[APP] [11-MAY-2009] PingBox2 Full&Lite

[aDEO]

Hello everyone!

This tool is useful for determining the status of the network and various foreign hosts, tracking and isolating hardware and software problems, and testing, measuring, and managing networks. Want to stay online while you chatting, downloading etc. without your phone going in power safe mode, which will disconnect your network? No problem, just hit <Follow> key and you are set to go!

Features (Full version):
- Ping (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ping) destination host and take back statistics about it
- ARP (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Address_resolution_protocol) scans entire network of every connected network adapter on your device
- Mass Ping (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ping) entire network or just part of it
- WhoIs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whois) domain name or IP address
- Trace (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traceroute) is used to determine the route taken by packets across an IPv4 networks
- Following destination host by scheduled check. This also will sound an alarm when/if the connection is lost or found (depend of your settings)
- And of course, everything is customizable

In progress (Full version):
- Wake on LAN

** Screen shoots **
PingBox2 Full
http://h.imagehost.org/0928/PingBox2_Full.jpg (http://h.imagehost.org/view/0928/PingBox2_Full)

PingBox2 Lite
http://h.imagehost.org/0504/PingBox_Lite.jpg (http://h.imagehost.org/view/0504/PingBox_Lite)

** History (Full version) **

[2.1.6] (09-MAY-2009)
- fixed disconnect menu
- added new sound for each <Follow> alarm mode

[2.1.5] (15-MAR-2009)
- added Trace functionality (thanks to alt236 for testing)
- added new <Trace> tab in settings
- updated code, to display results on fly
- improved speed

[2.1.4] (26-FEB-2009)
- added "Auto run with Windows" checkbox
- added some ARP settings
- fixed bug with notification hangup on tray

[2.1.3] (08-FEB-2009)
- revamped settings
- added gather statistics check box
- added auto connect on program start
- added auto connect on whois
- added user notifications check box
- new notifications system
- connect menu is changed, depend on connection state

[2.1.2] (03-FEB-2009)
- added ability to choose <WhoIs> server from settings tab. The servers are saved in "WhoIsServers.txt" file, which can be modified easily if needed. The default server is "whois-servers.net", which have to be queried with domain extension, beside others servers from this list, which have to be queried without it. Will change this when I have more time.
- added "Connect" in Tools menu, which will check your internet connection and will try to establish it, if not exist.

[2.1.1] (01-FEB-2009)
- added bookmark context menu in <Ping>, <WhoIs> and <Follow> tabs. Hold your stylus over the text box, to use this feature. The bookmarks are saved in "Bookmarks.txt" file, which can be modified easily if needed
- added limitation in <Follow> log window, to hold maximum 15 rows (FIFO)

[Final-2.1] (24-NOV-2008)
- added <Follow> alarm mode settings, which will help you to choose when to trigger the alarm sound
- added installation cab file
- added shortcut in Programs
- uninstall is now possible

[beta-6] (17-NOV-2008)
- added WhoIs functionality

[beta-5] (04-NOV-2008)
- added functionality to save your current settings

[beta-4] (06-OCT-2008)
- preventing stand-by mode when <Follow> is active
- code optimization, to allow disposing some resources

[beta-3] (05-SEP-2008)
- added <ARP> scanner (local networks)
- added <Follow> functionality, which give you ability to auto ping a destination host in a scheduled period of time
- added audio notification if destination host didn't reply on time using <Follow>
- close button now will minimize form, allowing you to start <Follow> and just continue with your work
- some settings are cleared up
- moved hopes field in <Settings> tab

[beta-2] (22-AUG-2008)
- added ARP on Scan (retrieve MAC address if the destination is in your local network)
- added up/down elements in the settings
- added few optimizations (need more work)

[beta-1] (20-AUG-2008)
- public beta of v2 released


** Here I want to thank to those, decided to donate PingBox2 project. Thank you: **

zzse43@xxxxx.ru - 05.02.2009



** Download **
Latest version of PingBox2 Full can be downloaded from my homepage (http://www.adeo.hit.bg/software.html) or from here (http://www.4shared.com/file/104318492/71549108/aDEO_PingBox2_Full.html).

