A tool for monitoring a user’s internet connection.

Pros: NetWorx allows a user to monitor the user’s connection to the internet. A user can find out how fast the connection is at any given time. It can log over time the traffic usage by the user. This helps to verify (if required) whether or not the user’s ISP is charging accurately. Suspicious activity (such as outgoing by a Trojan, or incoming by a remote hacker) on the user’s internet connection is also recorded and the user can be notified or alert. There are a host of notification and alert options, and the types, sounds etc. of alerts and notifications can be customized easily using a variety of options. It features long terms statistics so that daily, weekly, monthly usage and connection duration is recorded and these can be used for analysis. Reports can be saved in several different formats including HTML, MS Word and MS Excel. Some simple network tests such as ping for connectivity and trace route can also be performed from within the software itself.

Cons: The only customization options are the sounds and alerts that are generated. There doesn’t seem to be any option to monitor for a certain kind of behavior. I suppose this is not strange considering the simplicity of the interface. However, just because the application is targeted towards the average user does not mean that it should actively discourage advanced users. The incoming and outgoing traffic chart is also available on Windows Task manager. Ping and trace route capabilities are available elsewhere.

Overall: 3 stars. 4 stars also possible. It seems to perform the monitoring function well (although this is hard to verify). But it has limitations in terms of what it can do, and the lack of customization makes it so that the user cannot fine tune it according to their requirements. The interface is overly simplified, which makes it easy to use but unattractive to advanced users due to lack of functionality.