Bitmeter is a bandwidth meter, it allows you to visually monitor your internet connection by displaying a scrolling graph that shows your upload and download speed over time. If you spend a lot of time online, especially on file sharing networks such as BitTorrent, Kazaa and eDonkey, then a bandwidth monitor is almost indispensable - giving you real-time updates on how effectively your connection is being used, and alerting you to any problems immediately.

Download BitMeter II 3.5.7 in Softonic

The torrent phenomenon is one of the most hyped about in the world of technology among Peer to Peer (P2P) users. It consists of sharing large files, like movies, software, or games anonymously and quickly with other peers. The file you want to download is cut up into small segments shared by users, creating what is called a swarm, and does not go through a central server, significantly reducing the bulk of file transfers, The Bittorrent client is actually the first P2P application to use this technology and became immensely popular when it was released. Torrents are considered by online users as a great way to download recently released movies or tv shows.

Thanks to a straightforward, uncluttered interface Bittorrent appears as a friendly torrent client that beginners will feel comfortable with. We particularly appreciated the integrated search box to look for files on the bittorrent website. Once you’ve found the torrent you want, download it to your PC, open it up inside Bittorrent and let the client do its job. The speed at which you download will depend on the number of seeds, that is people who have the complete file and are sharing it. The more seeds there are the quicker files will download.

You can set multiple torrent downloads and the downloading speed is fairly quick. It’s easy to configure the client and we suggest choosing the right port and setting upload and download rate limits to avoid hogging your bandwidth. It’s also good to set your downloads by priority to monitor more precisely how your torrents are doing.

Compared to the exhaustive Azureus, Bittorrent is very simplistic. It doesn’t provide half as many statistics and doesn’t let you customize the interface. Integrating a search box is a great idea, but it limits searches to the bittorrent website, not considered the most thorough source by torrent aficionados.

If you’re a newbie to the torrent world, Bittorrent is a good bet. It’s safe, stable and sharp. Associated with the huge database of legal torrents that is the bittorrent website, it makes for a very rich P2P experience. Advanced users will probably frown upon its lack of options but others should give it a try.

Download BitTorrent 6.1 in Softonic

BWMeter is a powerful bandwidth meter, monitor and traffic controller, which measures, displays and controls all traffic to/from your computer or on your network. Unlike other products, it can analyze the data packets (where they come from, where they go, which port and protocol they use).

This makes it possible to distinguish between local and internet traffic for example. BWMeter can also be used for traffic control by setting a speed limit for all kinds of connections or restricting access to certain internet sites. It creates statistics for all computers in your network, measuring and displaying all LAN traffic as well as download / upload from the internet.

You can even define filters which show your transfer with certain internet addresses (e.g. to see how much data you download from your favorite news server). BWMeter is ideal for home users to get an overview of how much bandwidth they use, as well as small to large businesses, where one computer can control the traffic and maintain the statistics of downloaded / uploaded data of all computers in the network. The product is easy to configure and offers a rich set of options and features for beginners as well as experts and network administrators.

Download BWMeter 4.1.3 in Softonic

Anti-Trojan Elite (ATE) is a malware remover. Malware is software designed specifically to damage or disrupt a system, such as a trojan horse, spyware or a keylogger. Anti Trojan Elite contains a real-time Firewall, monitors system processes and cleans any malware immediately. It is also a system security tool, allowing you to view and control processes and TCP/IP network connections.

Anti Trojan Elite is a trojan/keylogger remover. When the trojan horse will run, Anti Trojan Elite can find out the trojan and stop it in time. Anti Trojan Elite is also a system security tool, it can view the informations of network and process. Anti Trojan Elite can monitor any change of important registry keys and values.

Download Anti Trojan Elite 4.1.3 in Softonic

Often the file you like to download is available on several different hosts. Phex will request different segments of the file from each host in parallel. After successfully downloading a segment Phex will merge it with the other segments of that file. This results in a much higher download speed. If a host is too slow the segment is split during download and given to another host. To make sure you never run out of hosts Phex is able to find new download hosts by itself with the automatic search functionality and features the Download Mesh.

You can choose for each download whether the segments should be chosen according to their availability (rarest first, BitTorrent-Style), their place in the file (earlier segments first, useful for previewing the file) or for previewing (the first 10MB according to their place in the file, after that according to their availability).

