We know administrators love tools that make life easier – especially when they’re free! So here are 101 of them!

System and network analysis

1. NTFS Permissions Explorer

Using this MMC snap-in you can quickly visualize the user and group permissions of a local or remote folder or drive in a hierarchical format to help identify problems.

http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/9743/

2. Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector

Wi-Fi Inspector is a powerful Wi-Fi management and troubleshooting tool that allows you to locate and verify Wi-Fi devices, detect rogue Access Points, troubleshoot connections, and search for Wi-Fi networks.

http://www.xirrus.com/library/wifitools.php

3. Whois

Whois performs a lookup of the registration information of a given IP address or domain name.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/bb897435

4. ShareEnum

ShareEnum allows you to scan and view the security settings of file shares on your network.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/bb897442

5. PipeList

PipeList displays a list of named pipes on your system, including the number of active instances and the instance threshold.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/dd581625

6. TcpView

TCPView allows you to view detailed TCP and UDP connection information in a user friendly format.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/bb897437

7. The Dude

The Dude from MicroTik can automatically scan all devices within a given subnet and then draw and layout a map of your network.

http://www.mikrotik.com/thedude

8. Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

The MBSA is a tool that can be used to detect missing security updates and typical security misconfigurations.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/security/cc184923

9. WireShark

WireShark is an interactive network protocol analyser and capture utility. It provides for in-depth inspection of hundreds of protocols and runs on multiple platforms.

http://www.wireshark.org/download.html

10. Look@LAN

Look@LAN allows you to quickly scan your network looking for active nodes. It provides monitoring, reporting, logging and OS detection features.

http://download.cnet.com/Look-LAN-Network-Monitor/3000-2085_4-10145550.html

11. RogueScanner

RogueScanner will scan your network looking for rogue devices and access points, classifying them in a way that allows you to quickly see what’s on your network.

http://www.gotomanage.com/open_source_tools/roguescanner

12. Capsa Free Network Analyzer

Using this tool you can monitor, troubleshoot and diagnose issues on your network. It has a Microsoft Office-like user interface.

http://www.colasoft.com/capsa/capsa-free-edition.php

13. SuperScan

SuperScan is a fast connection-based TCP port scanner, pinger and hostname resolution tool.

http://www.mcafee.com/us/downloads/free-tools/superscan3.aspx

14. Blast

Blast is a lightweight TCP service stress test tool that can help pinpoint weaknesses in your network.

http://www.mcafee.com/us/downloads/free-tools/blast.aspx

15. UDPFlood

UDPFlood is a lightweight UDP service stress test tool that sends out packets to a specified IP or port.

http://www.mcafee.com/us/downloads/free-tools/udpflood.aspx

16. IPplan

This tool allows you to quickly and easily track and manage your network IP addresses.

http://iptrack.sourceforge.net/

17. NetStumbler

NetStumbler is an application that allows you to detect the presence of a wireless network using 802.11a/b/g. It is useful for detecting rogue access points, finding locations with poor signal, verifying network configurations and determining the cause of wireless interference.

http://www.stumbler.net/

18. PingPlotter

PingPlotter is a lightweight tracert application that generates graphs to help you visualize the route of the packets from source to destination.

http://www.pingplotter.com/download.html

19. SolarWinds Free Permissions Analyzer for AD

Using this tool you can quickly visualize the user and group permissions of a folder or shared drive in a hierarchical format. It can track share level permissions, provide a breakdown of share level and file level permissions and help identify why certain users have the permissions they do.

http://www.solarwinds.com/products/freetools/permissions_analyzer_for_active_directory/

20. Angry IP Scanner

Angry IP Scanner is a fast standalone IP address and port scanner.

http://www.angryip.org/w/Download

21. FreePortMonitor

FreePortMonitor is a tool for monitoring servers and applications on your network.

http://www.freeportmonitor.com/

22. WirelessNetView

WirelessNetView monitors the activity of wireless networks in the area and displays information related to them, such as SSID, Signal Quality, MAC Address, Channel Frequency, etc.

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wireless_network_view.html

23. BluetoothView

BluetoothView monitors the activity of Bluetooth devices in the area and displays information related to them, such as Device Name, Bluetooth Address, Device Type, etc.

