The best free software for your home network

- As the administrator of your PC and your home network, you can best use some help, for example in the form of free tools. We make for you a selection of 25 little-known but very useful freeware.

Essential NetTools 4. 4

A home network is very convenient, as long as nothing goes wrong. But often enough there are problems and then you have to Essential NetTools a nice package to monitor your network and test. This suite has brought together a wide variety of tools in a graphical interface, each one designed to help you manage and troubleshoot your network. Each tool is moreover directly accessible via a button in a panel.

There are classics among which will recognize a 'home system' or, as Traceroute, Ping, NetStat and Port Scan. There are still more, we describe a few brief. Hosta Live periodically checks whether a device or service is accessible, NSLookup use to perform DNS queries and to convert IP addresses to hostnames and vice versa and SysFiles is a tool for editing system files. Want to know which wireless adapters and Wi-Fi networks are available, then use your WiFiMan, and for a list of all running processes, you can contact ProcMon. On the site are all available tools also outlined briefly.

An uncluttered suite with each one useful network tools.

All freewares in this article we have gone through www. virus total. com checked. This site checks every time a program with several dozen online virus checkers. As long as one or two (lesser known) antivirus tools to pull the alarm, there is usually nothing to worry about. However, you would do well to check itself become to execute, even if you have run an up-to-date antivirus utility on your system. It may occur that in a newer version of the program (which came online after this writing) still has something suspicious occurred.

Repair All In One AC adapter 1. 2

Essential NetTools may be a handy suite for those who own one and another of his network will uitvlooien, AC Adapter Repair All In One is specifically aimed at problems with your network connection solve almost automatic. Admittedly, this tool can ultimately little more than the built bWindows tools, but it gets you a lot easier. The program has only one window. You indicate the recovery operation you want to run and with one press of a button you put the tool to work. You can include rapidly renew the DHCP address, modify DNS data to Google DNS or clear the DNS cache. Your network (adapter) really have to sit heavily in the node you want to find a solution with this tool.

Glass Wire 1. 1

Glass Wire describes himself as a 'firewall software. That in itself is correct, but those who are taking a program with which he presents his network and to regulate Internet traffic with complex rules, it still sees wrong. Wire glass is in fact a user-friendly and smart-looking tool that can bring your network traffic meticulously map and can also protect. The program shows you include a chart with all the outgoing and incoming network traffic, which you can easily zoom in on the desired time period and can divide traffic into application and protocol.

If you're interested in the big picture of your network traffic, you use the Usage tab, where the data is neatly divided into applications, hosts, and traffic type. The Firewall tab offers little more than a graphical shell around the Windows firewall, but you can from here or already blocking the network access of a specific application. Click the Alerts tab, you get a (chronological) overview of relevant messages that are related to your network. Through the settings, you decide for yourself which incidentally type messages you want to receive. The Network tab, you can ignore if you're using the free version. In the paid version you'll see the newly added network devices.

What application contacts the server and how many data stoked?

Easy Service Optimizer 1. 1

Even if you start not own programs, there are often dozens of processes and services running in the background. You'll find out when you open the Windows Task Manager or the module services. msc starts. All these parts of course take some system resources.

Easy Service Optimizer examines which services are running on your system and lists services that- based on the known lists of Black Viper- 'optimizable' are. This means that they are not necessary in every situation (for Windows) and can optionally be switched off. There are four scenarios. Default is the status of the services as configured by default in Windows. Safe is the configuration (according to Black Viper) by 95% of users can be used safely. Tweaked goes a step further and turn some more from services normally have no undesirable side effects. Extreme (or Bare-bones at Black Viper) disables most services and try only if you know what you're doing and what services you can spare. Incidentally, it is also possible to remove services from the list: they are not deleted from your system, they just dive no longer in the list of 'optimaliseerbare' services.

Tinkering with the services, who knows what he's doing.

Easy Context Menu 1. 6

The default context menu (also right-click menu) of Windows Explorer is a convenient starting point for instance, copy folders or files or rename. Now we are not directly advocate to expand this menu with a long list of options, as it often means slower performance or in the worst case, less stability.

