net.demon frequently asked questions

What is net.demon?

net.demon is an Internet toolkit for Windows 95/98/NT.   It provides a user-friendly Windows interface to many of the Internet tools used on UNIX systems, such as Whois, Ping, and Traceroute.   Now, instead of trying to remember a bunch of command-line parameters for these tools, all the options are available at your fingertips.   It contains over 35 handy tools.

What makes net.demon better than similar programs?

Most other toolkits use a tabbed dialog box style interface.   This means that you can only run one of the tools at a time, and it's awkward to actually do anything with the data or switch between tools. In addition, as more functions are added you end up having to hunt around through several rows of tabs.

net.demon is the first to provide a workshop-style interface using the Windows Multiple Document Interface (MDI).   This means each tool you are using has its own window within the application, so you can run multiple tools at once.   You can quickly find the information you want using menus and toolbars.   And using the standard MDI interface, it's easy to save the results to a file or edit them using the built-in text editor.

In addition, each tool is enhanced with features you will rarely find anywhere else.   For example the "Whois" tool has features like automatic server lookup and smart whois parsing.   No other tool implements all of these.

Finally, the sheer number of tools (35 and counting) makes it more useful than most.   Check out the comparison page.

I sent in a check, now where's my registration key?!?

The registration system has changed as of version 3.0, due to be released in April 2001.   As soon as the new version is released, I will be sending everyone their new registration keys.   The reason I changed the system is so that I can give people the option of registering online and getting their key immediately.   Thanks for your patience.

net.demon rocks!   Where can I get a T-shirt?

T-Shirts are being designed right now.   Please check back later.

There is a function I would like net.demon to perform, will you add it?

I'm always happy to get suggestions.   I want to include as many functions as possible as long as they are a good "fit" with the application.   For example, it's pointless to add an FTP feature, there are many standalone programs that have that covered.

Some functions on the menu are disabled.   Will they work if I register?

net.demon is a work in progress.   I am working on a lot of new features.   As I release a version to the public, I disable the ones that aren't fully working yet and still need tweaking.   The unregistered version performs the same functions as the registered one.

Some of the tools aren't in the help file yet.

I am concentrating on writing the program itself first.   Then, as I have time, things are documented in the help file later.

Is net.demon a hacking tool that will help me break into a computer?

net.demon is a tool used by system administrators to find out information about their systems or other computers on the Internet.   It does contain some security related features such as port and address scanning, but nothing that would actually help a hacker break into a computer.   Still, you should be careful about scanning someone else's system.

Why do you hate spam so much?

I consider junk email to be an offensive intrusion into my life.   To me it's as if they keep littering my front lawn with flyers advertising their various lame products and scams, day after day.   Spammers make their living by stealing resources that don't belong to them in the first place, wasting my time and money.   When you multiply the amount of damage they do by the millions of people that they spam every day, you can see that it becomes a huge problem very quickly.

I am looking for a program called "NetZip Download Demon" to download files from websites.

You can find it here: http://www.netzip.com/

(Actually I am planning on adding a web download feature to net.demon that does not take over your entire browser like NetZip does.   Check back later for more details.)

Someone told me that net.demon has a backdoor that will let you access my computer?

Apparently someone in Poland wrote a trojan horse type virus and named it NetDemon without checking to see if any other programs already had that name!  

I could sue this person for violating my trademark in such a way that causes confusion and damages my reputation, but it would be nearly impossible to find them and too expensive to try and sue anyone.   You can always download the correct software from this site or any of the popular shareware sites.