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wireless_network_view.html

24. Vision

Vision allows you to view all open TCP and UDP ports and then maps them back to the owning process or application.

http://www.mcafee.com/us/downloads/free-tools/vision.aspx

25. Attacker

Attacker is a TCP/UDP port listener that allows you to define a list of ports that you want it to listen on and it will notify you when a connection is established on that port.

http://www.mcafee.com/us/downloads/free-tools/attacker.aspx

26. Total Network Monitor

Total Network Monitor is a comprehensive network monitoring application that allows you to view the state of your network. It is customizable and has advanced alerting features, letting you know when something is wrong.

http://www.softinventive.com/products/total-network-monitor/

27. IIS Logfile Analyser

This tool allows you to analyse your IIS logfiles to determine website statistics such as number of visitors, number of downloads, etc.

http://www.nodesoft.com/iislogfileanalyser/

28. ntop

ntop uses a web-based interface that allows you to monitor network traffic and statistics.

http://www.ntop.org/get-started/download/

System testing and troubleshooting



29. Pinkie

Pinkie is a collection of network troubleshooting utilities that allows pinging multiple hosts, forward and reverse DNS lookup, a ping sweeper, and a subnet calculator.

http://www.ipuptime.net/

30. VMWare Player

VMWare Player is a multi-platform virtualization solution that can be used to create and run multiple 32-bit or 64-bit virtual machines. Ideal for testing or development environments.

http://downloads.vmware.com/d/info/desktop_downloads/vmware_player/3_0

31. Oracle VirtualBox

VirtualBox is a free, multi-platform general-purpose virtualization solution that can be used to create and run multiple virtual machines. Ideal for testing or development environments.

http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

32. ADInsight

ADInsight is a real-time monitoring tool used for troubleshooting LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) clients.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/bb897539

33. Process Monitor

Process Monitor allows you to monitor activity related to processes, threads, DLLs, the registry and file system in real-time. Useful for troubleshooting application and system related issues.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/bb896645

34. SpiceWorks Network Troubleshooting

SpiceWorks Network Troubleshooting is an all-in-one tool that allows you to perform routine troubleshooting tasks such as killing processes remotely, access devices remotely, ping, tracert and nslookup, and even compare the status of two devices.

http://www.spiceworks.com/free-network-troubleshooting-tool/

35. RAMMap

RAMMap allows you to analyse physical memory allocation in your system. You are able to determine how much file data is cached in RAM, how much RAM is used by the kernel and device drivers, etc.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/ff700229

36. Autoruns

Autoruns allows you to view which programs are configured to run at system boot up or login.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/bb963902

37. LogFusion

Using LogFusion you can view and monitor log files in real-time.

http://www.logfusion.ca/

38. Microsoft Log Parser

Using Microsoft Log Parser you can generate a custom-formatted output file containing the results of multiple log file sources such as XML, CSV, Event Logs, or the Registry.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=890cd06b-abf8-4c25-91b2-f8d975cf8c07

39. AppCrashView

AppCrashView allows you to view Windows Error Reporting (*.WER) files in a simple user interface and then save the results into TXT/CSV/HTML/XML file format.

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/app_crash_view.html

40. RootKitRevealer

RootKitRevealer allows you to detect the presence of rootkits that operate by attempting to hide their files or registry entries.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/bb897445

System and network management



41. Bitcricket IP Subnet Calculator

This tool allows you to calculate subnets and CIDR routes automatically using its intuitive interface and auto-discovery feature.

http://www.wildpackets.com/resources/free_utilities/ipsubnetcalc

42. EMCO Remote Installer Starter

The free version of EMCO Remote Installer (Starter edition) allows you to perform a software inventory of applications installed on your network. You can retrieve and track changes as well as save reports.

http://emcosoftware.com/products/remote-installer/features.php

43. ManagePC

ManagePC allows you to create an inventory of all your machines in the domain, including hardware, software, devices, patches, group policies, etc.

http://managepc.net/

44. Pandora FMS

Pandora FMS is a network monitoring solution that allows you to monitor multiple platforms, from Linux machines, to Solaris machine, to Windows machines. It provides alerts and reporting for CPU, disk and memory usage, temperature, or even application values.

