Network Monitoring Program

Computer networks use many applications to monitor various aspects related to them. A network monitoring program is just another name for one such network monitoring application. A network monitoring program is generally an application that performs a specific network monitoring task. It could also have the capability to perform more than one such task.

In this article, we will attempt to inform you the various tasks that a network monitoring program can be designed for. We will also cover some aspects that pertain to a network monitoring program.

A network monitoring program can be designed to be used for simple tasks such as pinging network computers to check for their accessibility.

Another such program can be used for port scanning to detect those network ports, which do not have any services running currently through them. Port scanning is important as active ports which do not have any service running could become the entry point for an attack from outside into a computer network.

Different port scan programs can be designed to check different kinds of ports for such issues.

A network monitoring program can be designed for doing cyclic redundancy checks (CRCs). These checks are important to find transmission errors in networks.

It can also be designed to check the Internet surfing activities of company employees who use the network and connect to the Internet through a gateway. Such monitoring is important to find, monitor, and control the wayward Internet surfing habits of certain company employees, who use office computers for their personal use.

Keyloggers and Internet server-based software are included in this category of network monitoring programs.

A network monitoring program can be installed at the Internet gateway of a network as an intrusion detection system (IDS) to minimize the risk of an external security threat to a computer network.

Such a program is known as a firewall. It helps minimize unauthorized access to networked computers from the Internet. It can also prevent or minimize attacks by hackers into a computer network and thus protect a company's confidential information and prevent data corruption or loss.

The program can be designed as an ant-virus application. Its task will be to nullify the attacks by viruses and worms which can corrupt data residing on networked computers. These viruses and worms are rampant on the Internet. They exploit various loopholes in different applications and operating systems used by a computer network.

A network monitoring program may be designed for one specific task or for a range of tasks. In the latter case, different modules of the program execute different tasks. A network monitoring program may be available for free download over the Internet or you may need to purchase it.

Through this article we have taken you through a tour of the various different tasks that a network monitoring program can be designed for. It also covered a few other aspects associated with such programs.