Latest version of PingBox2 Lite can be downloaded from my homepage (http://www.adeo.hit.bg/software.html) or from here (http://www.4shared.com/file/104574456/c943b318/aDEO_PingBox2_Lite.html).


Happy pinging! :)

[xd1936]

Awesome, nice work! Will test soon

[MPIIIMan]

Very useful app!
Installing this right away.
Thank you for sharing.

[aDEO]

Thank you! :)

New version added in 1st post.

[aDEO]

v1.4 update:
- code optimization, so now you can see results on fly
- added up/down buttons for changing hops value

[stifiling]

no offense...but what would this be useful for??

[open_source]

it's very useful for me, just checking my WLan connectivity or to gathering some information about the network.
i like it
great work!

[aDEO]

no offense...but what would this be useful for??

No offense at all, but I didn't knew that someone will ask what is ping and when/why I should use it when I post this treat here in Development and Hacking.

The ping command is useful for determining the status of the network and various foreign hosts, tracking and isolating hardware and software problems, and testing, measuring, and managing networks.

Anyway, feel free to click on next links for more useful information about ping and what it looks like :)
wikipedia.org (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ping)
microsoft.com (http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver/en/library/42704b94-b7e2-421d-b220-0988dbf690111033.mspx?mfr=true)

[aDEO]

it's very useful for me, just checking my WLan connectivity or to gathering some information about the network.
i like it
great work!

Thanks mate! I'm here because people like you! :)

[sino8r]

What a fantastic idea! Thank you very much!

[dcat]

Another good program http://www.cam.com/vxutil_pers.html

[aDEO]

@dcat: Nice tools at one place, but I like my programs fast and clean. And when we talking about speed:

v1.5
- added time statistics for minimum, maximum and average results
- separated errors [destination unknown] from [destination unreachable]
- improved speed

cheers :D

[aDEO]

v1.6
- added statistics for sent, received and lost packets
- bug fix

[aDEO]

Fri 4 Jul 2008 Mortimor wrote ...
Ok, works with domains but does NOT work with IPs (like 192.168.2.1). Why not? May be a bug? Mort

Fri 4 Jul 2008 TekServer wrote on his mobile ...
I can confirm the behavior reported by Mortimer. It can't even ping itself by IP, nor the default gateway. Still good for testing internet connectivity, but this should probably be addressed to make it a more valuable network tool. :)

It's work as intended. This behavior, can only be USB advanced network functionality problem. To be sure about your IP/gateway address: unplug your USB cable, fire up ping with empty IP/name field. This will return your local IP address: 127.0.0.1, if you are not already connected via WiFi or 3G/CSD. Now, enable WiFi(connected to pc-pc or AP) or 3G/GPRS/CSD connection. Do the same "empty" ping and you will see your WAN/modem assigned IP address. Now type that IP or the one of your gateway in this subnet, and results will be there before you even blink. PingBox can ping itself for sure (much much more), but you have to know your network to start from somewhere...


To use proper USB internet connection, change this in the registry on your PC (not PPC) and reboot:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows CE Services]
"AllowLSP"=dword:00000000

To manage AT&T hidden proxy, use these cabs:
- remove (http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=71206&d=1203325282)
- restore (http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=71207&d=1203325282)

[aDEO]

v1.7
- correctly show up the keyboard on start or focus text fields
- click on result window will export it in PingLog.txt file in install directory

[VictorC666]

nice app, but doesnt work for me, when i want to enter ip in dialog box app dissmiss...

[aDEO]

nice app, but doesnt work for me, when i want to enter ip in dialog box app dissmiss...

Thanks for reporting! Have to be OK now (check 1st post)

Happy pinging :)

[aDEO]

v1.8
- cleanup ip/name field on focus
- fixed application crash when double tap on ip/name field
- on install will check for already installed v1.8 or later(need to remove manually v1.7)

[VictorC666]

Thanks for reporting! Have to be OK now (check 1st post)

Happy pinging :)

thanks, working now i can enter ip but not pinging ;[ nothing happens when enter ip and press ping button

[aDEO]

thanks, working now i can enter ip but not pinging ;[ nothing happens when enter ip and press ping button

