Useful Web and PC tools

This page turns out to be the most popular of all on the Byzantium site. Fravia reckons it's the best, too (though I quite like my ferns pages). It lay dormant for a while, until Wrath Bringer joined the fray. A good deal more stuff has been added since then.We hope you like it.

DN

In an earlier addition to the +ORC Riddle pages, I mentioned that I was trying out a number of software tools to help with the bulk searching of URLs to identify live sites that might be host to +ORC's legendary web site.

Since writing that, I have found several more tools, that do all sorts of jobs, including Pinging, DNS lookup, IP Address to server name lookup, port scanning, IP address range scanning, Batch searching, scanning and pinging, Finger and Whois? queries and several other tasks.

It occurred to me that these tools have a much wider use for the sort of people who might be reading this ;-) so I decided to do a brief review of the tools, with information on where to find them.

+ORC said in his lesson C3 that the Internet provides all manner of bounteous gifts. This is certainly true of software to explore the Internet itself. When I started searching for programs that would undertake the tasks I wanted, to sniff out likely +ORC URLs, I was swamped with possibilities. The bulk of these are freeware. There are two or three shareware programs that are very good too.

Note:
The ratings system I'm using here is my judgment of how useful I've found the programs in the tasks I've used them for. It may be that a program is excellent for some other purposes, but only so-so for my goals. Anything that gets 4 or 5 stars is pretty useful, regardless. NB, Wrath Bringer's ratings are in red, DN's in blue.

MemTurbo ****** ******

V 1.0b. From the documentation: "MemTurbo attempts to reclaim RAM from the operating system and applications, so that when the application you are currently using needs memory, it is readily available. This avoids costly swap file access and paging, decreases load time and improves application performance."

MemTurbo, which can be configured to run automatically or on demand, performs its magic by defragmenting the physical RAM of your computer, recovering memory leaks and flushing out unused libraries and DLL's. It comes with some interesting visual effects too. I'll leave that as a surprise.

Silicon Prairie Software will uncripple it's cache tuning feature and extend the program's utility past the 30 day trial period for $19.95

MoreSpace 99 *****

V.30b. More Space for Windows 95/98/NT will help you search for duplicate and hoggy files on any drive, empty your browser cache, collect statistics on your HDD space, file types, file sizes, cluster overhang for FAT and FAT32 drives, file access, creation and modification dates, times and attributes. You can browse through your folders and get details, open, view and mark them. It will delete, send to the recycle bin or archive extracted files for you. Created by the "Spam Buster" folks at Contact Plus Corporation.

You can order a CD ROM sampler of all the Contact Plus programs for $4.95. The More Space 99 demo isn't time limited but it will nag you occasionally until you purchase it for $20.

EasyCleaner *****

Toni Helinius of TonyArts, Finland, has come up a with nice little program (with a really ugly icon ;-) that does a much better job of searching out and deleting invalid registry entries than Microsoft's RegClean. It will also check for duplicate and unnecessary files and graph your HDD space usage. Priced right too. $0.00. One thing I'd like to see changed is the pop-up tool tips. They overlap the text in some places. Works on Win 9x/NT. While you're there, be sure to check out Tony's EasyHTML program, NT and Delphi tips.

Cool Ruler *****

I have to tell you I love this tool. When you need an on-screen measurement by pixels (very handy for web work), centimeters or inches, it's only a click away. You can open as many rulers as you wish and adjust them to horizontal or vertical positions, define the number of divisions and ticks, select your own marker color and font. It also tracks the position of your cursor on the screen and even comes with a built in calculator. It's free and it works in DOS and Windows programs. I'd like to see the next version in a solid color rather than a brushed aluminum one. I think that would easier to read under certain lighting conditions. Thank you, FABSoft, Inc.

SETI@home hypnotic!

Version 1.05. SETI@home is a scientific experiment that harnesses the power of hundreds of thousands of Internet-connected computers in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). It is expected to last two years and you can participate by running a free program that downloads and analyzes radio telescope data from the Arecibo Radio Observatory in Puerto Rico. Already there are 700,000 participants, making SETI@home our planet's largest supercomputer -- spread out over 205 countries!