Addressing Easy Context Menu (from the makers of Easy Service Optimizer, tip 4) knows how to charm us so. After unzipping the downloaded zip archive you will start on the version for your system (32 or 64 bit). There is a distribution made for the right-click menu of six situations: for example, from your desktop, folders and files. To add items to the menu you have plenty of options (we counted nearly a hundred). We'll give you a handful of examples: reduce memory, Recovery queue for the printer, Sleep, modify icon and Owner. You add an item to the context menu of Windows Explorer by simply placing a check mark. Additional items have of course also simply deleting items.

CloneApp 1. 07

When you reinstall Windows, such as your current installation is not to burn more forward, you automatically lose all configuration settings for your installed applications. Highly annoying and so it is for such a scenario CloneApp more than welcome. This tool- which you as administrator must boot- namely to provide a simple backup of the settings of over 200 apps / applications for Windows. More difficult than the desired applications in a list to indicate and click Start CloneApp is not. The backups by default end up in a subfolder of the CloneApp folder. With the push of a button What is being backed up otherwise you'll know exactly what goes into such a backup. Is your program is not listed, you can still try your luck in the plug-in list on the site of the creators or trying to indicate what you want via Custom Lodge in the backup. A Restore button ensures that the backed-up settings are put back properly on your system.

Very handy: a backup of the configuration of your installed applications.

RegBak 1. 5

You know that the Windows registry will contain almost all the important settings for your system hardware components and software. So you'd better provide for an up-to-date backup in case something goes wrong. Now you can do this more or less could do that from the registry editor, but with RegBak it's a lot more comfortable. Once you press the button New Backup creates a complete backup of all registry hives. Which is then neatly added to your list of previously created backups. Via the settings panel you can determine the name and location of the backup files, and it is possible to specify how many backups you want to keep, for example, only the five most recent or the backups from the last month. Restoring a backup you do obviously with the Restore button. It is of course a bit more difficult if you do not boot Windows, but know that you are also using the Windows Recovery Console can still appeal to the backups.

A complete registry backup is not a luxury.

Upsafe Gmail Backup 1. 0. 3

I myself sit around 12 000 emails in the inbox of my Gmail account, and I would certainly not like to lose. Do you want to lose your Gmail messages under any circumstances. Upsafe Gmail Backup is the perfect solution. With this tool, you get namely local backups of all your Gmail messages, including attachments. The first course, which can take a while, but subsequent backups take much less time, given the program 'incremental' backups and thus only secures new messages. You can manually start a backup, but it is also possible to set a task scheduler so that it periodically creates a secure backup. But there is more: Messages and attachments view, you can also do from the tool and the built-archive function gives you desired messages permanently from the cloud. You hereby give themselves the criteria, such as messages to or from a specific person with a specific keyword and / or to a certain date. Restore messages to the Gmail cloud can indeed.

Recall 15. 04

It will only happen: you want to start a program or some application (or Windows itself) install again but you have forgotten your password. Let Recall then your memory. This tool extracts namely passwords and product keys from an impressive number of applications and (web) services to out of your system. You can leave looking recall going to the default location or even designate a folder. The program converts all the passwords and codes and, where possible, the corresponding login names in a list. According to the makers recall find the passwords of more than 200 programs (browsers, FTP clients, wireless networks etc.), and the license codes from over 2800 applications. Are you looking for the password of a ftp, POP3 or SMTP client that standard is not supported by recall, you take with the built-protocol emulation still the corresponding passwords.

Passwords and product keys fishing recall so on from your system.

Disk Drill 1. 0

Passwords losing is bad, but losing important data is much worse. Have you formatted the wrong partition accidentally deleted or incorrect files, it is not lost. With a data restorer as Disk Drill (for Windows, as there is also a Mac version available) you give yourself a real chance. It is a user program. First you mark the disk or partition with the files you. The program is compatible with almost all possible media formats and file systems handle, namely FAT (32), exFAT, NTFS, EXT 2/3/4 and HFS +. It is also possible unallocated disk spaces 'raw' approach. The program also comes standard look for possible lost partitions on the selected disk. You can choose between a quick scan and a- longer lasting- Deep Scan. The data found are automatically classified into categories such as Audio, Documents and Pictures. In principle it is sufficient to select the files to which- to a different medium- to recover.

