NetPeeker Personal Edition

Net Peeker is a compact looking network monitoring tool. Don't let its size fool you, as it does its job really well.

Although the download weighs in at just over 3 Mb, the installation process will take its sweet time with some automatic configurations. When the process is done, the program's main settings window will immediately show up, so that you can make some settings too.

A funny thing is that when you see the large settings window, you'll instinctively think that the main interface must be really big. That's where you'd be wrong. It kind of resembles Winamp's interface. The main window is divided between a control area and a list of active network applications accompanied by statistics such as upload and download speed.

The larger part of the control area features digital looking display with statistics on upload and download speed. Net Peeker's main features can be enabled or disabled via small buttons right next to the digital display. You can activate a built-in system and application firewall or a throttle feature that lets you limit any application's Internet traffic. You can also enable a data capture function, a log and a system guard which will disable certain system features, like adding a new RUN item, prevent changes to Userinit and many more.

All you need to do in order to enable these features is click on their designated buttons. A small menu will drop down and you can either click the Enable options or go directly to features tab from the settings window. In the control area you can also find a Change Settings button which will drop down a menu you can use to access the general settings, bring up a traffic history graph on a new window or access a WHOIS query window.

Performing a certain action on a selected process can be done with the help of a few buttons on the bottom edge of the main window. You can use these to abort all sessions, block the selected program from accessing the network, limit traffic and others. Clicking these options will take you directly where you need to be in the general settings panel.