The NetBalancer program combines tools that allow you to quickly and easily distribute consumed traffic between specific applications. In other words, the utility sets a speed limit for the Internet connection (both for incoming and outgoing data packets), and also regulates the network activity parameters set by the user. If necessary, you can even block incoming Internet traffic in full. Among other advantages of the NetBalancer application, it is necessary to note the ability effective management independent processes and creation of detailed statistics. Additionally, you can get information about the speed of your Internet connection and the amount of data transmitted or received.

The user interface features a relatively simple graphic design and a convenient navigation toolbar. The NetBalancer application supports working with a large number of language packs, including the Russian-language location. and therefore, understanding the settings will not be difficult even for an inexperienced user. To limit direct access to the application, it is possible to set a password. The presence of a built-in scheduler will allow you to more effectively manage the distribution of Internet traffic and control the processes occurring on your computer. You can download the NetBalancer program for free and without mandatory registration using the link located after the description.

Compatibility with various operating systems of the Windows family practically reduces to zero the likelihood of unexpected system failures or critical errors during operation. Software components are updated without user intervention - in automatic mode.

Key features of the NetBalancer program:

• Intuitive and friendly interface;
• Minimum requirements for system resources;
• Ability to limit traffic consumption;
• Control over network activity priorities;
• Availability of a built-in task scheduler.

Thus, the NetBalancer program is a completely professional product with which you can create an Internet access schedule, as well as effectively distribute traffic.

The development of broadband and wireless Internet access leads to the fact that in many homes there is not one computer connected to it, but several. Number of devices in the home Wi-Fi networks taking into account smart watches, TVs and even refrigerators, it easily reaches a dozen and exceeds it. This equipment is usually connected to a single external channel, the capacity of which is limited. As a result, at the most inopportune moment, it is impossible to receive or send a large amount of information. It is then that users think about how to limit the Internet speed on a computer and by what means this can be done.

The fastest and at the same time “rough” method involves setting up the computer’s network card. More precisely, with a forced change in its settings towards reducing bandwidth, which allows you to manually set the Internet speed limit on your computer. The essence of the method is that all network adapters use three standard access speeds:

• up to 10 Mbit/s;
• up to 100 Mbit/s;
• up to 1000 Mbit/s (gigabit Internet).

By default, the maximum throughput mode is selected, which at the hardware level is consistent with the capabilities of the provider. Statistically, according to data for the first quarter of 2017, the average peak speed of access to local networks in Russia is 69 Mbit/s. Thus, most network cards operate in 100 Mbit mode, therefore, by limiting it by an order of magnitude, we will achieve the desired result.

Three quarters of all Windows users use versions 7 and 10 of this operating system. They are the most popular and we will focus on working with them.

Windows 7

There are several ways to get to the network card settings. The most common is to use the system tray icon network connection, "monitor".

In the screenshot it is slightly “highlighted” from below, and above it is the result of a mouse click. If you right-click on it, a dialog box will open with the choice of “problem diagnosis” and “network center”. You can use it in any way, since our goal is to open the settings.

This is what the area of ​​interest to us looks like in Windows 7. On the right side are the active connections. We open them and find ourselves in a window displaying data transfer statistics.

The lower part shows the activity, from where we go directly to the “Properties” of the connection.

At the top of the window our adapter is shown, which is used to connect the device. Click the “Configure” button and go to the network card settings.

We switch, as shown in the screenshot, to the “Advanced” tab, find the item responsible for the line speed, and set the operating mode to 10 Mbit/sec.

You can also get to network settings from the computer control panel, which is located in the Start menu of the operating system.

Another way to get directly to the network settings is to call the “Run” menu using the “Win” + “R” key combination.

Entering the command shown in the screenshot will take you directly to the network connections section.

Windows 10

There are differences in the hardware setup of Windows 10 due to the use of a new menu in this Microsoft operating system.