Disk Drill: your ultimate savior in (data) emergency?

Jihosoft Eraser 2. 1

You obviously know already that files that you put in the Windows Recycle Bin are not really gone, even if you delete them there as well. In fact, to get all 'deleted' data back yet, so long as they are not overwritten by other data. That is exactly the principle of a 'shredder' as Jihosoft Eraser. To make sure that road really is gone, the program overwrites the data one or more times, depending on the selected erase algorithm. Incidentally overwrite once sufficient on modern hard drives. You give the program what you want to shred right: specific folders or files, a complete disk or partition, or the free space on a hard disk (where possible yet old, previously deleted files). The latter two can be, at least on NTFS drives, also the MFT (Master File Table) and the USN Change Journal leave empty.

Let no privacy sensitive data lying around!

OPSWAT Gears

Are you (technically) responsible for multiple devices, such as your home network? Then you will be eager to explore the easy way or the systems are safe enough. For example, from one centralized plate, from the cloud through a Web browser. You can with OPSWAT Gears. Once you've created an account and logged into the online dashboard, you can add your first device. Unfortunately, you must first install as a local module (on any device that you want to monitor remotely- there are up to 25 in the free version).

There are versions available for Windows and OS X. After the installation and start-up tool begins a thorough analysis of the system. Afterwards you will find out what safety rating achieved your system. That shows a total score based on a number of topics, such as firewall, encryption, antivirus and backup. Just click and you get to see even more details. Over time, the tool begins to report to your dashboard in the cloud, where you get a nice and detailed overview of the security status of each connected device.

Active @ Disk Editor 6. 0

You've no doubt already more terms see passing as FAT, NTFS, boot sector, MBR, GPT etc. terms that piece by piece to make do with disk structures and file systems. An operating system does ensure that such disc areas for the average user to remain hidden. Specialized tools such as Active @ Disk Editor, available for Windows and Linux, making it visible. This is a physical disk editor that gives you access to literally all the bits and bytes on your disk, and thus to boot sectors and other areas for the administration file. It goes without saying that such a program can be especially interesting for the advanced user who knows what he is doing (and above all knows what data he can and can not adapt with impunity). Through a clever navigation Active @ Disk Editor allows you to instantly view the partition table, boot sector or master file table (MFT) go on an NTFS disk. A powerful search feature is also included, so that you- with the necessary knowledge- in this way also can trace long-lost data or partitions.

The sight alone makes clear: This tool is for advanced users.

O O ShutUp10

O O Software is an official 'Microsoft Partner' and so it surprised us precisely they come with a very useful tool to give the user (much) more control over Windows 10. And in particular about the features that not every privacy-conscious user is happy with it. Once you start the tool- an installation is not required- you see listed all the features of Windows 10 who also have somewhere to do with privacy. We counted a total of more than forty functions, divided into categories such as Security, Location Services, User Behavior and Windows Update. Every post you will find a symbol that shows how smart you are, according to the creators to do to disable it. Not all the items you will be immediately obvious, but if you click on any such item you will get more information. To disable a feature, you put the switch to green. But first you still have the opportunity to create a system restore point so that you always can return your steps. There is within the program is also an option that allows you at once to return to the original Windows settings.

USB Raptor

Do you want to prevent other users while you are away from your PC use, you can activate the lock screen of Windows (Windows key + L). Whether you use USB Raptor. This tool allows you to any USB stick allows act as a kind of security token. It does this by user program on the USB drive to place a file on which the checks quite frequent. Turns out the file exists (and therefore that particular stick plugged in), then your system will be easily unlocked. Lacking the stick with the file, then the lock will remain stubbornly active. It is also possible for the tool beforehand so that specifically the stick is required (and not just a copy of that file to a different USB stick). If you ever get the stick blames then there's always a back door in the form of a password.

