NetSpeedMonitor

Is your internet connection dicey - subject to bandwidth hogging, freezes, slowdowns or unknown connecting applications? Then consider NetSpeedMonitor (for Windows): it is a small program that helps you keep an eye on your internet connection. NetSpeedMonitor (for Windows) adds a toolbar to the Windows taskbar that shows the current upload and download rates, and the monitor can be turned on and off from its context menu. Its connections window lists the inbound and outbound connections of your computer, similar to the netstat command, so you can see which hosts your PC is talking to. In addition, you can select the network adapter to monitor--like your Ethernet or wireless card--and the program measures the data that the adapter is sending and receiving.

The software is free, but you can give a donation if you want. It is easy to install, and runs unobtrusively in your taskbar. It can also log traffic to an SQLite database, so you can view statistics of your data usage at any time. If you download large files from the internet and think that the download is taking forever, then look at NetSpeedMonitor (for Windows) and see your current download rate--is it what your ISP has promised you, or much too slow? On the first start, a short setup dialog lets you choose the language, the network interface and the traffic logging options, and these settings can be changed later from the toolbar menu. 

NetSpeedMonitor (for Windows) is no longer developed: the last version was released for Windows XP, Vista and 7 in 32-bit and 64-bit editions. On Windows 8 and 10 the installer has to be run in compatibility mode for a previous version of Windows, and the toolbar does not work on Windows 11, where taskbar toolbars were removed.

With NetSpeedMonitor you can watch your connection speed in the taskbar and spot slowdowns and disconnects at a glance.

Features:

• Shows the current upload and download speed in the Windows taskbar
• Lists active inbound and outbound network connections
• NetSpeedMonitor (for Windows) is free (donations accepted)
• NetSpeedMonitor (for Windows) is small, unobtrusive and takes very little memory and disk space

NetSpeedMonitor (for Windows) remains a simple way to watch your connection speed on older Windows versions.