The Proxomitron ***+

Stop pop-up windows; convert most ads and banner pictures into text links; stop web pages from auto-refreshing; make background MIDI's play only when you choose; disguise your identity with rotating proxies; change or delete cookies; design your own skins. . .want more? It's there! ShonenWare (???) by Scott R. Lemmon. Version Naoko-3 (a). Three and a half stars because it's still a bit buggy. Thanks to Iefaf for calling my attention to this one.

Dial-up Networking Monitor
* * * * * *

This is an excellent little freeware program by Jon Grieve in the UK. It requires the latest Windows DUN (v 1.3) and the necessary VB DLL, but if you have them (and they're easy to obtain from MS or from the DUNMon site) you get a utility that monitors your modem traffic rates on a small (resizable) graph, plus the ability to dial your ISP (or all of them if you have more than one), and disconnect. It's really handy on long downloads to watch how well (or badly) your link is doing. The online performance can be displayed graphically or in tabular form. It works really well: it's useful and easy to use. Top marks.

Mass Downloader ****

Mass ( Multiple Access Switching System) Downloader divides a file into several blocks (a 1MB file, for example, is dissected into 10 blocks of 100K each), establishes a connection for each, then downloads them all at the same time. If one of the connections breaks unexpectedly the others are not affected. The broken connection is immediately reestablished, and the process as a whole has remained undisturbed.

Does it work? I've just downloaded a MS Java VM upgrade weighing in at 6MB in approximately 15 minutes over a slow dial-up connection. Why only four stars? The program is in Beta testing. That's why you can have it for free. Do, please, let authors Oleg Chernavin and Alexander Bednyakov know what you think. I'd be interested in knowing what your experiences with this 'very promising' program are as well. Thanks for the suggestion, SVD.

******

Bookmarklets are small (one or two lines of code) JavaScript tools that extend the surf and search capabilities of Netscape and Explorer web browsers. They are platform independent and come in over 150 flavors. My favorites are the search bookmarks which allow you to highlight a word in your browser window and feed it instantly to a search engine, and one of the "page data" tools that allows you to highlight a section of text and open it in a second little window to edit/copy/paste. Freeware for power surfers by Steve Kangas. You'll find them here, at bookmarklets dot com. They're great, Steve. Thanks.

Genius2 ******

If I were to list all the features packed into this program by Coda Hale of Independent Software I would need to link to a second page. Here's a taste: Finger Client · FTP Client · HTTP Browser · Ping · Trace Route · SMTP Client · Telnet Client with VT100 emulation · Time Client · Whois Client · Current Connections - lists all connections to and from your computer · DNS Scanner · Download Manager · NSLookup - convert IPs to Hostnames or visa versa · Patience - clean out your mailbox of spam · Port Info · Port Scanner · Site Checker - check to see if your favorite sites have been updated.

NOTE: Version 2.6, now shareware, has been released with many notable improvements. I encourage you to support development of this program others this award winning author is working on by paying the $20 he asks for.

DropChute Lite *****

Instantly deliver files, folders, even complete folder structures. To deliver, you simply drop them on an icon on the Windows desktop or in the DropChute Lite Phonebook. A wizard pops up allowing you to specify how you want files delivered and away they go. Works through dial-up or fixed Internet connections, TCP/IP networks, or any modem supported by Windows. Includes Internet RendezvousÖ, a feature that saves long distance charges by connecting through the Internet even to people who access the Internet by modem and are not presently online. Freeware from Hilgraeve Software. A Pro version that encrypts and sends files of any size is available for $99.95. I'll stick with the lite version. ;-)

Window Washer ****+

Window Washer is a privacy-enhancing tool that automatically cleans up the trail of crumbs your computing and surfing habits leave behind. It cleans out your Windows document, find, and run histories; Windows temp directory; Recycle Bin; Netscape and I.E. cache files, cookie files, mail trash, history and location bars; .chk Scan Disk files; MS-Office Tracks (MRU), plus any others you care to specify. It will also "bleach" those files for you by overwriting them two to seven times. Small enough to run off a floppy, lightning fast and, really, quite fascinating. For Win 95/98/NT; Netscape and I.E 3x, 4x, & 5x. Trial period is thirty days. Registration is pricey: $29.