A locking system with any James Bond content.

AdwCleaner 5. 0

Nothing more annoying than pop-ups that you constantly harass when browsing, useless toolbars that you could not get away or unsolicited web pages to pop up at every turn. Chances are (very) large AdwCleaner which you can redeem such crap. The operation can hardly be easier. Start the (portable) tool and click Scan. After the scan round AdwCleaner shows the results of his catch on several tabs, including Services, Folders, Files, Registry, Chrome and more. The more you find here, the more (likely) adware and stuff. In fact, you now only need the Delete button, unless you want to keep aware of certain items, then you remove the check mark next to such an item away. After opschoonoperatie AdwCleaner will reboot your system and displays a log. We advise you to this operation just to run when you actually plagued by annoying adware. Complete a system restore point is also a good idea.

SlickRun 4. 3

The latest versions of Windows make you a lot easier to locate specific files or start programs. It can even more efficiently, you will be quickly apparent with SlickRun, available in both 32- and 64bit version. After installing a small bar pops up near the system area of ​​Windows. In SlickRun actually runs everything around the concept of 'magic words' a kind of macros or aliases.

Busy but even the (default) shortcut Alt + Q and tap in the bar one of the following magic words in: hibernate (Windows goes into hibernation), dos (open a command prompt window), google Netherlands (search Google for information about Netherlands) or paint (start on MS Paint). There are many more possibilities: right click on the bar and choose Magic Words to see the available instructions. You can also add instructions. You do this from the context menu where you then choose New Magic Word, and then a name, and enter the path to a program or a URL. Or just click the magic wand and drag it to the open application you want to associate with this magical word. Actually, you can still lose additional parameters.

Clip Jump 12

Windows clipboard can be very useful to quickly get a piece of text or an image from one application or Web page and paste it into another application. It is a pity that you are limited to only one item at a time (except within the MS Office applications where you have a more extensive clipboard). You can find this annoying? Use Clip Jump, which nestles in the Windows system tray.

Free to take the test and then copy (Ctrl + C) a few different items to the clipboard. When you then press Ctrl + V, Clip Jump intervenes in the form of a pop-upvenstertje. Whenever you're holding down the Ctrl key, press the V key, you get to see all the items in reverse chronological order that you had copied to the clipboard. Once the desired item is shown, you have to leave the keyboard shortcut but loose to paste the item in your document. Conveniently, yet it Clip Jump remembers the content even when restarting Windows. You can also manage the content and example entries (selective) deleting items. For heavy users of the clipboard Clip Jump still provides for the possibility to work with 'channels'. You can then host of associated items in the same channel.

An 'unlimited' number of items in the clipboard with Clip Jump.

Similar Image Finder 1. 1

As avid photographer take a lot of pictures, often by the same people or landscapes but with tiny differences (in exposure, shutter speed, etc.). All these pictures obviously take a lot of disk space. You want to perform a thorough cleanup, then Similar Image Finder help you. As the name suggests, this tool encourages (more or less) duplicate pictures. First, would you give up what sites should locate the program. After the scan round you get two duplicates each time to see an example. You can move the mouse pointer over it to zoom in so you can see well the differences. The tool also shows the percentage of agreement. 100% means that the images are identical, at 90%, there are clear differences to view all and so on. You decide what percentage you're interested and you can also set the criteria (such as Creation Date or Pixel Size) based on the program of which a photo as 'original' or 'duplicate' will label. Of course you can remove excess platelets from this program.

The program will look more or less identical pictures.

cPicture, a pun on 'see picture' advertises itself primarily as a photo viewer, but we find it a little too modest. The program should then focus on image files, it can also handle audio and video. The interface is a bit like Windows Explorer, including the ribbon. Left you will see a hierarchical list of drives and folders and on the right a list of media files from the selected location. cPicture can cope with all major image formats, including some raw formats. But it's not just 'looking' (whether in the form of a slide); there are also quite a few (simple) editing tools available, with classics such as crop, rotate, flip, and remove red eye. A batch function is also available to edit multiple files simultaneously. Many features are also available shortcuts and diehards send cPicture naturally from the command line to.

cPicture: a clear no-nonsense approach.

