I will be surprised if you don't find at least one gem amongst this list of tools
that have served me well over the last 10 years (and more). Many
of these computer network tools completely free, while others offer a free trial
of the full product.
FreePing was the first computer utility that I ever used, thus it has a
special place in my heart. It's still wonderful for
troubleshooting intermittent network connectivity problems.
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is one of the hidden
treasures of Microsoft's operating systems. Fortunately,
SolarWinds have created a WMI Monitor so that you can view these gems of
performance information for free.
Monitor real-time performance metrics on any Windows server or
application.
Leverage a large selection of pre-built and community generated
application templates.
Modify or design your own application templates with the
built-in WMI browser.
This has been one of the most useful computer utilities that I
have reviewed.
I first used Secunia when my computer was behaving eratically and I
thought I had been hacked. Thanks to the Secunia Personal Software
Inspector (PSI) I was reassure that all was well, it turned out to be a
rouge toolbar that had bullied its way into my browser.
However, I have kept this free computer security utility, and am
reasurred to study its reports about vulnerabilities in non-Microsoft
(third-party) programs. The PSI's biggest complaint is an
out-of-date copy of Paint Shop Prop, but it also alerts me when the
various Adobe programs need updating.
I particularly like these three features:
Non-intrusive authenticated vulnerability and patch scanning
Covers programs and plug-ins from thousands of vendors
Unprecedented accuracy, no more false positives
Give the Secunia PSI scanner a chance, it will be complementary to
your antivirus software.
One of my biggest computing regrets is not being fluent in UNIX.
To help me overcome this skill deficiency I use the PuTTY computer
utility to connect to
various UNIX servers that I need to check.
PuTTY runs on a Windows operating system, connects to a UNIX machine, and
then opens a window. From there I can type commands to interrogate the
UNIX machine. While it's also possible to make changes, because of my
ignorance of UNIX, I only rarely use that facility.
Download PuTTY and review this computer utility
There are two aspects to this utility, firstly to collect error
messages issued by server software, secondly to contact an IT support
professional to investigate the problem.
'Free tool' conjures up two thoughts: 'Good - it won't cost', but
also, 'Maybe this tool doesn't do much'.
My view on this new quantity of free tool is that
SolarWinds make their money from other paid-for tools, and Alert
Central is their way of introducing new people to their Orion suite, while
solving an internal support headache for existing customers. My
point is that to have such a feature rich free tool, there has to be an
explanation, well it's simple, this is a marketing freebie - fill your
boots!
In many ways BgInfo in an indulgence. What this computer utility does
is provide interesting, even crucial information about your operating
system, and
then displays it as a wallpaper on your desktop.
BgInfo is indeed one of my favourite tools, but it's also an example of
a selection that will lead you to a whole suit of other utilities. In this case it's Mark Russinovich's Sysinternals Suite of classic
network tools.
Download BgInfo
I use Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) to monitoring network
devices such as routers. Net-SNMP is a whole suite of applications
that I have started to use for collecting information from such network
devices. A Net-SNMP policy is a set of rules and filters which decide what
actions are necessary for that packet. For example, you
could base roles on: router, firewall, switch, web server or UNIX
servers. The net-policy policy distribution daemon (np-distd) then
actions the appropriate rules and filters.
See a more
comprehensive review of this crucial computer utility
Net-SNMP.
Use this lovely tool for bulk importing your company's joiners into Active
Directory. List your users' properties in
Excel, then export to a .csv file; from there use SolarWinds free 'Import
user' tool to create the accounts in Active Directory.
Don't worry if your list of fields is not a perfect match for
the LDAP properties in active directory; one of the cleverest features
of SolarWinds' user import tool is the ability to map your idea of user
fields, to those of Active Directory.
Regarding DNS and email, here is an program which will
give you an online check of your email domain. This utility
pinpoints what's wrong with settings and offers steps to fix the
problems. Run a free health check on
your domain and mail server.
WinDiff is a relatively insignificant and uninspiring computer program.
However, I love it because it brings to life a wonderful troubleshooting
idea.
Take a snapshot of a clean configuration.
Make the change, force the error.
Take another snapshot.
Compare the two snapshots, find the difference, and solve the
problem.
WinDiff is also worth its place in my top ten because it reminds me of
all the wonderful and unsung tools that Microsoft provides for free.
See here for WinDiff compare and so much more.
Here is the scene, it's a Windows training course, the delegates and
Guy are chatting
informally waiting for stragglers to arrive before I start the session.
The discussion gets around to which Resource Kit tool has the shortest
name. Nobody could beat two letters OH (Open Handle), however all those present agreed that it was a rubbish
utility.
Then, one of the delegates rolled up a little later than the others,
thus he was unaware
of the previous review of computer utilities and surprised us by extolling the virtues of OH.
He went on to explain that the secret was to use the OH +otl (Object
Type Lists) switch. The rest of the delegates were entranced while he
regaled us of how Open Handles had helped him cure a file sharing /
violation problem. I could not help smiling and thinking to myself,
hmm... 'One man's meat is another man's poison'.
My point is that, you may find that WinDiff or BgInfo is not the sharpest tool
in the box, but if you look at the rest of the utilities in the Windows
Server Resource Kit you WILL find a tool to solve a problem or speed up
a task. At an even higher level, realize that other Microsoft products
also have 'ResKits', for example, Exchange 2007 and SQL. Perhaps you now
realize why I encourage you to look at all the tools in the Download areas and
fill you boots with goodies.
Summary of Guy's Computer Utilities Review
Many of these computer tools are completely free. Some are designed for
small networks, but also have a bigger commercial or industrial version.
To me this is good because we small-time operators benefit, while bigger
enterprises get a chance to try before they buy. The rest of the
computer tools offer free trials.
Additional Free and Trial Network Software
Here are my reviews of tried and tested applications to monitor your network. Most of these
utilities are free, while the others
are the full program, but time restricted.
SolarWinds are a great source of free specialist tools. A constant
theme is a free gadget for testing, backed-up with a comprehensive suite for
programs for larger organizations. I like the way that big companies
subsidise their smaller brethren... until they become large companies!
Guy Recommends:
SolarWinds' NPM - Network Performance Monitor
SolarWinds' performance monitor is designed for detecting network outages,
making it easy to see what's working, and what needs your attention.
This utility guides you through creating network maps; it also helps
identifying whether the
root cause is faulty equipment, or resource overload. Give NPM a try.