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=2385695&postcount=14

Do you have connection with internet or local network via WiFi (not USB/active sync)? Try to ping with empty ip/name field - this have to return your current IP address (127.0.0.1[localhost] if not connected). Also check your firewall on machine you are trying to ping or tell me what kind of error code you receive.
There is no option for "nothing happens" :) After ping, you will see something like this:
- Reply from host (package returned with reply time in ms)
or
- Destination host unreachable (most like firewall or network problem)
or
- Destination host unknown (DNS lookup fail)

[VictorC666]

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=2385695&postcount=14

Do you have connection with internet or local network via WiFi (not USB/active sync)? Try to ping with empty ip/name field - this have to return your current IP address (127.0.0.1[localhost] if not connected). Also check your firewall on machine you are trying to ping or tell me what kind of error code you receive.
There is no option for "nothing happens" :) After ping, you will see something like this:
- Reply from host (package returned with reply time in ms)
or
- Destination host unreachable (most like firewall or network problem)
or
- Destination host unknown (DNS lookup fail)

no, it really does "nothing" :-( no text error, no response at all... But other ping soft like wxUtils works-pings ok

http://rapidshare.com/files/129689152/pingbox_video.avi.html

[aDEO]

I can't simulate this behavior from your movie... it's really strange. I noticed that you have only ActiveSync connection, but this tool still cant pass trough it. You need something like wifi or csd/gprs/3g modem connection to fill the power of PingBox. Can you try to unplug USB cable and ping localhost or 127.0.0.1. If it's still doesn't work, will post tomorrow some kind of debug version for you.
Thanks

[VictorC666]

Thanx lot, for you interest, i tried wifi connection too, but it behaves the same way as with activesync connected/disconnected, nothing appears on screen after pressing ping button

[aDEO]

Thanx lot, for you interest, i tried wifi connection too, but it behaves the same way as with activesync connected/disconnected, nothing appears on screen after pressing ping button
Hi,
Extract this exe from attached zip on your PPC (no matter where) and run it. Try to ping yourself (127.0.01), google.com and somthing unknown like ggg for example. Please report back what kind of exception you receive after each try. Note, that the hopes field is ignored, so it will ping once at button push.

[the 0ne]

Hi aDEO,

This application is amazing but I do have one request/complaint. Do you have any plans to add an option to automatically connect to "The Internet"?

Side note, I really like the keyboard you are using in the screenshots. Is it available as a CAB?

[aDEO]

Hi aDEO,

This application is amazing but I do have one request/complaint. Do you have any plans to add an option to automatically connect to "The Internet"?

Hello mate,
Don't really have time, but maybe I will add this feature in next major release v2.0 when this tool will be totally rewrited in VS2008 (already started, but.. don't know when it will be even in beta). Just for info next one will scan 255 IPs for <5 seconds with all the info you will need about this subnet... and so on :)


Side note, I really like the keyboard you are using in the screenshots. Is it available as a CAB?

I like CRC's HERMES Roms (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=364216), because there are always only things that I want on my PPC + the fact it's with UC option (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=366337), so I customize it during install for about 2 mins :) With others words, I don't have that keyboard on cab, so sorry.

[VictorC666]

Hi,
Extract this exe from attached zip on your PPC (no matter where) and run it. Try to ping yourself (127.0.01), google.com and somthing unknown like ggg for example. Please report back what kind of exception you receive after each try. Note, that the hopes field is ignored, so it will ping once at button push.

with AS:
www.google.com Exception 3
127.0.0.1 nothing again
147.229.129.1 Exception 3

wifi i try at home...

[VictorC666]

when wifi is connected:
127.0.0.1 Exception 2
www.google.com nothing again

[aDEO]

when wifi is connected:
127.0.0.1 Exception 2
www.google.com nothing again

Sorry, I was too busy these days. Can you try to ping with this attach file:
- 127.0.0.1
- localhost
- google.com
- 64.233.187.99
- ggg

See you later

[VictorC666]

Sorry, I was too busy these days. Can you try to ping with this attach file:
- 127.0.0.1
- localhost
- google.com
- 64.233.187.99
- ggg

See you later

thanks for help, and here we go...

- 127.0.0.1 = nothing
- localhost = opens window with title 127.0.0.1 and text "find" in it
- google.com = opens window with title 64.233.167.99 and text "find" in it
- 64.233.187.99 = nothing
- ggg = nothing

[aDEO]

thanks for help, and here we go...