Seanau Icon Toolkit 7. 1

Also, your desktop may have all kinds of shortcuts to programs and documents. Do you want to give your desktop a more personal touch, why not icons of some commonly used shortcuts myself? Which can perfectly with Seanau Icon Toolkit. To design such an icon, you can use a number of built-in tools, such as a line and pencil tool or a rectangle or ellipse tool. You do not necessarily have to start from a white file (which we would not recommend you in the beginning). You can also import existing images (such as ico, jpg, bmp, tif and png) load for further editing. Looking for inspiration? On sites like www. icon archive. com you will find thousands. With the support of layers there are quite some advanced editing is possible, especially in combination with the Styles menu, which contains a series of ready-made styles and effects.

Pretty fun, such self-designed (or edited) program icon!

PNotes. 3. NET 1

You slice your screen edges or on your desk filled with note-breifjes? Then use once a tool like PNotes. JUST. Would you like this in Dutch, then you need after installation as the Dutch translation module to download. That suit you, then out, then you file dutch. PNotes the xml folder. NETlang copies. After installation you will find PNotes. NET back in the Windows system tray. From the context menu you get access to an extensive menu via Preferences / General Settings / Language / Dutch do everything Dutch. New post-itjes create new note is no more difficult than clicking and typing in your message. Under such a memorandum to all sorts of tools to give the note further shape and also the context menu to get a lot of useful options available. To keep things organized, you can with PNotes. NET can classify notes into groups such as 'Home' or 'Work'. There is also a search function available and you can also tagged notes. Also good to know: you decide entirely for themselves when such a reminder note should appear and it is even possible to synchronize your notes using plug-ins to your favorite cloud storage service.

Crypt Sync 1. 2

Encryption still remains the surest way to make unauthorized data for inaccessible. Crypt Sync is an encryption tool, but with a somewhat separate approach: the program will synchronize two folders, but so that the folder is automatically encrypted. That gives opportunity, especially when you consider that the folder you also in the folder of your Google Drive can place OneDrive or Dropbox. And no one's stopping you to create for example, two pairs of sync with éeenzelfde source folder and two destination folders on different cloud services. Then you immediately have an encrypted backup of your data. So everything starts with the creation of one or more 'sync pairs' that you provide a strong password encryption. If you want, you can also let encrypt the file names. Standard 7-Zip is used for encryption, which is also the target folder immediately compressed, but you can also select an encryption using GnuPG, which is not compressed.

Synchronize, encrypt and compress them into a single movement.

KryptoFiler 1. 0

If you only occasionally some privacy, encrypt sensitive files, then a tool like Crypt Sync is not really useful. KryptoFiler is a better solution. Namely, that it integrates neatly into the context menu of Windows Explorer. Choose here Encrypt with KryptoFiler, you do basically doing little more than select the encryption algorithm, with a choice among more Rijndael, Serpent, Twofish, Blowfish, 3DES, etc. The hash algorithm you can manually, including MD5 and SHA512. Choose a strong password and the file is encrypted into a mirror file with the extension _Encrypted. Of course you can also decrypt encrypted files again. Click on it right now and choose Decrypt with KryptoFiler.

Feem 3. 0

To transfer data via your Wi-Fi network to wirelessly transfer between various devices, there are several solutions, including AirDroid or AirDrop. A lesser known, yet elegant tool is Feem. This program is available for Windows, OS X and Linux and also exists as a mobile app for Android, iOS and Windows Phone. Feem automatically detects other devices within the same Feem (wired or wireless) network and adds the names to the list. You select the target device in the list and then drag the desired files onto the program window. The recipient will receive a notification and can then download the data to a controlled location. A nice extra is the chat module, which quickly a few messages between sender and receiver can be interchanged.