Phex offers very advanced configuration options. Much more than many other clients can offer. Especially advanced user can configure Phex according to their needs and are able to tune and see the effect of different settings.

With the passive search functionality Phex is able to constantly monitor the traffic that goes through the network and collect search results that match your passive search term. Also Phex snoops the traffic for new download candidates you need to finish your downloads faster. This type of searching is useful for longtime monitoring of available files on the network.

Other features include:

• Multiple searches
• Ultrapeer and compression technology for reduced bandwidth
• Integrated chat
• Browse host support
• Bitzi metadata lookup
• MAGMA support

Download Phex 3.2.6.106 in Softonic

Have you ever needed to remotely control another machine but found that most software designed to do so leads to unreliable or slow connections? Anyplace Control aims to simplify and speed-up this process by allowing you to securely control remote computers and transfer files via the Internet or LAN.

Once connected, the program displays the remote computer's desktop on your local screen and lets you use your mouse and keyboard to control that PC remotely. This is invaluable if you need to offer technical support to someone who lives or works a long way from you or you need to share a file or presentation. Unlike many similar desktop sharing systems, there's also a built-in File Transfer feature which lets you transfer files between computers with relative ease.

You can perform a whole manner of tasks once you take control of a PC. With Anyplace Control, you can restart and shutdown a remote PC, lock a remote mouse or keyboard, and do various other remote tasks such as looking for potential problems. For Network Administrators, this tool will prove particularly useful because there's a wizard that allows you to setup Anyplace Control on multiple PC's.

This is a great tool for anyone needing to do some remote admin although the inititial connection time can be rather long. There are more efficient programs for the same task, such as Crossloop, but the fact that this includes a File Transfer feature makes it a more complete solution.

Download Anyplace Control 4.7.1.0 in Softonic

If you're looking for a webcam that doubles up as a webcam, image capturing device and even a security camera, then you should take a look at CamUniversal.

What's really interesting about this app is that it includes a network server so that you can send images and viewing information from one PC to another which makes it an ideal monitoring device. There is a built-in motion detector which allows you to select which areas of the video are tested for motion, when, where and how. In this way, it allows you to target a specific part of your house or home without worrying about the consequences. The program also features video recording functions, picture capturing, external program execution, log file creation, sound playing, FTP transfer, email sending and there is also a scheduler. You can upload the images to an FTP server, a webpage or use a company LAN to distribute the images. Probably the only major problem is setting-up the software to work with your webcam - it doesn't seem particularly friendly with all webcams and you may not be able to get it up and running at the first attempt.

A useful webcam tool that doubles up as a security camera but may cause some problems during setup.

Download CamUniversal 3.5 in Softonic

Alchemy Eye is a network monitor that continuously monitors network server availability and performance. In the event of network errors, Alchemy Eye can alert the network administrator by cell phone or pager BEFORE problems get seriously out of hand.

This helps protect your company's data and reduces the likelihood of costly network failures. If a server goes down, Alchemy Eye automatically notifies the network administrator and writes a detailed log file.

Download Alchemy Eye 9.4 in Softonic

go1984 turns your PC into a video surveillance system that is comparable with any of the more expensive systems currently on the market. View your hall door, your warehouse or your summer home. Keep an eye on what's happening in your absence.

The app contains a variety of professional video monitoring tools such as:

• Live-Monitoring
• Recording (timer controlled, motion triggered or permanent)
• Controlling of PTZ cameras
• Alarm function (acoustic, via e-mail or voice-call via ISDN)
• Remote control via network or internet
• Scheduler for automatic recording

Download go1984 3.7.2.5 in Softonic

Avid editing systems are standard across the video editing industry but in more recent times, they've also become available to home PC and Mac users. Managing video projects can still be tricky on Avid systems though which is why MediaMover was developed.

However, organizing video editing projects in Avid is not always as easy as it seems and MediaMover is designed to lend you a helping hand. MediaMover works with a wide range of Avid products including Avid Media Composer, Nitris, Adrenaline, Mojo, Xpress, Liquid, NewsCutter, Symphony or DS. The basic principle of MediaMover is that it makes backing up and deleting projects much quicker which is a huge task when you can be working with projects several hundred gigabytes in size. MediaMover works with both local and network drives so it doesn't matter where your media is stored.

