NetGraph

Keeping an eye on download and upload activity may sound like a very difficult task for some rookies, but that’s why they should give a chance to NetGraph.

This application was developed with a single goal in mind: allow users to monitor upload and download traffic with minimum effort.

And as far as we’re concerned, it does that in one of the simplest modes, using a small floating window that can be moved anywhere on the screen. There’s a graph that shows network activity, but more customization options are available in a dedicated settings menu.

First of all, users are required to pick the network adapter they wish to monitor, just in case multiple network cards are installed on their systems.

Most of the configurable parameters available in the aforementioned settings screen concern the look of the app, so you can configure the window, the graphs and the Tray icon.

Transparency is obviously supported for the floating window, while the graph can be tweaked with various colors and user-defined grid lines. The Tray icon, also used to show network information, supports customization too, with multiple colors and some other options at your disposal.

NetGraph doesn’t affect the overall system performance and runs flawlessly on all Windows versions, without the need for administrator privileges on Windows 7 workstations.

The good thing about NetGraph is that it works like a charm with only a few configuration options, but more advanced users may be disappointed. Information displayed in the floating window may sometimes be pretty difficult to read and a help manual is missing completely from the package.