FeelTheBase ****

This single window freeware utility handles numbers in decimal, hexadecimal, binary, text and IP address form. A change to any type of number is mirrored in its other forms. FeelTheBase doesn't write to the system registry so uninstalling is simply a matter of removing the folder. Authored by David Ekholm of Sweden. Freeware. Yet another David!

.Beyondo ****

HEXwrite ****

Beyondo alters your system date for a specified period of time. Built in quickset options are plus or minus 14 to 730 days, autoquit in one to ten minutes. Dates between 1980 and 2099 are allowed. Beyondo always restores the original date after you quit the program.

HEXwrite converts your keyboard input into HEX or ASCII, depending on which program mode you have selected. The conversion works both ways. Output can be copied to the Clipboard for further use

Both these fine programs are by David (is there an echo around here?) deGroot. You'll find other excellent freeware at his website.

Site Meter ****

Real-time reporting of numbers, percentages, stats, totals and averages for your webpage. Includes referrer, browser and OS tracking. Your choice of HTML or Java script. Statistics are kept private as long as you remember to set them that way once a week. The same meter can be used on every page of your web site. Site Meter is a free service.

.PortWatch ****

PortWatch, by Joe Turgeon, is an Internet application that acts as a server and watches a user-specified TCP port for connection, transmission of data, and the close of a connection. The user is alerted and information, such as which port is "hit" the most, is logged. Other options are beep on connect, lock port and watch client data. (Specifically, what a client is sending when it logs in to your port). Included in the distribution is the official port list from the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority.

Network Toolbox *****

Network Toolbox is an Olympian package of Unix-like utilities you can use to diagnose your local machine and computers on a LAN or WAN. It can finger, return a unique quote (cookie) from a Unix quote server, ping, obtain precise atomic clock synchronization, search for hosts in a specified range of IP addresses, convert IP addresses to host names and vice versa, make whois queries of the InterNIC database and obtain information about registered domains, trace the exact route to a host, meter the speed of an Internet connection between two computers, determine if e-mail can be delivered to the addressee, and provide information about your Win network configuration and Winsock stack. I've heard a rumor it will walk the dog too.

The authors, Nicolay Socratov and John Gateley offer you the opportunity to test their demo for thirty days. While you're downloading, be sure to check out J. River's other interesting offers.

Panda Trojan Cleaner ****

This is the free version of Panda Antivirus that detects and disinfects Trojan BackOrifice,Trojan Netbus153 and Trojan NetBus160, (Whackamole). If you're intimate with these, you probably don't need this program. If not, you'd better download here.

RegEdit Extensions *****

A freeware program by David Ching that supplements the existing Windows regedit program with a combo box. The combo box remembers registry keys you have examined, allowing you to quickly navigate to them again. It also adds cut, copy and paste functions (even from online documents).

You can type keys into the box, and, as you type, the tree navigates to the key. The selected key in the tree view remains highlighted at all times. Keys in the combo box are saved when you close the registry editor and reloaded the next time you run RegEdit X.

This program does not replace Win regedit. Instead, it is first loaded into memory, then the extensions change the copy in memory... Nice, David. Thanks!

.TimeZone Map ***

Provides time in other cities and countries around the world. Functionality to compensate for local differences in calculating daylight savings time is built in. (Did you know, for example, that some places do not adjust their clocks by a full hour?) Though no map of time zones is 100% accurate, this one is closer than most. The trial period of this fully functional but rather pricey ($24.95) little shareware program is six days. (It lost half a mark because it excludes Canberra! - DN) (It's just lost another half mark for timing out before I had a chance to play with it again. W_B)

File Investigator v 1.22 *****

A right-click on any file opens a window with four tabs: Details, which lists filename, location, size, attributes, etc.; Background adds file extension, platform, storage type, content, MIME, originator and program notes; Preview is a magical window that allows you to view the text strings embedded in the file; and Setup is for configuring the program's options. $10 to the author, Robert C. Zirnstein Jr., gets rid of the nag screen, upgrades the program to v 1.30 and supports the efforts of a nice guy to develop the program further. DOS versions available. Hey, Bob how about adding a copy or print function?

