NetSpeedMonitor

Pros

• Sophisticated Yet Simple UI
• Fast Download and Installation
• Excellent Diagnostic Potential

Cons

• Mistakes Known Processes For Unknown
• Not In System Tray
• Limited Vertical Taskbar Support

NetSpeedMonitor is a piece of software designed to tell you the speed and status of your download and upload internet connections. While the two connections are technically opposite sides of the same coin, they are essentially independent of each other and must be measured and monitored as two separate streams. Those who have persistent issues with their internet connection can take advantage of the advanced configuration settings found in one of the toolbars in NetSpeedMonitor. This will allow you to easily diagnose any issues that might be present.

While this sort of software can be fairly helpful, NetSpeedMonitor itself has slipped in recognition and popularity. This is due to the fact that it is only compatible with Windows Vista and Windows XP systems. Anyone who uses either of those two systems should have no trouble taking full advantage of the software for internet speed monitoring.

What's truly interesting about this software is that it features functionality that was once native to the Windows operating system. Older versions of the network software Windows once employed had the ability to show how much data your connection allowed to pass through while uploading or downloading. That metric is no longer automatically presented in Windows, so many people who want to know those details rely on a tool like NetSpeedMonitor. While this software is technically free since the developers give away free licenses, donations are accepted by the developers to help with production and update costs.

The most common utility for NetSpeedMonitor is to simply determine your internet connection speed compared to the advertised speed from the provider. Users want to make sure they have access to every bit of speed they pay to use, and this small tool is one of the most reliable and efficient methods for confirming those speeds. Some users don't really care about the advertised speed as long as the actual speed is in the general ballpark, but that doesn't mean they aren't curious about the actual speed.

NetSpeedMonitor is also an excellent way to find problems with your software or hardware. Perhaps a background process is secretly draining your bandwidth and it must be deactivated for optimal browsing speeds. Perhaps there's a problem with your network hardware that the software can easily find. There are a number of legitimate reasons why you might need to take advantage of the functions found in NetSpeedMonitor.

The most recent version of NetSpeedMonitor included several updates and tweaks to optimize the tool. An issue with installing the software in a single system across multiple users has been resolved, and the software no longer has problems checking its own version. It also saw the addition of several new functions, like force-close for active processes. You can also now copy process names and paths to the system Clipboard.

Pros

• Sophisticated Yet Simple UI
• Fast Download and Installation
• Excellent Diagnostic Potential

Cons

• Mistakes Known Processes For Unknown
• Not In System Tray
• Limited Vertical Taskbar Support