Network Monitors

Your network may be up and running, but that isn’t a constant guarantee. The best way to ensure any disruptions to a network’s functionality cause as little damage as possible to productivity is to employ network monitoring software that will quickly notify you of any change.

Software such as Wireshark and NetWorx will help you audit and monitor your network’s bandwidth usage and uptime, and will help you in maintaining efficiency and maximizing uptime.

  1. Wireshark icon
     898 likes

    Wireshark is the world's foremost network protocol analyzer. It lets you capture and interactively browse the traffic running on a computer network. It is the de facto (and often de jure) standard across many industries and educational institutions.

    55 Wireshark alternatives
    Wireshark screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey

    Wireshark Features

    1.  Detailed packet analysis
    2.  Network Usage History
    3.  Support for Android Things
    4.  Work Item Tracking
    5.  Website Monitoring
    6.  Command line interface
  2. Portmaster icon
     119 likes

    Portmaster is a free and open-source privacy suite that puts you back in charge of your computer.

    29 Portmaster alternatives
    Dashboard PMv1.4

    License model

    • FreemiumOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    SPN Map
    Network Activity Overview
    +3
    Detailed Connections of Brave Browser

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Network Tools
    2.  Application Firewall
    3.  Block Trackers
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  No Tracking
    6.  No registration required
    7.  Dark Mode
    8.  DNS over HTTPS
    9.  Website Monitoring
    10.  Spam Filter
    11.  Built-in VPN
    12.  Dns
  3. simplewall icon
     176 likes

    Simple tool to configure Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) which can configure network activity on your computer.

    33 simplewall alternatives
    Main Window

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Right Click on an Application
    Setting - General
    +2
    Setting - Rules

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  Portable
    3.  Built-in Firewall
    4.  Outbound firewall
    5.  No registration required
    6.  No Tracking
    7.  Block Trackers
    8.  Built-in timer
    9.  Dark Mode
    10.  Works Offline
  4. Process Hacker icon
     322 likes

    A free, powerful, multi-purpose tool that helps you monitor system resources, debug software and detect malware.

    52 Process Hacker alternatives
    Process Hacker screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com

    Process Hacker Features

    1.  Disk Monitoring
    2.  I/O Monitoring
    3.  CPU Monitoring
    4.  Granular Detail on Processes
    5.  Ad-free
    6.  Portable
    Discontinued

    The last update is from 2018, and it has now been replaced by System Informer icon System Informer.

  5. Nmap icon
     300 likes

    Nmap ("Network Mapper") is a free and open source (license) utility for network exploration or security auditing. Many systems and network administrators also find it useful for tasks such as network inventory, managing service upgrade schedules, and monitoring host or...

    52 Nmap alternatives
    Main Window

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD

    Nmap Features

    1.  Connectivity Testing
    2.  Command line interface
    3.  Network Usage History
    4.  Website Monitoring
  6. Angry IP Scanner icon
     121 likes

    Open-source and cross-platform network scanner designed to be fast and simple to use.

    52 Angry IP Scanner alternatives
    Angry IP Scanner screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Java
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Website Monitoring
  7. System Informer icon
     32 likes

    A free, powerful, multi-purpose tool that helps you monitor system resources, debug software and detect malware. Official successor to Process Hacker.

    47 System Informer alternatives
    Main window - Processes Tab

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Services Tab
    Network Tab
    +6
    Disk Tab

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  I/O Monitoring
    2.  Disk Monitoring
    3.  CPU Monitoring
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  Performance Monitoring
    6.  Portable
    7.  Dark Mode
    8.  No registration required
    9.  Website Monitoring
    10.  Integrated Virus scanner
    11.  No Tracking
  8. Fing icon
     136 likes

    Fing helps you understand most of your home network. See all the devices connected to your Wi-Fi, run network scanners, monitor your Internet speed, know your security level, set automated vulnerability checks, and much more.

