What Is Microsoft Network Monitor? How to Use It on Your Windows?

What Is Microsoft Network Monitor

What is Microsoft Network Monitor? It is a software utility designed to help users capture network traffic and analyze incoming and outgoing packets. The packet analyzer is included in a user-friendly interface, bundled with intuitive options.

A packet sniffer can be used to troubleshoot application connectivity issues. For example, you can detect programs that use a lot of traffic, which is often a sign of malware activity. Packet analyzers are also great for security analysis, whether you’re an expert or not.

How to Download and Install Microsoft Network Monitor

Before downloading Microsoft Network Monitor to your Windows PC, please check that your system meets the following prerequisites:

• Processor: 1 GHz or more powerful CPU
• Memory: At least 1 GB RAM
• Free disk space: about 60 Mb for programs, more for saving files
• Operating System: Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP, Server 2008, Server 2003

If your system meets the system requirements, you can start to download and install the Microsoft Network Monitor.

Step 1: Go to this page to download Microsoft Network Monitor. Click the Download button.

Step 2: Choose the download you want. There are three options for you – NM34_x86.exe, NM34_ia64.exe, and NM34_x64.exe. You need to check the box and click Next.

Step 3: Run the setup.exe for the platform you are installing.

Step 4: You will be prompted first to install the core engine. Follow the installation directions. Make sure you close existing instances of netmon.exe, nmcap.exe, and any running NMAPI applications.

Step 5: Next, you will be prompted to install the parser package. Follow the installation directions.

To uninstall the Microsoft Network Monitor 3.4 product:

Step 1: Type control panel in the search box, and then select Control Panel from the search results.

Step 2: Find and click Programs and Features to continue.

Step 3: Right-click Microsoft Network Monitor 3.4 and click the Uninstall button.

How to Use Microsoft Network Monitor

Here are simple steps to help you easily capture network traffic with Microsoft Network Monitor:

1. Make sure to restart your computer after installing the packet sniffer.
2. At program startup, select the network to analyze.
3. Start a new network capture session and start network monitoring.
4. The network conversation area gradually fills with network traffic.
5. Select a process from the list to view its framework summary and details.
6. You can load any filter to exclude unwanted network data.
7. Displayed, selected or all captured frames can be saved to file.

Why Is Network Monitoring Important?

Network failures can impact overall IT performance and cause availability issues across the organization. Network monitoring has several important benefits for organizations by enabling early detection of problems, including:

• Realize cost savings by assisting in root cause analysis or revealing overused or underutilized network elements to reduce downtime and speed repairs. Network resources can focus on productive tasks instead of constantly looking for problems.
• Performance issues can be caught before they impact business operations or degrade customer experience.
• Network security can be enhanced by detecting unexpected traffic or unknown devices connected to the network. These could be early signs of a cyberattack or ransomware attempt.
• Usage spikes, such as login storms or seasonal traffic jumps, can be indicated early, enabling network administrators to take remedial action to ensure usage is not affected.
• The use of malicious applications can be caught. Each business unit may have a set of applications they want to track, and network monitoring can determine which applications and what users are doing on the network.

Final Words

What is Microsoft Network Monitor? How to download and install Microsoft Network Monitor? How to use it? You can find the answers in the above content.