Top 9 Best Network Information Tools for Windows PCs
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Hyena
Manage your computer systems with ease, monitor drives, local groups, users, connections, services, and much more thanks to this powerful app.
Hyena is a practical addition to your operating system that allows you to manage multiple parameters with minimum effort. It main advantage is the ability to gather all the administrative tools and important system tools in the same interface.
The application is designed for the Windows administrators that need to manage users or devices, to view system logs and have limited time to make the changes. It features an Explorer-like interface that groups the tools in order to easily find the ones required to perform the computer maintenance.
The file manager looks similar to the Windows Explorer but offers the possibility to edit the object security options and to run a set of personalized tools. You can include links to other applications that are not accessible in the Hyena menus by creating custom tools.
The user is able start or stop services and devices without accessing the Computer Management console. The same interface provides access to the applications logs and the security logs generated by the operating system components.
The Registry section allows you to browse the keys and to make modifications in order to fine-tune the computer behavior. You can export certain information and create a report with the accessible data in order to present certain information to your colleagues.
If you need to automate certain tasks you can use the macro feature to enter multiple commands and to save them to text files in order to be executed later. The documentation provided by the developers can help the less experienced users get used to the macro command strings.
Hyena is a useful application designed for quickly managing large networks and for being used by network administrators. Although you can use it for a single computer, you should look for another tool for customizing your PC.
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Network Controller
A useful application that was especially tailored for users who want to enable or disable a network connection with minimal efforts.
Tampering with network connections on a computer seldom requires daily attention because as soon as the LAN and Internet traffic is up and running, users will leave that area or PC management alone. Nonetheless, there are cases in which it is required to swap connections quite often, especially when working with portable systems like notebooks or netbooks.
In order to make the transit from one network to another more facile by avoiding to go through several configuration menus to deactivate one connection then activate the other, a utility like Network Controller might come in quite handy.
It is essentially a very simple tool that takes care of a single task and servers as a switch for turning on and off the network connections that are available onto your system. Through a simple and practical interface this program makes all its functions easily accessible.
As soon as you start Network Controller, it will scan the computer and display immediately the available connections, accompanied by some basic information. Thus, you can view the connection as well as the device names and their current state.
Disabling and enabling the listed connections is one click away using the dedicated commands from the lower side of the main window. There are separate buttons for each of the above mentioned actions while a third one can be used for toggling the connection state if you don't want to use the other two.
A neat feature of Network Controller is its ability to generate desktop shortcuts for any supported action. This can be very helpful for those who prefer to make the needed modification without having to open the application and bring up its GUI.
On the whole, this software solution can prove to be quite useful, even if it could receive some extra features like scheduling the tasks or setting a limited time for such an action.
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JDisc Discovery
Perform numerous scans on your network, discover connected devices and organize the information you retrieve in an efficient manner.
Running a big company usually requires you to perform various administrative tasks, such as inventorying assets or coordinating projects.
Although you can rely on qualified personnel to handle some of these tasks, you can also turn to specialized software and benefit from similar results in an easier manner. One of the applications that can simplify your work is JDisc Discovery.
Powerful application with a comprehensive user interface
This program is a powerful utility that can help you perform various scans over your network in order to discover connected devices and organize them in an efficient manner.
Since most of its functions are technical, JDisc Discovery requires you to have advanced PC operating skills and a good understanding of certain network concepts.
In case you encounter any difficulties while operating it, you can easily rely on the extensive help documentation that provides you with a large amount of useful, detailed information.
Scan your network and identify connected devices
You can rely on this tool if you need a quick way of identifying every device that is connected to your network and retrieving additional useful information about detected items.
Among the details this application can provide you with, you can find device type, model, manufacturer, serial number, operating system and network interfaces. These features provide you with a wide spectrum of possibilities, especially since it supports various operating systems and can identify SNMP-based devices.
Stores data in database files that you can archive and keep on your PC
Aside from the useful discovery functions that this application comes with, it also allows you to store retrieved data in database files, for better organization. Additionally, it is possible that you can archive these files and keep them on your PC, for future reference.
To wrap it up, JDisc Discovery is a powerful tool that allows you to perform scans inside your network, identify devices that are connected to it and view additional information about them. It comes with a comprehensive user interface and extensive help documentation.
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X-NetStat
Monitor your Internet and network connections with this utility, which also features tracerouting, pinging, whois, NB lookup, and other network management tools.
X-NetStat is a network monitoring tool that displays detailed information about Internet and network connections, while providing full control over the running processes.
