20 replies to this topic

[skyide]

Advanced Network Configurator is a network IP profile manager allowing you to quickly and easily change your IP settings via a single click. Advanced Network Configurator lets you create different IP profiles with different IP settings. Each network profile consists of an IP Address, Subnet Mask, Gateway Address and DNS records. You can apply a profile by double clicking on it or by simply clicking the "Apply" button. Advanced Network Configurator also lets you back up and restore your entire network configuration and has a built in PING utility. Advanced Network Configurator is aimed at computer professionals, programmers and onsite field engineers whose daily job is troubleshooting, fault finding and monitoring various IP equipment. Advanced Network Configurator also runs in the system tray so you can also apply a profile by right clicking on the system tray icon and selecting the profile. This software is 100% portable.

You can download Advanced Network Configurator from http://neobeta.net/d...onfigurator.zip

Screenshots: http://neobeta.net/c...screenshot1.png | http://neobeta.net/c...screenshot2.png and http://neobeta.net/c...screenshot3.png

[skyide]

Advanced Network Configurator - new version (Qt) - Beta 4 released and can be downoaded from

http://techuniverse.net/?page_id=185

 

This version allows you to create up to 5 profiles per network interface which is the same number as some other apps but this is just a hard coded (literally) limit in my app - just a simle "if" statement.

 

I intend to release the full version with no profile limits if people show interest.

 

Direct link: http://techuniverse....onfigurator.zip

 

 

[Wonko the Sane]

Nice.

Personally I find 5 like a "decent enough" number of profiles, but of course there will be people that will need (or claim to be needing ) more....


Wonko

[skyide]

Thx Wonko, yea, I especially picked 5 profiles as I know there is other software that offers similar functionality and they only offer up to 5. I didn't want to make ANC offer any less.

 

The difference with ANC however is that it runs as a widget and its profiles are accessible from the system tray, "right click + Apply", you have separate profiles per network card + it has extra features and of course it looks good (to my eyes at least).

 

As for the limit, it can be unlimited, I just remove the check point in code.

[skyide]

Advanced Network Configurator RC 1 is coming.

 

This new release will bring you the following additions:

 

• Increased the profile limit to 10 (the limitation will be removed in the final version)
• You will be able to resize the main view vertically. So if you have too many profiles (as some of us do) now you can get a better view
• Integrated Ping, Trace Route and Route within the main view - see screenshots

Below I have included some teaser screenshots.

 

The blue-ish tint you see at the top of the window is the resize handle.

 

Of course, the integrated right pane can be activated / deactivated as needed. By default, you’ll only see a single pane.

 

 

[skyide]

I don't believe there is a way to change the MAC address of the network card as the MAC address is the physical address of the hardware so the MAC address can be used to identify a device on the network without an actual IP address (track by MAC for instance). Then again I believe I've seen references somewhere (long time ago) stating that it can be changed and I started to get really confused. The MAC address is the physical address of the hardware and as far as I know, it cannot be changed. It is permanent like a serial number and cannot be changed but I may be wrong...

 

But of course, as technology advances, this may not be the case for all cards and perhaps some cards may let you change it. I don't think there is an API call for it so it may need to be done hard-core, talk to the hardware directly and not via the OS API calls.

 

I haven't used NetSetMan before (and I mean it) so If  you can tell me what is the lacking feature in ANC, if I can implement it I probably will but I will stick with my GUI design of course

 

I have added another new feature not specified above: ANC now knows when your IP changes externally from outside the program and when it detects the change, it now updates the GUI to reflect the new IP address. So this means, if you have ANC open and you change your IP address via a different program, ANC will reflect that change and will update its GUI.

 

I've also added "Interface IP" right below the profiles view and I've added access to the system tray context menu via the main GUI.

 

So this new release will have a lot of new features I expect to upload it within 24 hours from this post.

[Wonko the Sane]

Another source of inspiration (if needed) could be the Free IP Switcher:

http://www.eusing.co...ip_switcher.htm

 

About changing (spoofing) a MAC address, it can be as trivial as a simple Registry change:

http://www.wikihow.c...ress-in-Windows

nothing really different from what "Advanced Network Configurator" uses to apply settings of "another" profile, it is not "brain surgery" nor "rocket science", as the Author of a dedicated tool (freeware) 

http://technitium.com/tmac/

puts it:

There are some famous, commercial tools available in the market for USD 39.99 to as much as USD 2499!, but Technitium MAC Address Changer is available for FREE. We don't charge for just changing a registry value! Also knowing how this works doesn't require extensive research as some commercial tool providers claim! Read how it works (below) for more details.

 

 

How Does It Work ?

This software just writes a value into the windows registry. When the Network Adapter Device is enabled, windows searches for the registry value 'NetworkAddress' in the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1- 08002bE10318}\[ID of NIC e.g. 0001]. If a value is present, windows will use it as MAC address, if not, windows will use the hard coded manufacturer provided MAC address. Some Network Adapter drivers have this facility built-in. It can be found in the Advance settings tab in the Network Adapter's Device properties in Windows Device Manager.

