Bandwidth Monitor Lite

Keeping an eye on the Internet traffic might be a good idea, especially if the contract you signed with the Internet provider is limited to a certain amount. Bandwidth Monitor is a program designed to make this task easier.

The app comes with a small interface that displays the real-time traffic in a graphical representation, complete with incoming and outgoing values. The GUI is completely customizable in regard to the skins. Aside from the ones that are already included with the software, there are plenty more that can be downloaded from the Internet.

All the information displayed in the small frame is logged by the program. Thus, you can view the outgoing and incoming traffic over the last hour, day, week, month or even in the past year. The data displayed on the frame can be averaged over a certain time period, going up to ten seconds; less averaged data is more accurate and can produce “spikes” on the graphical representation.

The app’s settings enable you to always display the frame on top of other software, to make it automatically load and minimize to the taskbar at system startup. The frame can have a drop shadow, while the luminosity can dim when you switch tasks or when the computer’s been idle for a number of seconds.

When first installed, the program asks that you choose one of the network adapters from the list. However, pressing the “Auto-Detect” button should immediately find the adapter in use.

Overall, Bandwidth Monitor is a nice program, with a light impact on the computer’s resources. First-time users should find the app easy to work with, thanks to its overall simplicity and intuitive interface.