As you can see, changes begin with the connection icon and the window called up by clicking the mouse. The dialog menu called up by pressing the right button has not changed. With its help you will immediately be taken to the network control center. Let's see how to get there from the window that appears. By clicking the “Options” hyperlink, you are taken to the new “Network and Internet” style menu, which provides settings for all cases that may occur in the user’s life.

At the moment they are absolutely not interesting to us. To get to the item you are looking for, scroll down to the very end. The control center that interests us is hidden here.

The designers also worked on this place, but the picture turned out to be recognizable. As you already understand, we will choose to connect via local network. Next, using the route familiar from the “seven”, we will move to the adapter settings.

We perform the switch as shown in the screenshot, thus achieving the necessary reduction in adapter performance.

The "ncpa.cpl" command described above still works and takes the user to the same network connections section.

By selecting the “Properties” item in the drop-down menu, you will be taken directly to the connection properties, from where the adapter settings are one step away.

Setting up the router

Forced settings specified in the network card parameters are rather an emergency method and only work on a wired connection. Considering that home networks are built using wireless technology, it would be preferable to set Wi-Fi speed limits for some devices in advance. In Windows for these purposes built-in software not provided, so you will have to adjust Wi-Fi speed on the router.

Many modern models support this feature, although it is implemented differently by manufacturers. We will not dwell on a specific brand of router, but will consider general principles, allowing you to limit Wi-Fi speed for other users.

Guest network

Setting up a guest network on a router with a separately allocated range of addresses has a number of advantages:

• You can let guests use the wireless network on their devices without worrying about the security of their data. Many users “share” folders on their computer, giving them free access to family members. Creating an isolated guest network with a separate range of addresses will prevent outsiders from gaining access to them;
• For such a network, you can not set a password at all, making it available to everyone for an evening or several days. By setting a speed limit on your router, you will not allow it to be used to download large amounts of information.

When there is no longer a need to allocate a separate range of addresses, it can be disabled in a few clicks.

IP address range limitation

This method requires some understanding of networking principles. Your router receives an external IP address from your provider, which is used to access the Internet. For all home devices that have access to it, internal addresses are allocated through the built-in DHCP server, changing with each connection. When connecting to the network, any computer will request permission to operate using the DHCP client service. If there is a free IP, the server will automatically assign it.

The subnet, as shown in the screenshot, can be distributed within the range from 1 to 254. You can find out the required range used by your router by viewing the DHCP list.

To avoid reducing the speed on the desired computer, you can assign it a static IP, which it will be guaranteed to receive every time it goes online. You can impose restrictions on the remaining range of addresses by creating a corresponding rule in the router settings.

Control by MAC addresses

Most effective method creating flexible restrictions, controlling network devices using unique MAC addresses. Their peculiarity is that they are assigned at the time of production and are preserved throughout the entire period of operation.

In this case, the distribution of IP addresses will not be dynamic, but static. For each computer or mobile device, you will need to enter the MAC address of the network card in the router settings and assign the corresponding IP. This setup will take more time, but will allow you to configure your network efficiently.

The screenshot shows an example in which the MAC address field is filled in to assign a static address. After this, you can enter an Internet speed limit on the router. For TP-Link this procedure is performed using Bandwich Control, for Zuxel Keenetic - using bandwidth management firmware. As you can see, the name of this function may differ among different manufacturers and the procedure for setting it up also differs.

Software control

As we have already said, OS Windows does not have built-in tools for limiting Internet speed, but you can find a specialized software not difficult. Typically, such software is shareware, with a trial period during which you can decide whether you need to use it and whether it is advisable to purchase it. The most popular are the following:

• Traffic Inspector. The trial period is 30 days;
• NetLimiter. A month is provided to test the capabilities.

It should be noted that any program for limiting Internet speed has additional features, which add up to its cost. Considering the price, it is much more profitable to use it to control traffic consumption in a small office or Internet cafe than at home.

Finally

We told you about ways to set hardware and software restrictions on the use of the Internet by various devices. The most convenient way for home use is to regulate access using the capabilities of the router. Pay attention to its settings and, if necessary, configure the network to suit your needs.

