Free Admin Tools

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

Any free tools you know of that are missing from this list? Leave us a comment!

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://wvw.xirrus.com/wifi-inspector

3. TCP View

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

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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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/

9. Ping Plotter

Ping Plotter 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

10. Bluetooth View

Bluetooth View 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

11. 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

12. 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

                   

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13. 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/

14. RAM Map

RAM Map allows you to analyze 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

15. 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

16. LogFusion

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

http://www.logfusion.ca/

17. 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

18. Root Kit Revealer

Root Kit Revealer 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

19. SNARE Audit and Event Log 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

20. Cyberx Password Generator Pro

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

http://sourceforge.net

21. 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

22. FileZilla

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

http://filezilla-project.org/

23. 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

24. Defraggler

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

http://www.piriform.com/defraggler

25. 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

26. 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/

27. 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/

28. 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

29. 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

And there’s more!