Internet Tools for Windows 10 Users

Windows 10 users who don’t feel internet savvy often want to know about specific tools for the Internet. Take a look below for internet tools that every Windows 10 user needs!

Internet speed test for Windows 10 users

Everybody, but everybody, needs (or wants) to measure her Internet speed from time to time. The sites many Windows 10 experts use these days for testing is DSLreport.com and www.testmy.net.

A million different speed tests are available on the Internet, and 2 million different opinions about various tools’ accuracy, reliability, replicability, and other measurements. Keep in mind that some ISPs cache data — so you may only see local results instead of long-distance speeds. DSLReports tests can’t be cached, so it’s a great tool.

Testmy.net works well because the reports appear valid — and the site has automatic testing, so tests can be run every hour for days on end.

DNSStuff

Ever wonder whether the website BillyJoeBobsPhishery.com belongs to BillyJoeBob? Head over to DNSstuff.com and find out.

You give DNSStuff a domain name, and the site divulges all the public records about the site, commonly known as a whois: who owns the site (or at least who registered it), where the rascals are located, and whom to contact — although you must register a valid email address to get all the info.

DNSStuff also tells you the official abuse contact for a particular site (useful if you want to lodge a complaint about junk mail or scams), whether a specific site is listed on one of the major spam databases, and much more.

Monitis Traceroute

So where’s the hang-up? When the Internet slows down, you probably want to know where it’s getting bogged down. Not that it will do you much good, but you may be able to complain to your ISP.

My favorite tool for tracing Internet packets is the free product Monitis Traceroute. When you run Monitis Traceroute, you feed it a target location — a web address to use as a destination for your packets. As soon as you enter a target, Monitis Traceroute runs out to the target and keeps track of all hops — the discrete jumps from location to location — along the way. It also measures the speed of each hop.

Down for everyone or just me?

So you try and try and can’t get through to Wikipedia, or Outlook has the hiccups: The browser keeps coming back and says it’s timed out, or it just sits there and does nothing.

It’s time to haul out the big guns. Hop over to downforeveryoneorjustme.com, and type the address of the site that isn’t responding. The computer on the other end checks to see whether the site you requested is still alive. Cool.

The Wayback Machine

He said, she said. we said, they said. web pages come and go, but sometimes you just have to see what a page looked like last week or last year. No problem, Sherman: Just set the Wayback Machine for November 29, 1975. (That’s the day Bill Gates first used the name Micro Soft.)

If you’re a Mr. Peabody look-alike and you want to know what a specific web page really said in the foggy past, head to the Internet Archive, where the Wayback (or is it WABAC?) Machine has more than 85 billion web pages archived and indexed for your entertainment.