14 DAY TRIAL // While downloading a large file, I like to be able to do something else, like checking my emails or surfing the web. Unfortunately, the download is eating all the bandwidth available and so I have to wait until it finishes...or try to watch the browser as it crawls trying to load new Web pages.
Of course that this is not the only reason for the need to limit the bandwidth dedicated to a certain application, but I guess it should be the most suggestive one. This leads to the development of traffic limiters such as the one I am going to review now.
The name of our subject is NetLimiter Pro, it reached version 2.0.8 and has a lot of nice features, so let's check it out!
First steps, the download and installation, should pass like a dream - 2.3MB setup package and nothing special to do while installing, besides choosing whether to install the personal firewall or not.
First, let's find out more about this firewall that comes with the program...well, it does exactly what it should, and that is to deny or allow access of certain applications to the Internet. Even more, you can set filters and deny access of certain applications to the IP addresses that you specify, or even entire IP classes. Pretty cool, isn't it?
Leaving the firewall behind, let's check the other useful features of this program now, shall we?
The first feature of this program that we should talk about is - obviously - its capability to limit incoming and outgoing traffic. You can set limits for applications, connections or groups of them. You just have to check the radio buttons to enable the limit and left click the limit value in order to enter a new one, it's really easy.
The grant is a new feature in NetLimiter 2 and works a bit different from the limit. While when you set a limit for an application, the transfer could vary between zero and the limit, when you grant a bandwidth value, the transfer can't go below that value.
Zones let you control traffic for three predefined areas: My Computer, Local Network and Internet. The use of this feature is extremely easy to understand, so I will move on now.
The Permission Editor allows you to set the right to monitor or control traffic to users that identify using a password.
There are also statistics available for all the time that this program runs, traffic charts, additional information like traceroute, WHOIS and more. There's a little that I told you about, there's more for you to discover, so I won't keep you waiting too much...
NetLimiter was always a good application for its task, and lately it just got better. I don't use such applications usually, but for a lot of people it may prove extremely useful. The 28 day trial version is just one click away, so go ahead and try it!
The Good
NetLimiter Pro is a bit more than it tells: it can replace your firewall, it can filter the sites a user can have access to and, of course, limit your traffic. It is easy to use for everybody and has a decent Help system.
The Bad
When running the program, it crashed without any obvious reason, but it did that only once. An annoying thing for me was having to restart my computer after the setup process ended. Also its price may be a bit high for most people, especially since download managers or torrent clients have the ability to limit their own bandwidth usage.
The Truth
I have always heard other people saying good words about this program and that made me even more suspicious, because I don't like trends. When a program is appreciated by everybody, then there's either something fishy about it...or that program is indeed perfect!
When talking about NetLimiter Pro, the truth is somewhere in the middle: it's not a perfect application, but can be extremely useful and easy to use for those who need something like this, even though the price is (just a little...) high. For the rest of us, NetLimiter is a program worth checking out.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
