Tools Used in Configuration Network and Computer System

 

Tools used in configuration network and computer system

Network Utilities        

Ping-

Ping Traceroute/ Tracert/ Tracepath Ip Config Nslook Whois Nelstal Finger  Post scan/ Nmap The ping command sends ICP echo re!uest packets to a destination" For e#ample$

you could run ping google.com or google.com or ping 173.194.33.174 to 173.194.33.174  to ping a domain name or IP address" These packets ask the remote destination to reply" If the remote destination is configured to reply$ it will respond with packets of its own" %ou&ll 'e a'le to see how long the round-trip time is 'etween your computer and the destination" %ou&ll see a (re!uest timed out) message if packet loss is occurring$ and you&ll see an error message if your computer can&t communicate with the remote host at all"

Tracer / Tracert/ Tracepath-

The traceroute$ tracert$ or tracepath command is similar to

ping$ 'ut pro*ides information a'out the path a packet takes" traceroute sends packets to a destination$ asking each Internet router along the way to reply when it passes on the packet" This will show you the path packets take when you send them 'etween your location and a destination"

Ip Config-

The ipconfig command is used on Windows$ while the ifconfig command is used

on +inu#$ ac , .$ and other Uni#-like operating systems" These commands allow you to configure your network interfaces and *iew information a'out them"

Nslookup- The nslookup command will look up the IP addresses associated with a domain name" For e#ample$ you can run nslookup howtogeek.com to howtogeek.com  to see the IP address of ow-To 0eek&s ser*er" Nslookup also allows you to perform a re*erse lookup to find the domain name associated with an IP address" For e#ample$ nslookup 208.43.115.82 will 208.43.115.82  will show you that this IP address is associated with howtogeek"com"

Whois-

The whois command looks up the registration record associated with a domain name"

This can show you more information a'out who registered and owns a domain name$ including their contact information"

Netstat- Netstat stands for network statistics" This command displays incoming and outgoing network connections as well as other network information" It&s a*aila'le on Windows$ ac$ and +inu# 1 each *ersion has its own command-line options you can tweak to see different types of  information"

Finger - The finger command is old and is no longer widely used" In theory$ this command allows you to *iew information a'out users logged onto a remote computer" If the computer is running a finger ser*ice or daemon$ you can use the finger command on your computer to see who&s logged in on that remote computer$ their email address$ and their full name" In practice$ almost no computers are running a finger ser*ice you can connect to" This utility was a cute idea in the early days of networking where you might want to see who was logged into the other few computers on your uni*ersity network$ 'ut it&s not suita'le for a dangerous internet" %ou don&t want people to see your full name and email address when you&re using a computer"

Post scan / nmap-

The nmap utility is a common tool used for port scans$ 'ut there are

many utilities that can run this sort of scan" 2 port scan is the process of attempting to connect to e*ery port on a computer 1 ports 3 through 45565 1 and seeing if they&re open" 2n attacker might port-scan a system to find *ulnera'le ser*ices" ,r$ you might port scan your own computer to ensure that there are no *ulnera'le ser*ices listening to the network"

Computer ystem Configuration Windows emory 7iagnostic  8esource onitor   Performance onitor   Computer anagement and 2dministration   2d*anced User 2ccounts and tool  7isk Cleanup  0roup Policy 9ditor   8egistry 9ditor   s Config  ystem Information 

Windows emory 7iagnostic-

Windows includes a emory 7iagnostic tool that can

restart your computer and test your memory for defects$ like the popular emTest:4 application" If you want to check your computer&s memory for errors$ you don&t need a third-party tool 1 ;ust open the Windows Memory i!gnostic tool"

8esource onitor- The 8esource onitor application offers a detailed look at your computer&s resource usage" %ou can *iew computer-wide CPU$ disk$ network$ and memory graphics$ or drill down and *iew per-process statistics for each type of resource" This means that you can see which processes are using your disk or network hea*ily$ *iew which processes are communicating with which Internet addresses$ and more" The 8esource onitor pro*ides much more detailed resource statistics than the Task anager does" %ou can launch the 8esource onitor 'y opening the Task anager$ clicking the Performance ta'$ and selecting 8esource onitor" It can also 'e accessed 'y searching for "esource Monitor at the tart menu or tart screen"