http://pandorafms.org/index.php?sec=project&sec2=downloads&lng=en

45. SNARE Audit and EventLog Management

SNARE (System iNtrusion Analysis and Reporting Environment) allows you to install agents onto your server machines to facilitate the centralized collection of logs, including Windows, Solaris, AIX, ISA Server, IIS Server, SMTP, Exchange, Apache, etc.

http://www.intersectalliance.com/projects/index.html

46. OCS Inventory

OCS Inventory is an automated inventory and deployment application. It allows you to determine what devices or software are installed on your network and deploy software or configuration scripts using a simple web-based interface.

http://www.ocsinventory-ng.org/index.php?page=downloads

47. Zenoss Core – Enterprise IT Monitoring

Using the Zenoss Core application, you can monitor systems availability, performance, events and configuration across the network.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/zenoss/

48. Unipress Free Help Desk

Unipress Free Help Desk is a simple yet powerful Help Desk solution that allows you to create, assign and receive issue tickets. It contains a web portal and knowledgebase for self-help.

http://www.unipress.co.uk/free-help-desk-software.html

49. SysAidIT Free Help Desk

Using this tool, you can easily manage and service requests and create an inventory of installed software and network devices on your network.

http://www.ilient.com/free-help-desk-software.htm

50. Cyberx Password Generator Pro

Cyberx Password Generator Pro allows you to create random highly secure passwords.

http://sourceforge.net

51. KeePass Password Safe

KeePass is a lightweight, user-friendly password manager. It allows you to store all your passwords in a central location that is encrypted using military grade encryption.

http://keepass.info/download.html

52. TweakUAC

Using TweakUAC you can quickly enable, disable UAC or set it to quiet mode.

http://www.tweak-uac.com/download/

53. Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit

The Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit allows you to evaluate and mitigate application compatibility issues during the pre-deployment phase of a Windows 7, Windows Vista, or new Internet Explorer version installation.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=24da89e9-b581-47b0-b45e-492dd6da2971

54. ExtraSpy Employee Monitor

ExtraSpy Employee Monitor allows you to monitor employee activities across your network to help detect misuse of company property or unproductive individuals.

http://www.extraspy.com/

55. NetWrix USB Blocker Freeware

Using this tool you can centrally manage access control of removable media on your network.

http://www.netwrix.com/usb_blocker_freeware.html

56. FileZilla

FileZilla is a cross-platform FTP, FTPS and SFTP client.

http://filezilla-project.org/

57. Wake On Lan 2 .NET

The Wake On Lan 2 .NET tool allows you to manually or automatically power on, restart or shutdown machines or devices over your local network.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/wol2/

58. Speccy

Speccy is a system information tool that allows you to quickly see comprehensive details related to your machine.

http://www.piriform.com/speccy/download/standard

59. Active Directory Explorer (ADExplorer)

ADExplorer is an advanced Active Directory viewer and editor tool. It allows you to navigate through an Active Directory database and view and edit object properties and attributes.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/bb963907

60. ADRestore

ADRestore allows you to restore deleted Windows Server 2003 Active Directory server objects.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/bb963906

File and disk management



61. Disk2vhd

Disk2vhd allows you to create a Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) of a live machine, which can then be loaded using Microsoft Virtual PC or Microsoft Hyper-V.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/ee656415

62. Defraggler

Using Defragler you can defrag individual files on an NTFS or FAT32 file system.

http://www.piriform.com/defraggler

63. PageDefrag

PageDefrag allows you to view the defragmentation status of the system Page File and Registry Hives and defragments them. It also allows you to defragment events logs and Windows 2000/XP hibernation files.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/bb897426

64. PsPad

PsPad is a powerful text editor that can be used as a substitute for Notepad and is useful for creating scripts, programming, file comparison, etc.

http://www.pspad.com/en/download.php

65. MD5Summer

Using MD5Summer, you can quickly generate MD5 hashes for files within a folder, allowing you to ensure or verify file integrity.

