Tools in Configuration Network and Computer System
Tools in Configuration Network and Computer System
Ping- The ping command sends ICMP echo request packets to a destination. For
example, you could run ping google.com or ping 173.194.33.174 to ping a domain
name or IP address.
These packets ask the remote destination to reply. If the remote destination is
configured to reply, it will respond with packets of its own. You’ll be able to see
how long the round-trip time is between your computer and the destination. You’ll
see a “request timed out” message if packet loss is occurring, and you’ll see an
error message if your computer can’t communicate with the remote host at all.
Tracer / Tracert/ Tracepath- The traceroute, tracert, or tracepath command
is similar to ping, but provides information about the path a packet takes.
traceroute sends packets to a destination, asking each Internet router along the way
to reply when it passes on the packet. This will show you the path packets take
when you send them between your location and a destination.
Ip Config- The ipconfig command is used on Windows, while the ifconfig
command is used on Linux, Mac OS X, and other Unix-like operating systems.
These commands allow you to configure your network interfaces and view
information about them.
Nslookup- The nslookup command will look up the IP addresses associated with
a domain name. For example, you can run nslookup howtogeek.com to see the IP
address of How-To Geek’s server. Nslookup also allows you to perform a reverse
lookup to find the domain name associated with an IP address. For
example, nslookup 208.43.115.82 will show you that this IP address is associated
with howtogeek.com.
Whois- The whois command looks up the registration record associated with a
domain name. This can show you more information about who registered and owns
a domain name, including their contact information.
Netstat- Netstat stands for network statistics. This command displays incoming
and outgoing network connections as well as other network information. It’s
available on Windows, Mac, and Linux — each version has its own command-line
options you can tweak to see different types of information.
Finger- The finger command is old and is no longer widely used. In theory, this
command allows you to view information about users logged onto a remote
computer. If the computer is running a finger service or daemon, you can use the
finger command on your computer to see who’s logged in on that remote
computer, their email address, and their full name. In practice, almost no
computers are running a finger service you can connect to.
This utility was a cute idea in the early days of networking where you might want
to see who was logged into the other few computers on your university network,
but it’s not suitable for a dangerous internet. You don’t want people to see your
full name and email address when you’re using a computer.
Post scan / nmap- The nmap utility is a common tool used for port scans, but
there are many utilities that can run this sort of scan. A port scan is the process of
attempting to connect to every port on a computer — ports 1 through 65535 — and
seeing if they’re open. An attacker might port-scan a system to find vulnerable
services. Or, you might port scan your own computer to ensure that there are no
vulnerable services listening to the network.
This means that you can see which processes are using your disk or network
heavily, view which processes are communicating with which Internet addresses,
and more. The Resource Monitor provides much more detailed resource statistics
than the Task Manager does. You can launch the Resource Monitor by opening the
Task Manager, clicking the Performance tab, and selecting Resource Monitor. It
can also be accessed by searching for Resource Monitor at the Start menu or Start
screen.
• Task Scheduler: A tool that allows you to view and customize the scheduled
tasks on your computer, in addition to creating your own custom scheduled
tasks.
• Event Viewer: A log viewer that allows you to view and filter system
events — everything from software installation to application crashes and blue
screens of death.
• Shared Folders: An interface that displays the folders shared over the network
on your computer, useful for viewing what folders are being shared at a glance.
• Device Manager: The classic Windows Device Manager that allows you to
view the devices connected to your computer, disable them, and configure their
drivers.
• Disk Management: A built-in partition manager you can use without
downloading any third-party tools.
• Services: An interface that allows you to view and control the background
services running in Windows.
Disk Cleanup- Windows’ Disk Cleanup utility isn’t quite as hidden as some of
the other utilities here, but not enough people know about it. It will scan your
computer for files that can be deleted, from temporary files and memory dumps to
old system restore points and leftover files from Windows upgrades. It does the
same job a PC cleaning utility does, but it’s free and doesn’t try to extract any
money from you. Advanced users may prefer CCleaner, but Disk Cleanup does a
decent job.
Registry Editor- Sure, everyone knows about the registry editor — but it’s still
hidden, with Microsoft not even providing a Start menu shortcut to it. It must be
launched by typing regedit into the Start menu or Start screen and pressing Enter
Ms Config- The System Configuration window is another classic tool that many
people know about. Prior to Windows 8, which features a startup-program manager
built into its Task Manager, this tool was the only included way of controlling
startup programs on Windows. It also allows you to customize your boot loader,
which is particularly useful if you have multiple versions of Windows installed.