Free Online Network Utilities

Free Online Network Utilities

To diagnose and troubleshoot a network problem particularly in a production webserver is always a time-taking and strenous exercise. Particularly, if you do not have enough and a complete suite of tools that  you require to complete the process.

I came across this nice website which aids in giving a complete set of network utilities in Online for free. Check it out at CentralOps.net.

It does provide the following set of services:

1. Domain Tools
1. Domain Dossier -> Investigate details about a particular domain.
2. Domain Check -> Query availability of a particular domain.
2. Email Dossier
       Checks whether the email address actually exists or not.
3. Browser Mirror
        Investigates the information sent by the web browser.
4. Ping
        An Online ICMP Tool to ping the host.
5. Traceroute
         Traces the path a packet travels to the webserver.
6. NsLookup
         Lookup Utility for various DNS records for a particular domain.
7. AutoWhois
          A Whois Utility to query multiple domains across the world.
8. TcpQuery
          Analyse a particular webpage.
9. AnalysePath
           Visual Traceroute.

MyLittleAdmin -- Administering SQLServers on the Web

MyLittleAdmin -- Administering SQLServers on the Web

Administering a SQLServer typically after the website has been transferred to the production site is always night marish and particularly connecting through a desktop enterprise manager, and typically when you do not have the luxury of fast broadband.

I came across this little tool called MyLittleAdmin, whose lite edition seems to address this issue, satisfying the needs and requirements of many people.

Check it out at MyLittleAdmin homepage.

Online Virus/Trojan Scans

Online Virus/Trojan Scans

As you surf the vast diversified Internet, install and deinstall a wide variety of programs and applications, you also run risk of accepting viruses and trojans. Viruses are harmful to your system. Trojans play havoc on confidential data and send them back to some remote site to the Trojan writer.

Fortunately, there are two quick and easy Virus Scanners that you can make use of, to scan your system and clean it from Viruses and Trojans. This is for quick and easy check. It is any recommended to have a fullfledged and updated RealTime Antivirus software in your system running for constant protection against threats from the open Internet.

Here are the free online scanners:

1. Free Antivirus Check from Trend Micro website.
2. Free Trojan check from Windows Security website.

You need to be logged on as administrator since these websites require a small ActiveX Control to be downloaded and installed for the scanning to take place.

Web.Config Editors

Web.Config Editors

The most elegant feature of .NET application compared to classic ASP is that most of the things are now configurable in simple and standard XML Configuration files. The most significant among them is web.config files for a particular application and machine.config for a typical .NET Framework installation for the entire system.

Don't worry. I am not going to bore you into the internals of Web.config. For more information on the same, check out this MSDN link.

Here we would see, some of the free editors and or third party solutions that make editing and managing a web.config simple for system administrators and other personnel who maintain the website but not too tech-savvy to know the internals of the same.

Third Party Solutions

1. Hunterstone Web.Config Editor. I had seen that HunterStone WCE was giving promotional offers for free download sometime back but I think that offer is not available now. But it is a very simple tool to manage the web.config files.

Source Solutions

1. AppSettings Manager by Nigel Shaw

Tutorial cum Editor on XmlFiles.com

1. ASPxConfig Editor by Adam S CartWright

Windows Media Player Rudimentary PlayList

Windows Media Player Rudimentary PlayList

Normally, when I used to listen to Ayyappa Bhajan songs, basically MMS URLs I had to copy one by one into Windows Media Player to listen. I was thinking whether I can create a simple playlist that Windows Media Player can automatically recognize the sequence and play one after another.

There are Windows Media Player playlist XML files that you can create for them. But I found one more simple solution from a web discussion forum over here.

It is directly simple. Create a simple text file default.m3u and enlist the supported file type URLs and Windows Media Player would play for you.

A sample would be like this, as mentioned in the discussion forum (default.m3u)

http://www.yourserver.com/1.mp3
http://www.yourserver.com/2.mp3
http://www.yourserver.com/3.mp3 

Mobile VOIP -- Emerging Voice over Technology

Mobile VOIP -- Emerging Voice over Technology

With soaring high costs of long distance calls over circuit switched PSTN Networks, the industry and the world turned over to the following cheaper alternatives:

1. Computer to Computer
2. Voice over IP technology

Now, the industry also seems to be aggressive in research and development activity on extending Voice Over technology to handheld devices, as this Indiatimes article describes.