Performance onitor- The Performance onitor application allows you to collect performance reports and *iew them" It can 'e used to log performance data o*er time$ including determining how system changes affect performance$ or to monitor the performance of a remote computer in real-time"

Computer anagement and 2dministration-

The Performance onitor is actually

one of many icrosoft anagement Console <C= tools" any of these can 'e found in the #dministr!ti$e %ools folder$ 'ut they can 'e opened in a single window 'y opening the &omputer M!n!gement application" 2mong other things$ this window contains the following tools>

%!sk 'cheduler > 2 tool that

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allows you to *iew and customi?e the scheduled tasks on your computer $ in addition to creating your own custom scheduled tasks" ($ent )iewer > 2 log *iewer

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that allows you to *iew and filter system e*ents  1 e*erything from software installation to application crashes and 'lue screens of death" 'h!red *olders> 2n

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interface that displays the folders shared o*er the network on your computer$ useful for *iewing what folders are 'eing shared at a glance" e$ice M!n!ger > The

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classic Windows 7e*ice anager that allows you to *iew the de*ices connected to your computer$ disa'le them$ and configure their dri*ers" isk M!n!gement> 2 'uilt-in

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partition manager  you can use without downloading any third-party tools" 'er$ices> 2n interface that

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allows you to *iew and control the 'ackground ser*ices running in Windows"

 2d*anced User 2ccount tool-

Windows contains a hidden User 2ccounts utility that

pro*ides some options not present in the standard interface" To open it$ press Win@eyA8 to open the 8un dialog$ type either netplwi+ or control userp!sswords2$ and press 9nter" This

window also contains a shortcut to launch the  ,oc!l -sers !nd roups  tool$ which offers more user management tasks$ 'ut can&t 'e used on ome or standard *ersions of  Windows"

7isk Cleanup-

Windows& 7isk Cleanup utility isn&t !uite as hidden as some of the other

utilities here$ 'ut not enough people know a'out it" It will scan your computer for files that can 'e deleted$ from temporary files and memory dumps to old system restore points and lefto*er files from Windows upgrades" It does the same ;o' a PC cleaning utility does$ 'ut it&s free and doesn&t try to e#tract any money from you" 2d*anced users may prefer CCleaner $ 'ut 7isk Cleanup does a decent ;o'"

0roup Policy 9ditor-

The 0roup Policy 9ditor is only a*aila'le on Professional or Ultimate

editions of Windows$ not the standard or ome editions" It pro*ides a wide *ariety of settings that are designed for use 'y system administrators to customi?e and lock down PCs on their networks$ 'ut the local group policy editor also contains some settings that a*erage users might 'e interested in" For e#ample$ on Windows :$ the group policy editor can 'e used to disa'le the lock screen and skip directly to the log-in screen "

8egistry 9ditor-

ure$ e*eryone knows a'out the registry editor 1 'ut it&s still hidden$ with

icrosoft not e*en pro*iding a tart menu shortcut to it" It must 'e launched 'y typing regedit into the tart menu or tart screen and pressing 9nter 

s Config-

The ystem Configuration window is another classic tool that many people know

a'out" Prior to Windows :$ which features a startup-program manager 'uilt into its Task anager $ this tool was the only included way of controlling startup programs on Windows" It also allows you to customi?e your 'oot loader$ which is particularly useful if you ha*e multiple *ersions of Windows installed"

ystem Information-

The ystem Information utility allows you to *iew information a'out

the current computer 1 e*erything from the model num'er of its C7-8, dri*e to its attached peripherals$ configured en*ironment *aria'les$ and startup programs" It doesn&t pro*ide the slickest interface$ nor does it pro*ide all the information a third-party system information tool like peccy does$ 'ut it will display a lot of system information without forcing you to install another program"

Windows firewall- is a software component of icrosoft Windows that pro*ides firewalling and packet filtering functions" It was first included in Windows .P and Windows er*er B6" Prior to the release of Windows .P er*ice Pack B in BD$ it was known as Internet Connection *irew!ll"