http://www.md5summer.org/download.html

66. Universal Viewer

Universal Viewer is a multi-format file viewer that allows you to view different file types from a single interface. Supported file formats include Text, Image, MS Office, Audio, Video, amongst others.

http://www.uvviewsoft.com/uviewer/download.htm

67. FreeCommander

FreeCommander is a comprehensive file manager that aims to be an alternative to Windows Explorer.

http://www.freecommander.com/fc_downl_en.htm

68. Recuva

Using Recuva you can recover files you accidentally deleted from your machine.

http://www.piriform.com/recuva/download/standard

69. Steganos LockNote

Steganos LockNote allows you to securely store confidential notes such as license keys, passwords, phone numbers, etc. It uses AES-256 encryption to store your text in a self-executable container that requires a password to open it.

http://www.steganos.com/us/products/for-free/locknote/overview/

70. Microsoft SyncToy

SyncToy is an application that can be used as a backup utility to synchronized files and folders between two locations.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=c26efa36-98e0-4ee9-a7c5-98d0592d8c52

71. 7-Zip

7-Zip is a powerful file archiving utility with a high compression ratio that supports a multitude of compression formats, including 7z, GZIP, TAR, ZIP, CAB, MSI, etc.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/sevenzip/

72. PeaZip

PeaZip is a cross-platform file and archive manager that supports volume spanning, high levels of compression and encryption and support for a wide range of archiving formats.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/peazip/

73. Bacula

Bacula is a suite of applications that allow for the backup, recovery and verification of data across a network.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/bacula/

74. Areca Backup

Areca Backup is a file-based backup application that supports incremental, image and delta backups to a local drive or an FTP server.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/areca/

75. DirSync Pro

Directory Synchronize Pro is a powerful synchronization utility used to synchronize the contents of a directory to a given location. It provides scheduling, filtering, and logging functionality.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/directorysync/

76. Amanda Network Backup

Amanda is a powerful multi-platform backup and archiving application that supports tape, disk, and optical media. Using a single master backup server, you can set Amanda to backup multiple clients across your network.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/amanda/

77. WebSynchronizer

WebSyncrhonizer allows you to manually or automatically backup, replicate and synchronize files to an FTP server or across your network.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/websynchronizer/

78. KGB Archiver

KGB Archiver is a file archiving tool with a high level of compression that uses AES-256 for its encryption feature.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/kgbarchiver/

79. Iometer

Iometer is a disk I/O performance analysis tool that allows you to perform stress tests and displays the read and write speed of a specified drive.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/iometer/

80. Notepad++

Notepad++ is a powerful text editor that can be used as a substitute for Notepad and is useful for creating scripts, programming, file comparison, etc.

http://notepad-plus-plus.org/download

Performance and availability monitoring

81. ManageEngine Free HyperV Performance Monitor

HyperV Performance Monitor allows you to monitor CPU, Memory, Disk and Network utilization of your Microsoft Hyper-V virtual servers. It displays the results in a dashboard.

http://www.manageengine.com/free-hyperv-performance-monitor/download.html

82. Nagios

Nagios is a powerful network monitoring tool that allows you to ensure that your critical systems, applications and services are always up and running. It provides features such as alerting, event handling, and reporting.

http://www.nagios.org/download/

83. ManageEngine Free Exchange Health Monitor

Exchange Health Monitor allows you to monitor CPU and memory resource utilization, mail queue status, POP/IMAP performance counters, mailbox users, etc of your Microsoft Exchange 2003/2007/2010 servers. It displays the results in a dashboard.

http://www.manageengine.com/products/exchange-health-monitor/download.html

84. Kratos Exchange Monitor

Kratos Exchange Monitor will continuously monitor your Microsoft Exchange Servers and provide a real-time view of its health, including mail queues, CPU and memory utilization, hard drive space, etc.

http://www.kratosnetworks.com/products/free_network_management_utilities/exchange_monitor_utility/

85. ManageEngine Free Windows Health Monitor

Windows Health Monitor allows you to monitor CPU and memory resource utilization, disk usage and I/O, running applications, etc of your Windows Client and Server machines. It displays the results in a dashboard.