MediaMover is quite useful if you're not sure how much space you've got left on a storage media because it dynamically monitors drive space and will warn you if a project is going to fill up your drive or lack space before you spend lots of wasted time capturing or copying video files. In addition, if you're working with multiple drives, MediaMover can generate reports for each one and can be programmed to automatically backup projects at specific intervals.

MediaMover is a useful tool for an Avid editor who finds themselves dealing with huge amounts of video data but has no easy way to manage and back it up.

Download MediaMover 3.0.3 in Softonic

Some anti-virus programs cause more problems than they solve. Avast! Home Edition anti-virus is thankfully not one of those as it exceeds expectations while remaining free. Lightweight, vigilant and most importantly, effective, this could be the answer to your prayers if you’ve had no luck finding a virus checker you like.

The developers make a point of stressing that this program is strictly not for institutional use – it is designed specifically for the threats most home users face daily. Their philosophy is that efficient home virus protection is essential in preventing users one day being struck by a serious global virus. What impresses you immediately with Avast! is its vigilance. It’s likely that within minutes of installation, you’ll receive a pop up alert due to a Trojan or virus that had been incubating on your PC. If not, rest assured that it won’t be long before Avast! sets off its trademark siren and alerts you that something has been detected. The latest version of

Avast’s antivirus kernel promises 100% detection of ‘In-the-Wild’ viruses (viruses already spreading between users) and excellent detection of Trojan horses. Avast! provides 24 hour protection via its ‘On-Access’ scanner but you can initiate manual scans via the fairly simple user interface. You can start additional modules from here, such as the Virus Chest, Updater or Log Viewer. Another great feature of Avast! is the option to change the skin of this interface. The developer website features practically hundreds of distinctive designs made by aficionados and even offers a guide to designing your own.

Something often overlooked by major virus checking packages is P2P applications installed on your PC but Avast! covers this with a P2P and Instant Messenger shield. Whilst chat applications themselves do not impose any serious security risks in terms of viruses, their less sophisticated file sharing methods can easily lead to virus infections if not properly monitored. With so many infected files on P2P networks such as Kazaa and eMule too, it’s also good to know that Avast! won’t let you open them without quietly checking them first.

The program also features both a Web and Network shield that constantly monitors traffic. The Web Shield acts as a transparent HTTP proxy and is compatible with all major web browsers. One of the truly outstanding features of Avast! is that unlike heavyweights such as Kaspersky or Norton, you hardly notice it working in the background. This is because of a unique feature the developers call ‘Intelligent Stream Scan’ that scans objects on-the-fly, without needing to cache them locally. Even the virus updates are unobtrusive. Avast! downloads the updates gradually and only those that are absolutely essential instead of the whole database. You receive a ‘Virus database has been updated’ voice message every time this has been completed along with a small popup which you can turn off if it annoys you.

There really is little to fault Avast! on in a market that is saturated with too many ineffective virus checkers. Although it doesn’t guzzle resources, if you’re running it on an older machine, you might find it slows you down. Some new users also complain that conducting a simple manual scan is more complicated than it should be but if you’ve spent anytime with virus checkers, you’ll realise that its more than worth your while getting to know this excellent program.

Download Avast! Home 4.8.1229 in Softonic

ShareAlarmPro is a network tool that allows network administrators and users easily perform shared folders and resources monitoring. Using ShareAlarmPro you can monitor users attempting to access secured shares and confidential files, detect and log network access to shared folders, monitor security events and create alerts for specific events occurring on your computer, monitor open files, disconnect users from open files or deny network users access and send console messages.

ShareAlarmPro detects and notifies about remote connections to shared folders and resources, allows you to see parameters of the workstation, which tries to establish a connection with your computer. The remote workstation user and OS, permissions and path of the accessed folder, connection time will be available via this tool. ShareAlarmPro, optionally, will notify user on every new connection detection by playing any user selected audio file.