A program for tracking incoming and outgoing traffic on your computer. It will help you not to exceed the traffic limit and not end up without the Internet at all.

ATTENTION: Starting from version 6, the program has become paid, so in order to avoid misunderstandings, do not update it. Here is the last one free version 5.5.5.

Anyone who used the Internet five years ago probably remembers the most important problem for a user - constantly monitoring the amount of traffic. After all, there was no unlimited packages, and Dial-Up connection required money for each megabyte of information downloaded.

As a result, if you don’t control traffic consumption, you could end up costing a pretty penny :). But the people are inventive and they came up with many programs for measuring and limiting the flow. Today, the need for such utilities has decreased a little, but they are still in use, because during their existence they have acquired many additional useful functions.

Thanks to such programs, today you can measure the speed of your Internet connection, check all processes that have access to the Internet, measure traffic usage in corporate networks and much more.

A small program has all the above functions - NetWorx. In addition, it has a number of additional features, which will be useful to both the system administrator and the average user. An equally simple but powerful tool can be called a paid program - DU Meter.

Comparison of the free traffic metering program NetWorx with the paid analogue DU Meter

In addition, in NetWorx you can impose a quota on the amount of traffic, as well as launch various applications on a schedule. The program itself comes in two versions: portable and installation. I think it's easiest to use the "portable" version, although if you're a fan of installers, you can easily install NetWorx using the standard installation wizard.

Installing NetWorx

I will assume that you downloaded the portable version. To get started, you need to unpack the archive with the program and run the executable exe file. Before directly launching NetWorx, we’ll make a couple of settings. First, you will need to specify the program language, and second, you will need to enable or disable checking for new versions. That's all:).

After this, a program icon will appear in the tray (a place next to the system clock), with which we will manage it.

NetWorx will be controlled through a right-click context menu.

Here in this menu all the functions of the program are listed, but before use you can make some settings. To do this, click on the menu section of the same name.

NetWorx Settings

“Settings” consists of several tabs. In “General” we can configure the speed units, information displayed in the tray, and also (most importantly!) which connection to monitor (by default, all traffic is counted).

The “Graph” and “Graph Colors” sections allow us to customize appearance graphics of incoming/outgoing information packets. In “Notifications” you can enable and configure service messages from the program, and in “Additional” we have the opportunity to configure the collection of statistics.

The very last tab, Dial-up, allows you to set the default connection and add applications that will run with NetWorx.

After the settings are made, first click the “Apply” button for them to take effect, and then “Ok” to exit the settings.

Traffic Monitor

Now let's go directly through the NetWorx tools. The first and main one is a traffic monitor. It is presented in the form of a graph, which is called by the “Show graph” button.

The graph can be presented in the form of a histogram (in my opinion, this is the most convenient), curved lines, or simply numbers. In this case, there will always be two numbers at the bottom. The number with the index “D” (blue by default) shows the amount of incoming traffic (from the English download), and “U” (green) respectively, outgoing traffic (from the English upload).

Velocity change curves are drawn in the corresponding colors on the graph, the numerical value of which can be correlated with the scale on the left.

Speed ​​measurement

The next button - “Speed ​​measurement” - unfortunately, does not measure the overall speed of your Internet connection, but only the current speed of background packet transmission. This may be needed to compare (saving is available) the results under full load on the channel (for example, downloading a file) and at rest.

To start the test, just click the “Start” button and mark a certain period of time. The result can then be saved to a text file, and then compared with the new data obtained when “loading” the channel.

Statistics

System administrators will like this feature most of all, since it is possible to keep both a general count of traffic and display detailed statistics for each of the network users. The results can be exported to xls format ( spreadsheets Excel) and save on your computer.

There are also tools for backup statistics and their further restoration (for example, if you need to save all the data after reinstalling the system).

Traffic quota

Moving on, we move on to the “Quota” section. This function is most suitable for users with a Dial-up connection or limited traffic (for example Mobile Internet). It allows you to set the maximum amount of information received or sent and will always warn the user if the specified limit is exceeded.

