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NetPerSec, Version 1.1
Copyright (c) 2001 Ziff Davis Media, Inc.
Written by Mark Sweeney
First Published in PC Magazine, US Edition, January 16, 2001, v20n02
http://www.pcmag.com/utilities/
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PLATFORMS:
Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT 4, Windows 2000

DESCRIPTION:
NetPerSec measures the real-time speed of your Internet connection. Different types of connections promise different communication speeds, but is this what you're actually getting? Due to network traffic, actual speeds are often slower than what is promised. Cable modems are fast if not many of your neighbors are sharing the line, but can slow down considerably with a heavy load. How do you know when it's time to switch to DSL? NetPerSec lets you check your connection speed in real time. It monitors all TCP/IP activity to and from the Internet or other networks, and graphs the communication speed. Its dynamic tray icon shows send and receive activity with a bar graph or a histogram. For details, open the program's main window to view current and average send and receive speeds in a configurable, graphical display. You can adjust the sampling rate and the amount of data used to compute the average.

REVISION HISTORY:
Changes in Version 1.1:

- The Graph tab now displays the "Max" value for received and transmitted data samples. This value is the fastest sample currently displayed in the graphing window.

- The scaling sliders on the Graph tab contain additional settings between the ranges of 56k and 150k--useful when selecting a fixed scale for the graphs.

- All statistics on the Graph tab are abbreviated as Bytes/s or bit/s instead of Bytes/sec and bit/sec.

- The Options tab contains a new option for selecting a specific adapter to monitor. This provides a workaround when certain combinations of network interfaces and drivers causes NetPerSec to over-report the amount of data transferred. Please refer to the online help for details.

- NetPerSec no longer defaults to the 'Start with Windows' option on the Display tab.

- The installation utility now detects the previous installation location and program folder when performing a reinstall.

- NetPerSec now performs additional error checking and reporting during its SNMP initialization procedures.

THANKS TO OUR BETA TESTERS:
Bob Abrahams
Herbert Bushong
Dennis Cummins
Robert Eisenbach
Josh Fitzgerald
Wouter Groenman 
Edward Mendelson

INSTALLATION:
To install NetPerSec, run the supplied installation program SETUP.EXE. To uninstall the utility, use the Add/Remove Programs applet in Control Panel. If you are using Windows 95 you must install the Winsock v2.0 update and the Dialup Networking Upgrade. Both of these can be downloaded from http://www.Microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/. Windows NT 4 users should install Service Pack 4 or higher. For details on program operation, refer to the program's online help file.

FILE LIST:
SETUP.EXE     - NetPerSec setup file (run this)
SETUP.INI     - NetPerSec setup file
setup.ins     - NetPerSec setup file
setup.lid     - NetPerSec setup file
DATA.TAG      - NetPerSec setup file
data1.cab     - NetPerSec setup file
lang.dat      - NetPerSec setup file
layout.bin    - NetPerSec setup file
os.dat        - NetPerSec setup file
_INST32I.EX_  - NetPerSec setup file
_ISDEL.EXE    - NetPerSec setup file
_SETUP.DLL    - NetPerSec setup file
_sys1.cab     - NetPerSec setup file
_user1.cab    - NetPerSec setup file
readme.txt    - the file you are reading
license.txt   - PC Magazine Utilities license agreement
nps_src.zip   - NetPerSec source code (for programmers)

SUPPORT:
Help for PC Magazine's free utilities can be obtained in our online discussion area on the World Wide Web (www.pcmag.com/utilities/support.html). You may find an answer to your question simply by reading the posted messages. The authors of current utilities generally visit this forum daily. If the author is not available and the forum sysops can't answer your question, the Utilities column editor, who also checks the forum each day, will contact the author for you.

LICENSE INFORMATION:
PC Magazine programs are copyrighted and cannot be distributed, whether modified or unmodified. Use is subject to the terms and conditions of the license agreement distributed with the programs.

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Mark Sweeney, the author of NetPerSec, is V.P. Software at Clearview Software International, a company that specializes in Windows-based client-server applications. Sheryl Canter is the editor of the Utilities column and a Contributing Editor of PC Magazine.