ShareAlarmPro includes an intrusion detection system based on security events log analyzer. Security Event Log Monitor monitors the security event logs of Windows servers or workstations and depending on configuration will notify user on selected events detection by showing a small popup window with event details. ShareAlarmPro also allows you to easily browse your LAN and view all shared resources whether they are hidden or not and connections to shared resources on remote workstations.

The program has a firewall system that allows you to block any unwanted connection to your shared resources. ShareAlarmPro keeps log for all detected events (access to shared folders, security events) in HTML format. This software also provide you ability to manage and monitor all shares on your workstation, disable or enable default administrative shares, hide your workstation in network, view how many users are currently connected to each shared resource on your workstation.

Download ShareAlarmPro 2.0.6 in Softonic

If you're a network administrator then accessing a network remotely is one of the most important aspects of your job.

Networks can crash or run into trouble at any time of the day or year and being able to access it remotely from wherever you are is essential. LogMeIn IT Reach allows you to centrally and securely support and manage remote PCs over the web. The program consists of a comprehensive IT toolkit and powerful remote access tool that can penetrate even the most secure firewalls.

The installation and deployment of LogMeIn IT Reach is one of it's big strong points. Rather than having to install software on separate PC's, it merely requires you to send an e-mail to all network users who simply click the link and follow on-screen steps to install the software which shouldn't take more than a few minutes. If you don't trust your users to do so, you can always do it manually yourself. After that, everything is administered through an easy to use web interface.

When logged in, you'll automatically see a list of all your computers and their status: online or offline. Simply select the computer you want to access, enter its Windows authentication credentials, and you'll be connected to it. From this moment on, the PC is constantly monitored for issues discreetly in the background with full detailed readings of system performance.

With master administrator and secondary administrator settings on top of this, LogMeIn IT Reach is one of the easiest network admin tools you'll find although it's only advisable for small networks.

Download LogMeIn IT Reach in Softonic

Analysing data packets is one way to monitor for problems in your network traffic or to detect connection problems.

Wireshark is a professional protocol analyser aimed to help users in troubleshooting, analysis, software and protocol development, and education. All of the standard features you expect to find in a protocol analyzer are here but it's also got a few added extras because it's open source and has been enhanced by it's community of users. The contribution of global networking consultants across the globe are what make Wireshark a particularly powerful analyser.

If you don't have any network analysing knowledge then you will find yourself a bit lost however. The program does have an extensive manual and forum but unless you are familiar with protocol analysis, they won't mean much to you. For those that are in the know, the program features deep inspection of hundreds of protocols, live capture and offline analysis and even VoIP analysis. Any captured network data can be browsed via an easy to use GUI or alternatively via the TTY-mode TShark utility. In addition, live data can be read from Ethernet, IEEE 802.11, PPP/HDLC, ATM, Bluetooth, USB, Token Ring, Frame Relay, FDDI, and others (depending on your platform).

This is a highly specialised tool that the average user won't find much use for but for any network administrators out there, it's an essential addition to your toolkit.

Download Wireshark 1.0.2 in Softonic

PC Tools Firewall Plus sits between your computer and your Internet connection, controlling both downloading and uploading traffic and warning you whenever it detects unexpected Internet access or traffic in either direction.

This firewall is surprisingly easy to use; you can start right away, without having to configure anything, something that beginners will be grateful for. These novice users will also be happy to see that the basic functionality of PC Tools Firewall Plus can be tweaked in terms of approved or blocked programs, in the Applications area. However, if you prefer to have more control over the program, you can always use the Advanced Rules section. There's also the possibility to switch between Normal user and Expert user, either during installation or in the program's configuration menu. In this way advanced users will get more detailed messages from the firewall and will also be able to tweak it further.

The program logs all network activities, as well as the number of packets and bytes blocked. But there's one thing I missed: the possibility of having several security levels (like in ZoneAlarm, for example) with which you can quickly change the program's settings.

All the functions in PC Tools Firewall Plus are easily accessible in the firewall's eye-catching interface, just by clicking on their correspondent buttons on the left side. The main window features direct access buttons to the most important areas in the program as well.

With PC Tools Firewall Plus both novice and advanced users can effectively protect their computers by choosing which apps should access the Internet and also blocking any unauthorized attemps to break into your PC.