By default, the quota is set to 0.00 KB, so if you want to use this function, you will need to “Configure” it first :).

In the settings, we specify the type of quota (daily, weekly, monthly, last 24 hours) and the type of traffic (incoming, outgoing or all). You can leave the clock as is, and then specify the units of measurement and the quota itself.

To save the settings, click “Ok”, and in the quota monitoring window, do not forget to check the box “Notify when the quota is used by %” in order to receive timely information about overexpenditure.

Route tracing

We have already looked at the “Settings” item, so let’s move on to the next one – “Route tracing”. If you suddenly lost access to any Internet resource or you need to find out what path you take before you get to this or that site, try tracing this path. This can be done with standard Windows capabilities, but with NetWorx it is much easier and more visual.

To start tracing, enter the name of the site (remote computer) or its IP address. Now you can set the response time (although often the standard value is more than enough) and you can click “Start”. In this case, we traced the site yandex.ru and saw that to access it you need to go through 11 intermediate servers, and the total time to travel this path is 31 ms.

Ping

The next option is “Ping”. The window interface of this function is very similar to the previous one, but its purpose is somewhat different. Ping, simply put, is the speed at which a remote computer responds to a request you send. The built-in NetWorx ping is inferior in capabilities to the standard one (it is not possible to set your own keys to change parameters), but it copes with the main task.

Another disadvantage of the function is that you cannot enter the website’s Internet address directly - you need to know its exact IP (you can find out from the previous utility). Now specifically about use: enter the address of the remote PC, select the waiting time and the number of echo requests and click “Start”.

In our example, the site was pinged vkontakte.ru. The average response time is not calculated automatically, but it can be calculated in your head by adding all the obtained values ​​and dividing by three :).

It turned out to be about 45 ms, which in principle is good (ping up to 50 ms ± 10 ms is considered good). The TTL value is the “lifetime” of the echo packet. The number 64 means that the sent packet of information can pass through 64 intermediate servers.

Connections

The last tool is Connections. It allows you to monitor all applications that require an Internet connection.

I immediately advise you to enable the “Convert addresses to names” option. This way you can see where this or that application is going and stop its attempt to connect to a suspicious resource. Pay special attention to “established” connections (ESTABLISHED) and listening ports (LISTENING), as they can pose a hidden threat.

If a suspicious connection is detected, you can immediately terminate the application that installs it by right-clicking on it and selecting “End Application”.

conclusions

Thus, we can summarize all of the above. NetWorx is not just a program for monitoring your Internet connection, but also a complex for ensuring security and comprehensive network diagnostics.

Therefore, if you suspect that some application is using traffic irrationally or even transmitting confidential information, try monitoring your network with the NetWorx program and you can easily identify the “spy” :).

P.S. Permission is granted to freely copy and quote this article, provided that an open active link to the source is indicated and the authorship of Ruslan Tertyshny is preserved.

Read, how to limit Internet connection speed for an application or program. A limitation using the settings of the program itself or another third-party application is described. IN Lately Computer techologies are developing at a rapid pace. If previously the main tool was Personal Computer, then today there is a wide selection of devices available that have the same capabilities. In addition to desktop computers, the following are widely used: laptops, netbooks, ultrabooks, tablets and convertible laptops, mobile devices, etc.

The main unifying factor of all devices is not only the ability to quickly and efficiently solve the tasks assigned to them, but also the ability to provide access to the international Internet network, created for the exchange of information and uniting billions of people.

Content:

What is Application Bandwidth

With unlimited possibilities, the Internet offers access to a huge amount of information and knowledge base. In it, people work, communicate, exchange information, have fun, download all kinds of programs and applications, etc. Almost every computer or mobile device has access to the Internet, which allows developers of various applications and programs to directly offer them to end users. Also occurs via the Internet Feedback application developers and users, obtaining and installing various updates and additions. This speeds up the process of updating programs and simplifies the correction of vulnerabilities and errors in such applications.