NeoTrace *****

NeoTrace from NeoWorx is extremely user friendly. So friendly, with its chunky buttons, its graphical exhibition of hops that bounce all over your screen like a pinball complete with sound effects, I nearly discarded it as a toy. Beneath its gamelike facade is a real tool. In less than a minute it completed its ping/traceroute to the URL I designated, downloaded the whois info, politely stopped its pinging and waited for me to instruct it to save the output as a text file, an HTML file, or send it to the printer. NeoTrace can also be set up to probe your network environment.

The shareware version does not allow you to configure the program for the most detailed of the three reports or the output as anything but a text file. Registration is $23.

News: NeoTrace 2.0 is close to release. This will be a huge update so keep an eye peeled for it.

Visual Route *****

Visual Route, by Jerry Jongerius, is a Java based graphical ping/traceroute/whois utility. It's interface is businesslike and its speed, astonishing. Results are output to a table, the header of which reported that my test target was an HTTP server running Apache 1.3.0. Table columns list IP addresses, node names, locations, speed and networks. Clicking on a node or network name opens a pop-up window with whois information. The hops are traced against an interactive world map that allows you to zoom in and determine the latitude and longitude for each node.

Unfortunately, the program requires you to have Microsoft Java VM installed. Netscape's flavor won't do. Information on how to install MS Java VM for use with Netscape can be found online, as can Visual Route's help files. The downloadable version is fully functional but limited to a 30 day workout. $29 will remove the time limit.

Have you ever found a program that doesn't un-install properly, and wondered what it's left behind? How about ones that leave little bits behind? And others that update DLLs without asking, or - worse - that, when you un-install them, delete DLLs that you still need. Here's the solution.

It's a godsend when installing and uninstalling software: it's called InCtrl3, it's free, and you can find it here. (For Win95 and NT. There's an older version called InCtrl2 for Win3.1)

What it does:
When you want to install a new program, you run its setup program via InCtrl3. It records the disk and registry data (including any ini files you care to name), launches the install program, sits quietly in the background waiting for the install program to end, then asks you to confirm that it has, and records and then compares the disk and registry data afterwards. It records the results in a log file - new, changed and deleted files, and new, changed and deleted Registry entries.

You can also use it to see what a particular program does to disk and registry when it runs. It doesn't have to be an install program that you run from InCtrl.

This program has a lot more uses than just logging installs. I dare say you can think of a few... ;-)

This one has three modes: real time monitoring, which is a fast real-time mode that tracks everything done by the install program; and as with version 3, a mode that records the Registry, ini files and file system details; and a mode that looks at the Registry and ini files, and reports new files. It can also, it says, operate in open, close and come back mode, which means you don't need to have it in memory while doing things, and a background mode, which just watches what's going on, without you having to launch anything like an install program, or a dummy to trigger it to run like you needed in version 3. All told, a very powerful and useful utility - and free, too. Available here. A must-have for all sorts of purposes. Read the comprehensive help file to understand all the subtleties.

Mini, Super and NoteTab Pro
* * * * * *

The NoteTab family are "notepad replacements" by Eric Fookes at the University of Geneva, but much more than that, too. They are freeware for Windows, in both 16 and 32 bit versions. They are HTML aware, and provide a kind of macro environment that allows you to insert chunks of HTML into text files as you go. You can open many files at once, customize the clipbook "macros", view the file you're editing in a browser etc etc. You can also strip HTML formatting from an HTML file to create a plain text file. The range of options is amazing. The program is a bit "fat" and it won't run on my old 486sx20 4meg laptop, but unless you're running an antique like that, it is most definitely worth the download (from here). You can probably configure Note Tab into a handy C-editor, if you need one. Enough said.

Since a year ago there's been a souped-up shareware version called Notetab Pro (Win 95/98). It's now at version 4. It costs $20. Buy it. It's great. (You can still get the freeware version if you are short of cash!)

IP Prober (v1.1)
* * * * *

Peter Marks's IP Prober is a simple, to the point, Win95 utility that looks for active ports on any IP address you choose. It can save the output to a text file. It works well and is a useful adjunct to Sniff (see below). If it could take its input from a text file (eg the Sniff output file), it would be perfect. As it is, it is well recommended. More nice freeware from the Land of Oz, available here.

