Looking for a intertnet connection monitor.

[Mychael]

One that does not take a lot of resources but runs in the background and gives real-time connection speeds on the fly. Takes averages, stuff like that.

Tried one as a free download from a magazine CD but it was slow then put up a fight when I tried to kill/remove it.

 

[catilley1092]

Mychael, do you receive the monthly Microsoft Download Newsletter? I recall recently seeing a tool for download from MS for that purpose, but I forgot the name of the program. I'll try to look it up for you, if I can find it again. I read that it also alerts you as to whether someone else is on your connection, too.

I'll see what I can find.

EDIT: Here's one, although it's not the one I was referring to. If you have trouble with the link, the name of the program is BBMonitor.

http://www.absolutefuturity.com/BBMonitor/InternetSpeedAnalyzer.htm

Hope it helps.

Cat

 

[Mychael]

Thanks Cat. No, if I'm supposed to get the newsletter I've so far not seen it.

 

[catilley1092]

I believe you have to subscribe to the newsletters in order to get them. It's actually called Microsoft Download Notifications, I get one monthly. As I recall it, when I signed up for a free Hotmail account (not to be confused with Windows Live), it was offered to me.

There are many useful downloads offered there, as well as interesting reading about the future trends that MS is taking, and there are many free trials offered to you.

The link to sign up is here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/DownloadNotifications.aspx

Cat

 

[Mychael]

ok, maybe I need to go to the MS home page to find it then.

 

[catilley1092]

I just put it there for you.

Cat

 

[Mychael]

So you did. I'm getting old and senile.. lol Thanks Cat.

 

[Nibiru2012]

I use BWMonitor aka Bandwidth Monitor. You can download a Free Trial with Full Feature for a 30 Day Time Period.

Try it, I think you'll like it. I have used it for several years now. Lots of good features and it's not a RAM hog either.

Go to: www.bwmonitor.com

Bandwidth Monitor monitors bandwidth usages through computer it's installed on. The software displays real-time download and upload speeds in graphical and numerical forms logs bandwidth usages, and provides daily, weekly and monthly bandwidth usage reports. Bandwidth Monitor monitors all network connections on a computer, such as LAN network connection, Internet network connection, and VPN connection.

Bandwidth Monitor also offers useful built-in utilities: speeds stopwatch, transfer rates recorder, and bandwidth usage notification. And, the software supports running as a system service that monitors bandwidth usages and generate traffic reports automatically without log on.

Bandwidth Monitor works with the majority network connections including modem, ISDN, DSL, ADSL, cable modem, Ethernet cards, wireless, VPN, and more. It's fully compatible with Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

 

[draceena]

I'm a huge user of a free little program called Networx http://www.softperfect.com/products/networx/

I can run on one computer, or run on all your networked computers. It gives lots of data on use as well as a real-time graph of up and down speeds. There is even a standalone version if you don't want to install it and just want to try it out.

 

[Nibiru2012]

draceena - nice free app there! Looks like that's the ticket for what Mychael is looking for.

Think I'll take it for a spin around the block.

EDIT:
Nice app! I like this little puppy! Very configurable and very similar to BWMonitor.

Thanks draceena!

 

[catilley1092]

Thanks draceena, I downloaded the app and will install it before I go to bed. It looks like it shows a lot of info, for a free app. It will probably help many, especially those who needs to keep up with their usage, or needs to make sure that they're getting the speed that they're paying for.

Many of the best things in life are free.:top:

Cat

 

[brkkab123]

Mychael right click on desktop>Gadgets>Get more gadgets online. Then type Network Meter in the Search box. It works rather well. It basically does was Speedtest's website does. It show's your upload and download speeds

 

[Mychael]

Yeah I was thinking about that. I'd tried gadgets before. Linux had them before Microsoft got around to doing them and Macs have had them for ages.
Anyway the few I tried that came with this O/S I was not very impressed with but maybe I'll work through the list and see what else they have.
I'll take a look specifically at the one you mentioned. Thanks.

 

[catilley1092]

Mychael, did you try out that option that draceena pointed out? It looks more promising than any other option that I've seen. In fact, I'm going to install it myself, on both computers.

Cat

 

[Mychael]

Yes, thanks everyone for your suggestions. I've had a play with them all and so far I like the display of Nibs suggestion best.