    57 Fing alternatives
    Fing screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreemiumProprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    Fing screenshot 1
    Fing screenshot 2
    +4
    Fing screenshot 3

    Fing Features

    1.  Network Discovery
    2.  Trace Route
    3.  Network Scanner
    4.  Network Tools
    5.  Wake on LAN
  9. Zabbix icon
     192 likes

    Gather and analyze accurate statistics and performance metrics, visualize it, get notified about current and potential issues without delay, and take advantage of our time-tested professional development and support.

    112 Zabbix alternatives
    Zabbix screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    • FreeBSD
    • OpenBSD
    Zabbix screenshot 1
    Details of web browsing scenario and graphical presentation of collected data
    +3
    Custom screens of simple graphs

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Server Monitoring
    2.  Custom Dashboard
    3.  Hardware Monitoring
    4.  No registration required
    5.  Ad-free
    6.  Portable
    7. Microsoft Azure icon  Azure integration
  10. GlassWire icon
     143 likes

    Visualize network activity in detail, get notified when new apps access the network, look out for malware, and block badly behaving apps.

    62 GlassWire alternatives
    GlassWire's graph shows you real-time network activity broken down by apps, traffic, and hosts.

    License model

    • FreemiumProprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    The GlassWire usage screen helps you see what your PC is doing on the network.  Easily see what apps and hosts are wasting your data, then block them.
    Click GlassWire's graph to see what apps and hosts are responsible for that spike in data usage.
    +9
    Get alerted when a new app accesses the network.

    GlassWire Features

    1.  Network activity
    2.  Block apps
    3.  Built-in Firewall
    4.  Graphical component
    5.  Graphs
    6.  Traffic Monitoring
    7.  Push subscriptions
    8.  Network Tools
  11. TrafficMonitor icon
     51 likes

    TrafficMonitor is a network monitoring suspension window software in Windows. It can display the current network speed, CPU and memory usage. It also support the functions of display in the taskbar, change skin and historical traffic statistics.

    52 TrafficMonitor alternatives
    Taskbar No activity

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Taskbar uploading
    Main (floating) window
    +9
    Main (floating) window options

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Network speed monitor
    2.  CPU Monitoring
    3.  Ad-free
    4.  Portable
    5.  No registration required
    6.  Dark Mode
    7.  GPU Monitoring
  12. Fort Firewall icon
     25 likes

    Simple firewall for MS Windows.

    33 Fort Firewall alternatives
    Main UI

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  No registration required
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Portable
    4.  Dark Mode
    5.  Block Trackers
    6.  No Tracking
    7.  Traffic shaping
    8.  Auto Update
    9.  Stats
    10.  Scheduling
  13. Little Snitch icon
     134 likes

    A firewall protects your computer against unwanted guests from the Internet. But who protects your private data from being sent out? Little Snitch does!

    38 Little Snitch alternatives
    Little Snitch screenshot 1

    License model

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  No registration required
    3.  Rule based
    4.  Traffic Monitoring
    5.  Traffic Analysis
    6.  Custom rules
    7.  Application Firewall
    8.  Usage statistics
    9.  Real-time traffic
  14. btop icon
     18 likes

    Resource monitor that shows usage and stats for processor, memory, disks, network and processes.

    22 btop alternatives
    btop screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • FreeBSD
    btop screenshot 1
    btop screenshot 2
    +4
    btop screenshot 3

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  RAM Monitoring
    2.  CPU Monitoring
    3.  Resource monitoring
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  Command line interface
    6.  No registration required
    7.  Works Offline
    8.  No Tracking
  15. Zenmap icon
     107 likes

    Zenmap is the official cross-platform GUI for the Nmap Security Scanner. It is free and runs on Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, etc. Zenmap aims to make Nmap easy for beginners to use while providing advanced features for experienced Nmap users.

    39 Zenmap alternatives
    Zenmap screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    Zenmap Features

    1.  Website Monitoring
    2.  Connectivity Testing
    3.  Graphical User Interface
    4.  Asynchronous