NS-Batch (v 1.06)
* * * * *

New Version. NS-Batch is an excellent freeware program by Jim Price, available for both 16 and 32 bit Windows. It allows you to look up host names from IP addresses; do an IP Address lookup from a host name; probe all the 254 possible final octet groups in an IP Address to see which of them have hosts listed against them (with output to a text file); and scan a series of IP Addresses from a text file, to see which ones have host names, again with the output to a text file. The output details are fully configurable. You can also run it from the command line. A well constructed and very useful program. Note: This latest release includes features to probe a subnet.

NetScan Tools (v 3.01)
* * * * * *

This is a prodigious shareware program ($25) that does all sorts of things. It Pings, does NS Lookups, Traceroutes, Finger, Echo and Whois. It does a Daytime lookup at the remote host, synchronizes your PC clock, and provides info on your Winsock and the protocols it handles. Importantly for this exercise, it will scan and Ping a (contiguous) range of IP address and record those answering in a log file. It will also check your network connection speed using the remote host character generator. And several other things. I expect the next version will also order you a pizza if you ask it.

It comes as a 30 day test program, fully functional as far as I can tell, though without the helpfile. I understand on very good authority that there are files missing from the shareware package that are necessary to register it. It is also written to military specifications, it seems. A byte out of place and it commits hara-kiri! Quite a challenge to the +HCU community, I would have thought, but it has been err... solved. (Thanks to H+R).

Basecalc (v 1.2)
* * * * * *

A number of programs such as Soft Ice include some form of calculating capability for hex and binary numbers. This is essential in calculating jumps forward and back in programs. When trying to work out the +ORC Riddle, this same capability is very useful. Ask yourself, what is 131 (decimal) OR 63 (decimal)? In binary it's simple enough to do, but very hard to do in your head in hex or decimal (unless you're some kind of savant).

BaseCalc is a freeware utility that lets you perform integer arithmetic in decimal, hex and binary, up to 32 bit numbers, signed and unsigned, and using all the normal logical and arithmetic functions. It's simply a very useful integer calculator. It runs under Windows 95 and NT, and 3.11 with Win32s. It was written by John Zaitseff at the University of New South Wales. A nice piece of work. Definitely worth the download time.

Note: A new and extended version is due out in a few months that will allow up to 128-bit arithmetic, additional operations etc. Sounds good. Zaitseff will be putting it up on a new site. In the meantime, the current version is available from the ZDNet site. DN

IP Subnet Calculator (v 1.0)
* * * *

This is an intriguing little tool that allows you to play with subnet masks of different sizes for class A, B or C hosts. Could have all sorts of uses, but I haven't fully explored them. A nice gadget, freeware too, available here.

Host Scanner
* * *

Cyberkit (v 2.4)
* * * *

New Version. This release (and all future ones) requires a WinSock stack that supports raw sockets (like Sockets 2). Windows 98 and NT 4.0 already ship with Sockets 2, as will all future versions of Windows. Windows 95 users can download an upgrade from the Microsoft site. To my knowledge, there is no upgrade available for Windows NT 3.51. Version 2.2 of Cyberkit is still available for download.

DNS Workshop (v 104)
* * * *

This is 32 bit Windows shareware from Evolve in .uk, who also make Unmozify. It's a very useful program but it's overpriced (US$50!), when you consider what freeware is around. Also, it has no helpfile (which most similar programs do). But having said that, it's a program that I like. In addition to simple single queries, it will let you look up domain names from a specified range of IP Addresses and it will take input from a text file and write its output to another text file. It's nicely constructed (though all in one 317K .exe file, oddly, including all the registration info). You can find it at the Evolve home page here. A good program but one I'd think twice about using because of the price.

NetInfo (v 1.37)
* * * *

NetLab (v 1.4)
* * * *

New version. It never ceases to amaze me what splendid freeware programs are available on the Web. NetLab is another of them. It is a 32 bit Windows program by Alex Danileiko at the University of Alabama, Hunstville and you can find it here. It will do a Finger, Whois?, Ping, Traceroute, DNS lookup, and set your PC clock from a standard time server. It also tells you about your Winsock and what ports it understands, and a bunch of other stuff. New in this version: "Parallel Trace", which makes it possible to process traceroute hops in parallel. As a result the new traceroute works 5-10 times faster than conventional trace.