Access to the Internet mainly occurs through a provider, with which each user enters into an agreement for the provision of services for connecting to the Internet. The user chooses the one tariff plan, which is convenient for him, and the speed of the Internet connection.

However, as often happens, the speed of your Internet connection may drop for various reasons. Perhaps the signal level on your cable line is insufficient; problems with your provider or problems with its equipment; weak wireless signal strength "Wi-Fi"; problem with your modem or router; Availability large quantity other devices connected to your network, which additionally load it, accordingly reducing network bandwidth, etc. The last reason described is quite common, since today quite a lot of devices, in addition to computers and mobile phones, have the ability to connect to the Internet. You can read more about possible slow Internet problems and how to fix them in our article: “How to deal with the problem of slow Internet?” .

As mentioned above, application and program developers use the power of the Internet to instantly communicate with the user and eliminate application errors by releasing updates and fixes that each user can download via the Internet independently or automatically. Sometimes this process can affect the speed of your Internet connection, and thus slow down your computer and all its applications, especially when the volume of updates is large enough.

Therefore, the issue of regulating bandwidth for various applications often arises. There are applications in which bandwidth can be limited using standard operating system capabilities. "Windows 10". For example, you can limit the download speed "Windows Update". Additionally, some applications have an option that allows you to limit bandwidth in their own settings. For other apps that don't have a built-in bandwidth limiter, you'll need third-party software.

Limiting application bandwidth limits can be useful in a variety of circumstances. For example, if you're downloading (or uploading) a huge file, limiting your web browser's available bandwidth will help ensure that other applications don't slow down too much. This can be useful in the opposite case as well. If you have other applications for which you have implemented a bandwidth limit (for example, uploading or downloading a file from a torrent), then this will allow you to watch videos in your web browser without lag or stops (for example, watching a high-definition video). In this article, we'll look at how these restriction options work when they're built into an app, and introduce a third-party tool you can use for apps that don't support them internally.

Option 1: Use the restriction options built into the programs you use

Before installing any third-party software, try to find the restriction options in the integrated settings of the program you are using. For example, if you want to control the bandwidth an application uses "Steam" to download games, you can go to the main menu ribbon in the tab "Steam" and select a section "Settings". In the left pane of the window "Settings" select section, and then in the right pane, in the fields submenu "Limit bandwidth to", select the required speed from the list of suggested options. Click the button "OK" and save your download speed limit settings.

Many other applications, including tools such as "Dropbox", Google Drive And "Microsoft OneDrive", have similar built-in parameters for controlling the download speed limiting mode. Putting restrictions on them (especially if you download a lot of files at once) can be very useful for increasing the performance of other applications.

If you have a router with "Quality of service"(QoS), you can also use it to manage priorities and adjust bandwidth for various applications. You usually can't set an exact bandwidth limit, but your router will automatically assign priorities based on the rules you've configured so that important applications don't slow down.

Even the operating system "Windows 10" now has a built-in limiting tool and allows you to set the bandwidth width it uses "Windows Update" in normal or background mode. To configure settings for downloading and transferring updates to "Windows 10" open the application. This can be done in many ways, but we will only show you a few of them.

Method 1: Press "Taskbars" button in the lower left corner of the desktop "Start" and open the main user menu "Windows". In the left panel, click the gear icon and open the application (you will see a tooltip to help you select the right one). Or, use the scroll bar to move the slider down and select an application from the list of available programs.

Method 2: Click the notification icon on "Taskbars" in the lower right corner of the screen and open "Windows 10 Action Center". A pop-up panel will appear from the right edge of your screen, at the bottom of which you will find quick action buttons. Click on the button and open the application.

Method 3: Right click on the button "Start" on "Taskbars" or press the keyboard shortcut together "Windows + X" and open the pop-up menu. Select the section from the list of available applications.

Method 4: Press the keyboard shortcut together "Windows + I" for instant access to the application. Using the scroll bar, move the slider down and select section.

In the left pane of the window, select a section, and in the right pane, click on the text link.

Using the scroll bar, navigate to the section "Choose when to install updates" and click the text link.