Sporting a professional interface that shows tons of information everywhere you look, X-NetStat attempts to help you keep an eye on TCP and UDP connections, while displaying specific information such as IP, hostname and port, remote host, bandwidth and protocol.
In addition, X-NetStat displays several details on running processes, ports, WHOIS and system, with the last menu focused on network and Internet connections. This way, you can find out not only the local IP and the network adapter that's currently in use, but also the number of established connections, incoming and outgoing transfers and many other details.
There are several other tools available in X-NetStat , including network statistics and lookup utilities. Additionally, you can search the Internet for information on a specific process or hostname, as well as to clear DNS cache, edit HOSTS file, resolve an address, find files or computers or get port information.
You can define rules for every single process and connection, with a number of actions to be performed, such as running a program, playing a WAV file, opening an URL, killing the connection or start tracing.
Last but not least, X-NetStat boasts an advanced sniffer to analyze network data, but this particular tool seems to stress up the CPU and RAM a little bit, especially on older machines.
The traditional tools are still there, so you can still kill a connection, ping, WHOIS or TraceRoute a given IP directly from the main window.
All things considered, X-NetStat is clearly one of the best products in this particular software category and thanks to the fact that it sports such a user-friendly interface, it can be safely used by beginners and experienced users alike.
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Download Hubs
X-NetStat is part of these download collections: WHOIS Clients
JDisc Discovery Professional Edition
Perform various network scans, discover and identify devices that are connected to it and organize the output information according to your needs.
If you ever performed administrative actions over a network, you are probably aware that some of them are quite tedious.
However, relying on advanced dedicated software solutions might simplify your work by providing you with a wide variety of powerful tools. One of the applications that can help you in the situation above is JDisc Discovery Professional Edition.
Advanced network scanner application with an extensive user interface
This application can be easily installed on your computer, as the amount of additional configuration you need to perform is kept to a minimum. It comes with a rich user interface that incorporates a wide variety of useful functions.
Note that this application was designed to simplify the work of network administrators by providing them with several complex functions. Therefore, accessing it might prove to be difficult unless you have advanced PC operating skills and a good understanding of specific networking concepts.
Perform advanced network scans and identify connected devices
JDISC Discovery Professional Edition allows you to run complex scans over the network and identify all the devices that are currently connected to it.
Running a scan can be achieved with ease, by clicking the corresponding button from the main window. Additionally, the scan can be paused or stopped, depending on your needs. As the application is processing the collected data, you can view a list of devices that are connected to your network, along with other useful information.
Access an outstanding variety of network-related information and save it on your PC
This program allows you to view numerous details about devices on your network and also export it to an archive on your computer, for future reference.
It is possible to access several lists that feature significant information, such as user accounts, IP ranges, applications, patches, services, drivers, processes, clusters or login credentials. Furthermore, you can organize the information you receive within databases, for future reference, or you can export it to your computer as an archive file, for safe storage.
To wrap it up, JDISC Discovery Professional Edition is a complex network scanning tool that allows you to perform advanced scans and identify connected devices, along with other useful details. However, due to its complexity, it might not be possible to access it entirely unless you meet certain PC skill requirements.
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NetworkMiner
Simple tool for retrieving specific details about the hosts in the network, offering support for parsing and offline analysis of Pcap files.
NetworkMiner has been created as a network tool that can be used for forensic analysis that can be used on multiple platforms.
Its purpose is to detect operating systems, host names, sessions, or open ports without sending any traffic into the network.
Basically is works as a passive network sniffing tool and it does not capture network traffic. However, it can be used for parsing Pcap files for offline forensic analysis of the traffic.
Simple interface with no configuration panel
Installing the application is a simple job that can be completed by any type of user, regardless of their computer knowledge.
The interface does not feature any bells and whistles and provides the means for immediate capture of the information. Suffice to select the network card and start the session and data about the hosts is immediately pulled in.
Retrieves details about the hosts in the network
It should show the number of hosts detected and for each of them there are details such as the IP and MAC addresses, the host name, operating system available, TCP ports that are open and the TTL (time to live) value.
The hosts can be organized in various ways so that they are grouped according to the desired relevance.
If all the details have been obtained the screen of the application can be cleared in order to make room for new information. There is no configuration panel to enable setting up the application for other tasks.
Easy to use host information sniffer
NetworkMiner is not difficult to work with, but understanding some of the information it makes available requires some network knowledge. It is not a sniffing tool for network traffic but it can work with offline Pcap data.