 

 

A point that is somehow less reknown is that MAC addresses are a form of UID (unique identifier) BUT not "as random as" they could (or should) be as they also often represent a "hardware manufacturer" ID of some kind:

http://en.wikipedia....iki/MAC_address

http://www.nirsoft.n...ookup_find.html

 

And now, for NO apparent reason, a WARNING sign:

Spoiler

 

 

Wonko

[skyide]

 

it can be as trivial as a simple Registry change

 

That would not be a genuine MAC address change Wonko. The registry change method would apply to Windows and to me that looks like MAC address spoofing. A real MAC address change is to actually tell the card to change its MAC address internally so regardless what OS you would use, the MAC address will be the same. The Registry Change method only applies to Windows and would be the ID "Windows would use" to identify the device on the network. Am I not right? If you do this via the Windows Registry, I am certain if you put Linux on your PC (on your HD, not via a VM), when queried, it would produce the original MAC address specified by the manufacturer as the MAC address is the same regardless what OS you would use. It's hard-coded in the coding of the hardware - as far as I am aware. It cannot be changed unless the hardware itself has an instruction in its coding to update it.

 

Another thing, I wouldn't dare to interface with the card directly especially changing its MAC address. Unless the process is clearly documented by the manufacturer of the card, you can break the card and I am sure it would be hardware-specific unless there is a standard rule that everyone must comply.

[Wonko the Sane]

Well,

this is what you can do through software and what I believe what AnonVendetta asked for (as said spoofing, not changing) as an additional feature to your proggie, and SURE you cannot change the hardware MAC unless you re-flash the NIC firmware, something that can often (but not always) be done but that obviously need specific programs and firmware for each specific card.

In the remote case that AnonVendetta actually meant to actually change the MAC address, it is obvious that it cannot be done "generically".

 

And of course you can as well spoof the MAC on linux as well:

https://wiki.archlin...ddress_spoofing

 

Wonko

[skyide]

Can this software change the network adapter's MAC address?

 

Well, in his post, the word "spoofing" should have been "clearly" specified and according to his post, he clearly wrote "change" so I responded to "change" and not "spoofing" Yes, spoofing is very much possible as you've said.

 

https://www.google.c...KMce2mAWZkYHAAw

 

The ANC software is designed for home/office automation programmers and configurators (but can be used by anyone) as we often have to isolate automation networks from other networks in a building. Then we have to configure devices such as projectors, screens etc that communicate over IP with controllers and touch panels and it gets quite annoying configuring different IP addresses on your laptop all the time so this software was my answer. I do AMX programming / AV automation and when I go to sites either for troubleshooting or commissioning a project, I have to either connect to a local AV network or connect to the company network where there is no DHCP and genuinely this was the whole purpose of ANC. Click + Apply. Either from the sys tray or the main GUI. What can be simpler than that? Add new profile, changes are saved as you type. Go to site A, select profile for site A. When you go to site B, select the site B profile. When you come back to the office, apply the office profile and of course my internal versions have already unlimited profiles which is what I intend to do with the final version.

[Wonko the Sane]

What can be simpler than that?  Add new profile, changes are saved as you type. Go to site A, select profile for site A. When you go to site B, select the site B profile. When you come back to the office, apply the office profile and of course my internal versions have already unlimited profiles which is what I intend to do with the final version.

Well, as hinted, at least from the posted screenshot your proggie lacks a number of options, like:

http://www.eusing.co...ip_switcher.htm

 

• Computer Name
• DNS Domain
• Workgroup
• Default Printer
• Network-Domain
• Proxy Settings

and the other software Anonvendetta mentioned has additionally a few more, *like*:

http://www.netsetman...index.php?s=nsm

 

• WiFi Management
• Network Drives
• Connections (RAS/DUN/PPP/VPN)
• DNS Suffix
• Route Table
• SMTP Server
• Hosts File Entries
• MAC Address
• Scripts (BAT, VS, JS, ...)
• Proxy
• Browser Home Page

(and I may well miss some of them).

 

Wonko

[skyide]

 

Well, as hinted, at least from the posted screenshot your proggie lacks a number of options, like:

 

I agree and yes it does but for the purpose it was built for (AV programmers), you don't need all that.

 

All you want is to be able to talk to the equipment. If we can't after we apply the profile (if company network is in use), the IT people deal with it. We don't use DNS, we don't use domain names etc. We don't need "computer name" to be able to talk a projector over IP. You don't need DNS, we use IPs, not names.

 

*Either way*, consider some of the stuff you said above, "on my todo list"

[Wonko the Sane]

I agree and yes it does but for the purpose it was built for (AV programmers), you don't need all that.

Sure , and as a matter of fact there is also no real *need* for the GUI tool at all, as each one of its features/capabilities can be obtained through simple batch or similar scripts.

It all depends on what is the final goal, of course, but - without any offence intended - your (nice) tool is not like *innovative* or *a breakthrough in computing*, it is a plain, honest, nice, tool that does a limited number of functions that - besides being doable through a simple script can be done by at least two other very similar softwares (mentioned) that can perform a number of other related system level tasks.

