network monitoring software

[cuestakid]

I was wondering if there were any apps out there that allow me to monitor network traffic across my network. I have tried several apps but they only monitor my computer and I want to see other machines on my network and if they are using things like limewire or bit torrent.

any ideas?

 

[itickings]

First of all, why do you want to do this? What kind of network are you running?

Obviously there are other persons using the network in question, and monitoring their network usage will most likely be considered invasion of privacy at best, and criminal at worst.

One must be extremely careful with these kind of things, legally as well as ethically. There are virtually always better non-invasive options, so why don't you tell us more about your situation?

 

[cuestakid]

well my internet is occasionally very slow and I suspect that my roommates are using bit torrent and or limewirwe and while I do not want to ban it (i dont want to be a complete $@@),I would just like to know if when the internet is slow its because of that or something else-I guess I should just clarify what it is I want to do-

I basically want to know when and if my roommates are using limewire so that if I am doing something important (like school work) I can ask them to stop it so that I can get my work done.

Does that clear it up?

 

[itickings]

In that situation, I don't think it really is that important to know which applications are hogging the bandwidth, just which computer. Youtube or Limewire would be equally bad imho

What router do you have? Some routers allow you to list data volumes for hosts on the LAN, others allow you to prioritize traffic for specific hosts or display the currently used Internet bandwith.

Edit: I'm aware that I'm not really answering your question, but I'd prefer to solve your problem without resorting to fine-grained network monitoring. I hope you don't get too annyoed with me

 

[ckeck]

If you are paying the bill...scan the network logs by all means...find out what kind of apps they are running and who is doing it.

If they are downloading a bunch of illegal data from torrents or Limewire, etc...(or worse yet, uploading) you don't want to be responsible for that. Not invasion of privacy if its your internet connection.

Not sure what kind of tool you would use but I would be interested to know. There are hardware options available for this though that make it real easy.

 

[cuestakid]

If you are paying the bill...scan the network logs by all means...find out what kind of apps they are running and who is doing it.

If they are downloading a bunch of illegal data from torrents or Limewire, etc...(or worse yet, uploading) you don't want to be responsible for that. Not invasion of privacy if its your internet connection.

Not sure what kind of tool you would use but I would be interested to know. There are hardware options available for this though that make it real easy.

well I am not paying the bill per say-all three people in the apartment pay it-as for the logs, I dont know if we are given them but I do have the router in my room-is there anything I can do from there? Also, what kind of hardware things can I use-

 

[itickings]

well I am not paying the bill per say-all three people in the apartment pay it-as for the logs, I dont know if we are given them but I do have the router in my room-is there anything I can do from there? Also, what kind of hardware things can I use-

The cheapest and easiest solution would of course be to talk with your roommates instead

Anyway,

1. Software and hardware applications exist for network monitoring.
2. Those applications depend 100% on the network setup. There's more to it than just installing an application on your computer.

If you have control of the router, check it out to see if it has any options you can use, or consider investing in a router with more features. The router is where it makes sense physically to examine transfers.

 

[antibact1]

Quit being such a sissy. Just ask your roommates if they are using any of these applications. If they say yes, ask them to tone it down because it is affecting your ability to use the internet. Why do people have to make things so complicated.

 

[cuestakid]

becauseI do not want to be confrontational-and doing this like that can lead to problems-if anyone here has ever had to live with other people you would understand that small things can get blown out of proportion.

 

[antibact1]

becauseI do not want to be confrontational-and doing this like that can lead to problems-if anyone here has ever had to live with other people you would understand that small things can get blown out of proportion.

I have lived with several different people and things tend to only get blown out of proportion if you aren't direct. How do you think they will feel if they find out you were snooping their network traffic? I'm guessing they won't be thrilled. Asking a question doesn't have to be confrontational. Ask them if they have noticed the internet being slow lately? This can quickly lead into a question about file sharing programs. Don't be such a coward.