IPNetMonitorX Read Me
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Features
3. System Requirements
4. Installation and Removal
5. How To Get Started
6. Version History
7. Registration and Licensing
8. Thank You! (contact information)
1. Introduction
IPNetMonitorX is a powerful Internet tool kit featuring 23 integrated tools designed to help you quickly identify problems, locate where the problem is, and gather data which can be used to solve the problem either directly or through your Internet Service Provider. The tools included at this time are Address Scan, AirPort Signal, Connection List, DHCP Lease, DHCP Test, DNS RBL, Finger, Interface Info, Link Rate, Lookup, Monitor, Name Server Query, Ping, Port Scan, Server Scan, Service Info, SNMPd Config, SNMP Tool, Subnet Calculator, TCP Dump, TCP Info, Trace Route, and Whois.
With IPNetMonitorX, you can see how the Internet is working, giving
you the information to both optimize service and diagnose problems.
As with all of our Macintosh software products, IPNetMonitorX features a fully functional 21 day trial period. Once you are certain that our software is right for the job, a registration key can be purchased for $60 (see our registration page for educational and bundled package discounts).
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2. Features
- A complete basic Internet toolkit (ping, trace route, nslookup,
who is).
- Full Macintosh user interface makes these tools more accessible.
- Advanced multi threaded design saves time.
- Superior integration.
Automatically transfers corresponding data from one tool to another.
The well organized displays and integrated design allow both new
and experienced Internet users to see how the net is working, and
quickly identify and report common problems.
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3. IPNetMonitorX System requirements
Version 1.0.3 Requires MacOS X 10.1 through 10.3.
Version 1.6.x Requires Mac OS X 10.2 through 10.4.
Version 2.0-2.2 Requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later.
Version 2.3 or higher Requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later.
Version 2.5 or higher requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later.
Mac on Intel requires version 2.0 or later.
Mac OS X Leopard requires version 2.1.4 or later.
Mac OS X Snow Leopard requires version 2.5 or later.
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4. Installation and Removal
To install or remove the software, simply drag a copy to your hard
drive. The first time IPNetMonitorX is run it will ask you to authenticate
to complete the installation process.
Under unix operating systems including Mac OS X, certain operations
require special permission or privileges to prevent unauthorized
users from disrupting or spying on other users. While well intentioned,
these conventions are often inappropriate for a "personal"
computer where a single user owns and administers the system. Among
the operations that require such privileges are sending raw datagrams
for Ping and TraceRoute as well as monitoring network traffic.
IPNetMonitorX takes the personal computer view that the user should
normally be in control of their computer, so tries to minimize the
disruption of asking the user to prove they are authorized to perform
the requested operation.
To open ICMP endpoints for Ping and TraceRoute, IPNetMonitorX includes
a tiny server application named "OpenICMP" that must run
as suid root. When IPNetMonitorX is first run after being copied
to a new location, it checks to see if the OpenICMP tool is present
and set to suid root. The same process is repeated for "ConfigDHCP",
"RunTCPDump", and "LoadNKE". If any of these
tools are not authorized, it asks you to authenticate so it can
configure them to run as suid root. You might think of this as completing
the installation process. From that point on, no further authentication
is necessary to perform any of the restricted operations IPNetMonitorX
supports.
Normally allowing small programs to execute as root is not a problem unless the program seeks to compromise your system or is exploited by another program to carry out such an attack. The best defense against such exploits at this time is to only run software from reputable developers. IPNetMonitorX takes advantage of Leopard Code signing to alert you of any unintended modifications to the software.
IPNetMonitorX uses a Network Kernel Extension (NKE) to intercepts network traffic while monitoring is in progress. When the Monitor tool(s) for a given interface stop monitoring, the NKE is automatically removed from the corresponding data stream. The NKE normally remains loaded until you restart your system since other applications might be using it. You can try forcing the NKE to unload by selecting "Unload NKE" from the IPNetMonitorX application menu. This feature allows you to load a newer version of the NKE without restarting your system. The NKE will only unload when all monitoring connections to it have been stopped.
To remove the software, drag the IPNetMonitorX application to the trash. If you wish to remove the supporting files installed with the software, you may drag /Library/Application Support/IPNetMonitorX to the trash as well. This may ask you to authenticate since some of the helper tools have been configured to allow privileged operations and are "owned" by root.
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5. How to Get Started
IPNetMonitorX provides a wealth of tools you can open from the
Tool menu
Help is available on each of the various tools from the Help menu. If you press Option-Help, the corresponding help file will open in your web browser which may be more convenient for browsing. This is probably the best way to familiarize yourself with the more advanced features of the software since you can experiment with the window while you read the description.
A User Guide and Tutorial is available under the Help menu or from our website at:
<http://www.sustworks.com/site/prod_ipmx_help/NMTitle.html>
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6. IPNetMonitorX Version History
See "Release Notes" under IPNetMonitorX Help for version
history including the latest features and additions.
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7. Registration and Licensing
IPNetMonitorX is commercial software subject to the terms of the
accompanying License Agreement. You may use a demo version of the
software during a single trial period of up to 21 days. You must
then register the software if you wish to continue using it beyond
the trial period.
Notice the trial is designed to expire after 21 days. If the software
reports it has expired the first time you launch it, this usually
means someone ran a previous version of the program on your computer.
Please contact us directly for information on how to reset the trial
period.
Once you have downloaded the application, you can register it on-line at
<http://sustworks.com/site/reg.html>
A "registration key" that unlocks the trial period will be sent to you by email once your registration information is received. You can simply copy the text of this Email message to the clipboard (as if you were going to paste it into another application) and then launch the IPNetMonitorX application, or paste into the "registration key" field of the registration window or demo startup dialog. Your program is now registered. Thank You!
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Pricing
Single User $60 Upgrade $30 Site License $2400 (unlimited users within 100 miles of your site)
Additional payment details are available on our registration web
page at
<http://www.sustworks.com/site/reg.html>
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8. Thank You!
We hope you find our IPNetMonitorX software useful and look forward
to your comments and suggestions.
Support help <http://www.sustworks.com/site/sup.html>
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