Port Scanner (v 1.2b1)
* * * * *

Port Scanner allows you to scan a group of IP addresses looking for specific incoming TCP/IP ports. It locates and logs all the active TCP/IP ports on all IP addresses you specify.

The interface allows you to specify the start and end addresses of a scan. You can check a specific address, a subnet, or an entire domain. It comes predefined to scan for the most common TCP/IP services, and you can add your own ports. Scan results can be printed or saved to a file.

Pingy Thingy (v 2.4)
* * *

Sniff (revision 7 so far)
* * * * * (*)

This is potentially the perfect search tool, and it's getting very close to working now, with a Windows GUI. It incorporates NSLookup and Ping capabilities, with text file input and output. In other words, you tell it what range of IP addresses you want, it looks them up, Pings them if it can find a domain name of any sort, and writes down what it finds in the output file.

What's really different about it is that it allows you to set IP Address ranges for any or all of the URL octet groups, simultaneously, using every possible combination. So you can see why it's of interest here.

It works for me on Win3.11 on a Novell LAN, but won't yet write a text file for me on Win95. It may for you. It's being constantly developed (by "flipper") and shows great promise. When it works fully, it will automate the search process totally, except for port sniffing.

Note: Sniff seems to have dissapeared. If anyone discovers it on some forgotten strand of the 'web, let me know. Thanks, Wrath_Bringer.

TJPing (v 2.00)
* * * *

WS-Ping (v 96.10.11)
* * * *

I suppose I should finish with my standard Ping application, John Junod's "WS-Ping". It's the one against which I compare all others. It's not the clear leader these days, but it's always a reliable performer, if you want to Ping or traceroute a site, or look up an IP Address. There are 16 and 32 bit Windows versions available, but I use the 32 bit version on both Win95 and Win3.11+Win32s. You can find it just about everywhere. I'd check the version number you get, [even from Junod's own site!], to ensure you get the latest one, because there are a lot of archives that don't update regularly. Perhaps the easiest place to find it is at TUCOWS on the /ping95 page.

Other Information Sources

There are many information sources on the Web on DNS structures and addressing. One worth a look is the comp.protocols.tcp-ip.domains FAQ. Some of you may read this with ease, but there's a lot of stuff I'm still learning about. Also, don't forget to look at the information compiled by Hackmore Readrite elsewhere on this site. There are no doubt many other sources worth tracking down. Let me know if you've come across any good ones.

DN & W_B
21 June 1997 (revised 8 October, 4 November, 6 March, 11 March, 30 September 1998, 7 October 1998, 13 February 1999, 31 March 1999, 4 July 1999)

The Tools for the Job

MemTurbo ****** ******

MoreSpace 99 *****

EasyCleaner *****

Cool Ruler *****

SETI@home hypnotic!

The Proxomitron ***+

Dial-up Networking Monitor * * * * * *

Mass Downloader ****

******

Genius2 ******

DropChute Lite *****

Window Washer ****+

FeelTheBase ****

.Beyondo ****

HEXwrite ****

Site Meter ****

.PortWatch ****

Network Toolbox *****

Panda Trojan Cleaner ****

RegEdit Extensions *****

.TimeZone Map ***

File Investigator v 1.22 *****

NeoTrace *****

Visual Route *****

Mini, Super and NoteTab Pro * * * * * *

IP Prober (v1.1) * * * * *

NS-Batch (v 1.06) * * * * *

NetScan Tools (v 3.01) * * * * * *

Basecalc (v 1.2) * * * * * *

IP Subnet Calculator (v 1.0) * * * *

Host Scanner * * *

Cyberkit (v 2.4) * * * *

DNS Workshop (v 104) * * * *

NetInfo (v 1.37) * * * *

NetLab (v 1.4) * * * *

Port Scanner (v 1.2b1) * * * * *

Pingy Thingy (v 2.4) * * *

Sniff (revision 7 so far) * * * * * (*)

TJPing (v 2.00) * * * *

WS-Ping (v 96.10.11) * * * *