherboard, Sensors, BIOS, CPU, chipset, PCI/AGP, USB and ISA/PnP Devices, Memory, Video Card, Monitor, Disk Drives, CD/DVD Devices, SCSI Devices, S.M.A.R.T., Ports, Printers.
Network Information: Network Cards, Network Shares, currently active Network Connections, Open Ports.
Network Tools: MAC Address Changer, Neighborhood Scan, Ping, Trace, Statistics
Miscellaneous Tools: Eureka! (Reveal lost passwords hidden behind asterisks), Monitor Test, Shutdown / Restart.
Real-time monitors: CPU, Memory, Page File usage and Network Traffic.

Here are some real world examples of what you can do with System Information For Windows besides displaying the installed software or computer hardware:

List Windows product key as well as serial numbers of other installed applications.
Configure Autorun, Browser Helper Objects and other drivers or programs that are loaded during startup.
Display temperature of computer hardware if the hardware makes use of sensors.
Display all open ports and network shares on the system
Display passwords that are hidden behind asterisks
Perform a broadband speed test

System Information For Windows can be used to generate an inventory report of a computer system in no time. The extensive reporting options of the pro version make it ideal for that purpose.

The tools that are provided make several tools that users might otherwise use unnecessary which could be one of the reasons to install this version of the software.

Differences between System Information for Windows pro and free version:

The pro version has a reporting option that can be used to generate system information reports that can be saved as html, xml, txt or csv reports. The free version only supports html reports.
The free version has several restrictions. It is for instance not allowed to use the software in a business environment
Several command line parameters are not available in the free version

The version that is offered at the Giveaway of the Day website is System Information for Windows Pro Business Edition. The program’s standard price is $69.

Positive

Runs on both 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows
Extensive system information
Reporting option
Tools for various tasks

Negative

No alarms. It would be nice if alarms could be configured, e.g. when the temperature level reaches a maximum.
Processing information directly. Instead of only displaying information it would be nice if they could be processed directly. The software inventory displays for instance the installed applications but there is no way to uninstall them directly.
Tries to install Registry Booster during installation

System Information for Windows Pro can be downloaded for free today at the Giveaway of the Day website. The developer’s website with additional information (like the command line parameters) is available here.

Viable alternatives are the free version of SIW, Speccy, Open Hardware Monitor or PC Wizard.

Very Simple Network Scanner

Martin Brinkmann — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:39:45 +0000

A network scanner is a program that can scan a specific network IP range for devices. This can be interesting for maintenance or inventory related tasks as well as network monitoring and retrieving information about a specific device in the network.

Very Simply Network Scanner is a free software program for the Windows operating system that can scan a network range. The main purpose of the program is to scan a specific network range, display a list of devices discovered in that range and provide the means to export the findings in a csv file.

The network scanner is relatively easy to use. The network IP range can be selected in the network field. The first three digits of the IP are left untouched but the last digit defines the starting point of the scan. The end point of the scan is the last possible digit in that range (e.g. from 0 to 255).

A click on scan network will initiate the network scan which does not take longer than a few seconds usually unless the network utilizes many devices on different IPs.

Each device will be listed with its IP, DNS, time and TTL, Mac address and device type among other parameters.

Selected information can be copied to the clipboard. The user of the program can select the device type by right-clicking on a line in the results which makes identification of devices easier.

A port scanner is included that can be used to retrieve the ports that are open by the selected network IP.

Very Simple Network Scanner is a work in progress. The portable software program is currently offered as an alpha version that can be downloaded from various software portals like Betanews.

Karen’s Lan Monitor

Martin Brinkmann — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:50:41 +0000

Karen’s Lan Monitor is a lightweight Windows application that can display various information about a computer system’s network adapters and related information. The application is divided into multiple taps that display the various information. The default tab will list all available network adapters and their settings including the adapter’s speed, type, physical address and about a dozen additional settings like DHCP and WinS status.

Other tabs of interest include the Connections tab that is displaying all open connections including the remote IP address, the local port and the program that is using that connection. There is also an option to display UDP listeners, remote computer names and internal connections.

The traffic tab will display traffic statistics of each network adapter in realtime including incoming and outgoing bytes, errors and load. The four last tabs display detailed IP, TCP, UDP and ICMP stats. These are excellent for in depth information about the computer network but usually not that useful to most users.

The information can be copied to the Windows clipboard or saved to disk in a text file. Users who are interested in an excellent lan monitor can find additional information and downloads at the website of the developer of the program.

Network Profile Switcher

Martin Brinkmann — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:56:05 +0000

Computer users who regularly work in different locations that require specific network connection settings are used to change network settings like the network adapters IP address, gateway or DNS servers quite frequently.

The network management software Network Switcher offers a better solution to manually changing network settings. It can store multiple network profiles allowing the user to switch between network profiles easily whenever the need arises.

Each profile that is created in Network Switcher contains two network connections that contain various networking parameters including the IP address, DNS servers, the subnet mask and the default gateway. It is furthermore possible to enable the option to obtain IP addresses from DHCP servers.

Network Switcher is limited to the TCP/IP protocol and extensible through plugins. One plugin, to disable the Internet Explorer proxy, is provided by the developer of the software.

The software is Open Source and the source code is supplied with the download of the networking software.

Network Switcher requires the Microsoft .net Framework 2.0 and is compatible with Windows XP or newer Windows operating system.

It seems that the developer has discontinued development of the software program.

Local Area Network Speed Test

Martin Brinkmann — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:56:22 +0000

Network administrators and home network users need to check the speed of the local area network during installation but also from time to time to make sure that the speed matches the expected speed of the lan. This is important for a variety of reasons including overal network performance and discovering slow network nodes that can have a impact on services.

LAN Speed Test is a portable software program to test the speed of a local area network. The program will display the name and IP address of the computer that is it running on. Tests are started with a click on the Start Test button. This will open a file browser to select a folder the data should be read from and written to. This should be on a different computer system so that the actual lan speed is tested.

The program will ask for a file size of the file that will be written and read in the second step of the lan speed test configuration. It will then write the file to the target location, clear the Windows file cache, read the file back, clear the cache a second time, delete the file and display the results of the speed test.

The results can be printed but not exported to a file. Lan Speed Test is available from the developer’s website. It is compatible with all Microsoft operating systems including Windows 7 (not sure about 64-bit though).

Lan Speed Test via Addictive Tips