So, if you are going to "compete" in the specific "niche", your tool at the moment represents a "simplified" version of one of the mentioned tools, offering *somewhat* less for roughly the same amount of money (in the Freeware version/for Home users).

Being simplified doesn't of course mean "bad" in itself, of course, but maybe some of the potential customers of the paid/pro version would look for these features.

In a perfect world programs like these would be made of "Lego blocks", providing a "base app" and a number of "modules" or "plug-ins" that the final user could add (or refrain from adding) in order to make a "tailored" solution for his/her needs keeping all the specific functionalities he/she may need but keeping the interface as simple as possible.

To give you an example, personally I would have no use whatsoever for the MAC spoofing (which on the other hand AnonVendetta feels like missing), while I find extremely useful these four features (currently missing AFAIK).

• Computer Name
• Workgroup
• Default Printer
• Proxy Settings

as I often happen (with my laptop) to connect to different Workgroups, have to choose among a zillion "foreign" printers and make use of a proxy, while - still as an example - I have no uses for:

• WiFi Management
• Connections (RAS/DUN/PPP/VPN)
• Route Table
• SMTP Server
• Hosts File Entries
• Browser Home Page

but surely another user may find these (or some of these or some of the other not mentioned) useful or *needed*.
 

Wonko

[skyide]

Thx, I've discovered a major bug that causes ANC to force-close on start-up "sometimes". This does *not* happen with Beta 4 - the currently available one. It started happening after I implemented this new stuff...

 

So it will launch just fine 99% of the time and then once every 20/30 launches, it will force-close during initialization and this is now preventing me from going ahead with the release. I think I am dealing with a wild pointer (uninitialized) but so far I have been unable to find it as all pointers do get instantiated so it might be something else. I must go through my changes carefully or I will have to revert back to Beta 4 and then back-port everything I have done but more carefully. I apologize for this. In the past I've come across instances where even uninitialized pointers work as if they were so this could be one of those cases.

[skyide]

** All Fixed! **

 

Due to the new errors (fixed) I found, I've decided to go Beta 5 rather than RC1 although I am pretty confident there should be no more errors. The errors I found were purely related to some of the new stuff I added.

 

Official Release Notes for Beta 5:

 

• Increased the profile limit to 7 (I know I said 10 but that was for RC1, sorry)
• Implemented Vertical Window Resizing - Now you can resize the main window vertically by grabbing the resize handle
• Integrated Expanded View for Ping, Trace Route and Route within the main view - Now you can see two views (E.g: Profiles + Ping) at the same time (and you can still create floatable instances)
• Implemented IP Address Change Auto-Detection - if the IP Address gets changed by an external program, ANC will know and will update its details to reflect the changes
• Added Context Menu Access via the top right corner
• Added "Interface IP" Setting on the bottom of the Profiles View
• Removed Registry Dependency - If you are a previous user, you may safely delete: "\HKCU\Software\Advanced Network Configurator". I did *not* create any other registry keys. That's the only one.

 

Download Link: http://techuniverse....onfigurator.zip

 

In relation to the suggestions Wonko mentioned, Computer name etc, it's already on my To Do list so I intend to turn this one into a full network utility (if I have enough time).

 

Official screenshot:

 

 

and an image of the dynamic context menu accessible via the top right or the system tray icon:

 

[skyide]

Advanced Network Configurator Beta 6 released. This release is a major departure from my original path which was to focus on changing network profiles and network profiles only so this new release now brings you a number of advanced features. The following is the change log for Beta 6:

 

• Added Set and Retrieve Computer Name
• Added Set and Retrieve Domain Name
• Added Set and Retrieve NetBIOS Name
• Added “Join a Domain” (untested) + detects if your PC is already joined (tested)
• Added “Add User Account”
• Added “Generate Multiple User Accounts” (you set the number of accounts) with random user IDs and a custom prefix
• Tweaked Aquarian theme to give a better softer shade of aqua – nicer to the eyes
• Tweaked UI elements spacings in some areas to fix some GUI glitches
• Fixed a start up bug causing ANC to sometimes (only on start up) crash
• Started implementing a Wi-Fi Manager (not currently enabled)

 

So as you can see, I do indeed pay attention to your feedback but there is still a lot to do.

 

Download Link: http://techuniverse....onfigurator.zip

[skyide]

Advanced Network Configurator Beta 7

 

Changes in this release:

• Added a sophisticated TCP Client
• Added Horizontal Resizing Capability
• Expanded mode is now saved / restored on start up (if Expanded)
• Fixed some theme and GUI errors

The TCP Client is specially designed for AV integrators (called Expert Mode) as it will show you exactly what the server sends you and it sends back exactly what you tell it to. When you disable Expert Mode, the terminal will behave as any other terminal.

 

The data received in the output window is just a text box so you can make a text selection + right click and copy.

 

Here is a screenshot. More features are coming! Profile limit remains on 7 for now.

 

 

The file is portable and requires no installation. Just extract and run. Just a little note about admin access. In order to be able to change IP details, computer name etc, admin access is required.