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Wireless Network Watcher
Simple, easy-to-use and lightweight software application that allows you to scan your network and view all the connected devices.
Wireless Network Watcher is a lightweight Windows application designed to display all connected computers to your wireless network, along with detailed information about each of them.
Although it may sound a bit like a task addressed to more experienced users, Wireless Network Watcher makes everything pretty easy to use, mostly thanks to the interface.
In fact, that's also the sole purpose of the application: show this kind of information and nothing more.
The main window is the one that makes it possible, as it shows the IP address, device name, MAC address, network adapter company, device information, user text, first detected on time and detection count.
Furthermore, you can configure the format of the displayed MAC address, perform background scanning, place an icon in the Windows System Tray for instant access and beep as soon as a new computer is detected.
What's more, Wireless Network Watcher gives users the option to select the network adapter they wish to use, just in case there are multiple such hardware devices on your computer, but also the IP address range to be scanned.
Last but not least, the application has been developed to allow you to export the list of connected devices to multiple formats, including HTML, XML, CSV or text file.
Wireless Network Watcher doesn't stress up the CPU and RAM and works smoothly on all Windows versions, without slowing down the computer in any way.
All in all, this lightweight freebie does its job pretty fast and although it's supposed to run all the time and keep you up to date with the new computers in your network, it always remains friendly with hardware resources.
Wireless Network Watcher Video Guide
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AIDA64 Network Audit
A powerful and comprehensive auditing tools that can help network administrators to collect information, allowing for an efficient monitoring of the resources.
AIDA64 Network Audit is a complex toolset that serves in network audit and monitoring, allowing administrators to keep tabs on hardware and software inventory throughout corporate networks.
The application’s range of uses varies because it includes modules for the advanced diagnosis of local systems, as well as components for network monitoring, being able to carry out multiple purposes at the same time.
Compared to the other AIDA64 suites, the Network Audit was designed as a compromise for companies that don’t need the benchmark tests from AIDA64 Extreme or Engineer, but require the audit feature set of the Business version, which is the most complete of the series.
All of the products are built on a common skeleton, which is why all of them boast the extensive reporting modules on local hardware and software, with support for sensor monitoring and uptime and downtime statistics.
The collection of features that sets AIDA64 Network Audit apart from the rest includes comprehensive network reports, monitoring and alerting, being capable of assisting network administrators in their active watch upon all the available resources.
The audit process is carried out by an integrated component called Audit Manager, which is able to generate reports on the computers inside the network by collecting information from a preconfigured database (Access, SQL Server, PostrgeSQL, Sybase, Oracle), as well as from local CSV files.
Moreover, you can create various scenarios of the type of information to be gathered. You can ask for reports on all of the components inside the networked computers or you can opt for a more selective approach.
Another important feature is the network alerting, which is able to notify administrators of various events (mostly suspicious changes) by sending emails or messages, as well as by posting an entry to a log server.
With AIDA64 Network Audit, it’s easier and more comfortable to manage an entire network of computers. You can trust it with a variety of tasks, including hardware and software distribution, as well as the security of the entire network.
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Total Network Inventory
Gather information about all computers in a network (e.g. system, CPU, video info, storage details, network, peripheral devices) and build a detailed report.
Total Network Inventory is a software application designed to help you keep track of all computers in a network and collect useful information about each PC.
The user interface is clean but not very intuitive, so you may need some time to get used to working with this tool.
You can also run a wizard for selecting the network computer you want to check, scan the PC Total Network Inventory, or configure the dedicated parameters directly from the primary panel.
The step-by-step approach is definitely the easiest one, as it offers users assistance throughout the entire process.
This way, you can select between two scanning options (“Immediate Online Scan” and “Logon Script Scan”). The first one allows users to scan only the computers that are currently online, while the second scans the PC each time the users logon to the domain.
At the end of the scanning task, you can select the workstations you need to extract information from. What’s more, the application automatically retrieves data and displays it in the primary panel.
Total Network Inventory provides comprehensive information about system (e.g. computer parameters, motherboard, memory slots), CPU (e.g. manufacturer, clock speed), system memory (physical and virtual memory), video system (video adapters, monitors), storage details (e.g. hard drives and removable media), network, peripheral devices (e.g. printers, keyboards), devices, as well as software details (OS, system, updates).
Last but not least, you can perform searches throughout the entire database and built reports which can be customized by including only relevant information.
All things considered, Total Network Inventory gives you a hand when it comes to collecting information about all computers in a network.
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Download Hubs
Total Network Inventory is part of these download collections: Network Inventory