Move the slider down again and follow the text link.

In the section, set the required bandwidth limit for downloading updates in the background and during direct access.

Move the scroll bar down below and in the section, set the value for the bandwidth limit for transferring updates to other computers over the Internet and the monthly transfer limit. But if you wish, you can disable the feature completely if you are concerned about the additional load on your Internet connection.

Option 2: Use a third-party application

At the moment we could only find one free tool to set bandwidth limits for each application in "Windows". You need to find and download the application - this is a program that allows you to track traffic and organize Internet access. This is currently the only free option. has a rather complex interface and can limit the bandwidth of only four applications at a time, but for free program within these limits it works quite well.

First run the executable file and install the program "TMeter" to your computer. Once the installation process is complete, open the main user menu with the button "Start", find the program "TMeter" and open the submenu. Then select an application from the list of available actions "TMeter Management Console".

The first time you launch the application, you must specify your network adapter. To do this, select the section in the left sidebar "Network adapters" and then in the right pane under "Available network interfaces" check the box next to the interface you are using. For example, if you want to restrict applications using your "Wi-Fi connections", then choose yours "Wi-Fi" adapter. Any other interfaces with "IP address" "0.0.0.0" you can simply ignore them since they are not currently in use.

After selecting an adapter, you will be prompted to select an alias for it. Select value "External" network adapter when connected to the Internet, or "Interior" network adapter when connecting to a local network. Then click the button "Apply" to save the changes made.

Next, you need to identify the processes that you want to limit.

In the main window in the left sidebar, select the section "Process Definition", and then in the right pane of the window, click the button "Add…".

In the window that opens, click the button «…» , then in File Explorer find the required executable ".exe" restricted process file. Most applications can be found in the folder "Program Files". For example, application "Chrome" located on the system drive in the folder "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe", application "Mozilla Firefox" is in the folder "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe", and the application "Microsoft Edge" is located "C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdgeCP.exe".

Enter a name in the field "Process Definition". This name simply helps you keep track of which application you have selected. By default, the name of the executable you selected will be copied into the field. "exe file".

Click the button "OK" to close the window "Adding a Process Definition" and then click the button "Apply" in the main window. You will need to repeat the algorithm for creating the limit for each of the processes that you want to limit.

Now you can create a filter that will limit the application's bandwidth. In the left sidebar, click on the section "Filter set", and then in the filter set editor window, click the button "Add…". In the submenu that opens, select a section "Filter". In the window that appears "Filter Editor" click the button "Add rule...".

In the window "Rule Editor" set parameter "Local Process" in the section drop-down menu "Source". Then in the cell "Definition" Expand the submenu and select from the list of processes presented the required one, the action of which you want to restrict. The list will show all the processes that you have created previously. After selecting the desired process, enter in the cell "Description of the rule" its name and click the button "OK" to continue.

Now check the checkbox in the cell “Enable speed limit (traffic shaper) in KB/sec”, and then instead of the number zero, enter the limit number of the speed value in "KB/sec", to which you want to limit the application, in the field next to the specified cell. Enter a filter name in the field "Filter name" and then click the button "OK" to save.

Return to the main window (the left sidebar should still have the option active "Filter set") and press the button "Apply". You also need to click the button "Start of collection" located on the main menu ribbon to ensure your changes are implemented. The restrictions you apply will only be enforced if the service "TMeter" will record traffic. And when you stop collecting, the restrictions will be lifted.

To change the application's bandwidth limit later, click the desired filter in the Filter Editor list and click "Change…", and then set a new speed limit value in the appropriate cell.

If you want to restrict additional applications, then you can add additional filters in the screen "Filter Set Editor". However, the free version of the program "TMeter" limits you to four available filters. Therefore, you will need to remove the three default filters provided in order to add your own. Select the desired filter and right-click on it, then select section from the pop-up menu "Delete". Or use the corresponding button "Delete", located on the control console under the filter set editor window. Once you do this, you can add new filter options and limit up to four apps at a time using this method.