Download PC Tools Firewall Plus 4.0.0.35 in Softonic

HttpWatch integrates with Internet Explorer to provide unrivaled levels of HTTP monitoring without the need for separately configured proxies or network sniffers. Simply interact with a web site and HttpWatch will display a log of requests and responses alongside the web page itself. It even shows interactions between Internet Explorer and the browser cache.

HttpWatch will show all HTTP requests issued by Internet Explorer regardless of the server technology used, e.g. IIS, Apache, Java, ASP.Net, PHP, etc. However, certain plug-in components such as ActiveX controls and Java applets bypass Internet Explorer when they make web requests and their HTTP traffic is not logged by HttpWatch.

Download HttpWatch 5.3.12 in Softonic

Jetico Personal Firewall software provides you with security against hackers who try to access your PC when you are connected to the Internet. Having inherited the Open architecture principles from BestCrypt, the Jetico Personal Firewall allows you to construct a strong yet accurate security policy and provides clear control over your network connections.

Three-layer protection:

Low-level (Network packet filter)

This checks the validity of network packets and parameters such as source & destination addresses, protocol, etc. Using this process, Jetico Personal Firewall can make your computer invisible to a non-trusted network. By selecting the Optimal Protection Policy, your computer becomes "stealthy". Any security probing tests (for example, ShieldsUp! tests) by internet hackers will report that your computer does not exist.

Application-level (Network events filter)

This checks and enables you to monitor network/internet connection requests made by applications. If you are not sure why an application wishes to send or receive data from the Internet you can limit or block the activity.

User-level (Process activity filter)

This notifies you of and prevents dirty tricks by Trojans and other malicious programs. (A Trojan can inject its own code into programmes on your computer and send data about you to a third party. e.g. a Trojan in Internet Explorer could transmit details of your browsing preferences.)

Download Jetico Personal Firewall 2.0.2.4 in Softonic

ANNI is software that allows you to make better trading decisions by combining technical analysis, fundamental analysis and advanced neural network technologies all in one, easy to use package.

It comes with full Portfolio Management capabilities allowing you to do all your financial tracking, monitoring and analysis in one place (no more having to work with multiple programs). ANNI has several different proprietary state-of-the-art neural network technologies implemented that make the applications's outputs highly accurate in comparison to other similar programs.

It provides tools and features that will automatically search for potential opportunities in the background, quickly integrate those into your Portfolio and run a PreScreen on them to determine how well they could perform with ANNI's in depth analysis (preventing you from wasting time on stocks that won't work well with ANNI*).

Download ANNI Standard 3.21.2 in Softonic

Firewalls can be frightening things to work with if you don't know how to configure them - blocking traffic you need and letting in those that you don't.

Privatefirewall is a comprehensive firewall that monitors your system 24/7. It has a highly intuitive interface that makes it one of those firewalls that you can use easily. It's easy to use for beginners although it will also appeal to advanced users because it has so many configurable options if you want them. If you do need help configuring these, the program has an extensive online documentation on the author's homepage. You can choose from three levels of firewall security which range from protection at home, at work, travel and mobile equipment. It monitors up to eleven areas divided into four areas: network, DCOM, browser and access control. These levels can be customized and completely preconfigured, but if you wish, you can set your own configuration rules made to your liking and tailored to your needs. The program features packet filtering, port analysis, tracking IP, e-mail etc in addition to developing detailed reports on monitoring results.

An excellent and powerful firewall that will fulfill the needs of all but the most demanding users.

Download Privatefirewall 6.0 in Softonic

If you're a network administrator, your number one task is to ensure that your network does not go down at any point.

However, monitoring whether this happens is easier said than done but IsItUp provides an easy one stop solution for small networks. The program monitors multiple "pingable" TCP/IP devices around the clock and notifies you, via email or pager, of the status of a particular device. It lets you know when it goes down and when it comes back up again. The application keeps comprehensive stats for each device it monitors including up time, maximum response time, minimum response time, standard deviation and more. Most useful of all however, it tracks the last successful and last failed Traceroute to a destination so it can determine where the break-down occurred. In addition, it's a great tool for those on the move because it has both a Web and a Windows User interface that allows you to check your network status from any location.

For medium to small sized network administrators, this is a powerful tool which allows you to track your network performance from any location.

Download IsItUp 6.28 in Softonic