http://www.manageengine.com/free-windows-health-monitor/download.html

86. ManageEngine Free Ping Tool

Free Ping Tool monitors the availability of servers, routers, switches, mail servers and web servers using the power of ICMP ping. It displays the results in a dashboard.

http://www.manageengine.com/free-ping-tool/download.html

87. ManageEngine Free SQL Health Monitor Tool

The SQL Health Monitor Tool will monitor the performance and availability of your Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and 2008 servers. It can monitor CPU, memory and disk usage, as well as SQL specific parameters such as page reads/writes and buffer cache. It displays the results in a dashboard.

http://www.manageengine.com/sql-performance-monitor/download.html

88. ManageEngine Free VM Configuration Tool

Using the VM Configuration Tool you can configure VMWare ESX virtual servers options like increasing or decreasing RAM and allocating more CPUs. It also monitors the performance of the virtual machines, reporting on CPU, memory, disk and network utilization.

http://www.manageengine.com/free-vmware-configuration/free-vm-configuration-index.html

89. Kratos Network Device Monitor

This tool allows you to monitor any SNMP devices on your network, ensuring their availability and performance.

http://www.kratosnetworks.com/products/free_network_management_utilities/device_problem_monitor/

90. IxChariot QCheck

QCheck is a small yet powerful network performance management tool that allows you to quickly check network response times, TCP/UDP throughput, streaming traffic, and troubleshoot wireless network performance problems.

http://www.ixchariot.com/products/datasheets/qcheck.html

91. EasyNetMonitor

A small, lightweight tool for monitoring local and remote hosts to determine if they are alive or not.

http://nicekit.com/net-monitor/best-free-net-monitor.htm

Remote management

92. Remote Desktop Manager

Remote Desktop Manager is a tool that allows you to centrally manage your remote connections. It support RDP, VNC, TeamViewer, FTP, SSH, Telnet, etc.

http://remotedesktopmanager.com/remotedesktopmanager/Home.aspx/Download

93. TightVNC

TightVNC is a cross-platform lightweight application used for remotely administering clients and server machines.

http://www.tightvnc.com/download.php

94. Microsoft RDCMan

RDCMan allows you to manage multiple remote desktop sessions from a single interface.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=4603c621-6de7-4ccb-9f51-d53dc7e48047

95. Terminals

Terminals is a secure multi-tab remote connection management client. It supports both terminal services and remote desktop client and allows you to better manage multiple connections from a single interface.

http://terminals.codeplex.com/

96. PsFile

PsFile displays a list of files on a system that are opened remotely and allows you to close them.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/bb897552

All-in-one toolkits

97. Net Tools 5.0

Net Tools is a comprehensive set of monitoring, network scanning, security and administration tools packed into an intuitive and user friendly UI. It includes 175 utilities including an Advanced Port Scanner, TCP Packet Sniffer, Bandwidth Monitor, Hash MD5 Checker, Fast FTP Client, and Standard Encrypter.

http://mabsoft.com/nettools.htm

98. ManageEngine Free Windows Tools 2

The ‘Free Windows Tools 2’ kit contains a set of free Windows tools for Network Administrators, including the Remote Task Manager Tool, Wake on LAN, Software Inventory Tool, Remote Command Prompt Tool, GPO Update, Shutdown/Restart Tool, Join/Unjoin Computer Tool, Currently Logged On User, Hard Disk Space Detector Tool, Local Users/Groups List Tool, Network Share Browser Tool, and Laptop Battery Power Monitor Tool.

http://www.manageengine.com/products/free-windows-tools/download.html

99. Axence NetTools Pro

NetTools Pro is a set of tools that network administrators can use for monitoring, network scanning, security and administration.

http://www.axencesoftware.com/index.php?action=NTPro

100. Free IP Tools

Free IP Tools is a collection of common tools used to troubleshoot network applications and services in a single interface. It includes tools such as PortScan, TraceRoute, Shares, SNMPAudit, etc.

http://www.all-nettools.com/network-utilities-28/free-ip-tools-48453.htm

101. PsTools

PsTools is a suite of tools that help you to administer your systems. The tools including in the package allow you to display, execute and kill processes remotely, retrieve system and logon information, and control account passwords and services.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/bb896649