- 127.0.0.1 = nothing
- localhost = opens window with title 127.0.0.1 and text "find" in it
- google.com = opens window with title 64.233.167.99 and text "find" in it
- 64.233.187.99 = nothing
- ggg = nothing

Think the problem come when trying to convert Unicode using WideCharToMultiByte which have too much dependences.. Anyway, I hope this will solve it, otherwise will be fixed in next major release, when this tool will be moved in visual studio .net
Thanks for your effort

[VictorC666]

v1.9 not working... no response, nothing happens when trying to ping anything ;[ "nothing" again...

[aDEO]

v1.9 not working... no response, nothing happens when trying to ping anything ;[ "nothing" again...

This mean that the fix will come in v2.0. See you there :)

Best regards

[aDEO]

v1.9
- fixed crash bug on some new cooked ROM builds (like 20270 one)

[VictorC666]

This mean that the fix will come in v2.0. See you there :)

Best regards

oki, thanks lot :-)

[aDEO]

In next two weeks v2.0 will be ready:

** Working on **
- subnet scanner
- increase speed and stability

[whbell]

aDEO,

I am very interested in your versions 2.0 of PingBox and look forward to it with interest. :)

You seem to be very interested in Internet performance and the Windows Mobile interface programing. I would like to ask if you have any interest in creating an iPerf client for the Windows Mobile client.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/iperf

I have installed on my PC, a Java client called JPerf, but I am hoping that a native WM client could be used, (I would like to stay away from Java performance issues). I would like to use my XV6800 (WM 6.1) for basic iPer testing instead of needing to pull out the laptop.

PM me if you think this might work for a new challenge.

--Bill

[aDEO]

aDEO,

I am very interested in your versions 2.0 of PingBox and look forward to it with interest. :)

You seem to be very interested in Internet performance and the Windows Mobile interface programing. I would like to ask if you have any interest in creating an iPerf client for the Windows Mobile client.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/iperf

I have installed on my PC, a Java client called JPerf, but I am hoping that a native WM client could be used, (I would like to stay away from Java performance issues). I would like to use my XV6800 (WM 6.1) for basic iPer testing instead of needing to pull out the laptop.

PM me if you think this might work for a new challenge.

--Bill

Hello Bill,

Thanks for your interest about my PingBox and hope soon my PingBox2 :cool:
Actually version2 is more like brand new tool, because it's totally rewrited in VS2008, which give me more freedom to decide how to increase the performance (my primary target here), and also its fastest way to add new features:
- network information (ready)
- mass ping (need some tuning)
- port scan (only idea for now)
- check shares and more...
Oh, too much ideas, and too little time for that.. But will try to upload some beta these days.

Because "iPerf" is a little bit off topic, I will PM you about it :)

Best regards,
aDEO

[stooby]

aDEO, thanks for sharing this. I've been waiting for a nice, quick, ping utility.

Great work!

[aDEO]

aDEO, thanks for sharing this. I've been waiting for a nice, quick, ping utility.

Great work!

Welcome and thanks for your comment! ;)

Best regards,
aDEO

[jakkrith]

Dear aDEO

Thank you very much for PingBox (V.1.9). This program is very usfull for me but I have found some problem.
I have test on Asus P535 WM 6.1 Prof.

I can ping by Domain Name but could not ping by IP

[wifi] ping google.com --> OK reply from 64.233.167.99
[wifi] ping 64.233.167.99 --> Destination Host Unreachable (code#3)

[gprs] ping google.com --> Destination Host Unreachable (code#3)
[gprs] ping 64.233.167.99 --> Destination Host Unreachable (code#3)

Waiting for PingBox 2.0 and hope you fixed this problem.

Best Regards.
Jakkrith

[aDEO]

Hey jakkrith,

Thank you for your comment! I really appreciated structured feedback like yours!
I know about this issue and will fixed it in v2.0 as I've promised. Jest need more free time these days.. Like the peons in Warcraft II: "work! work!" :)

Best regards,
aDEO

[jakkrith]

Dear aDEO

Thank you very much for your reply. I love your project so much. Hope you enjoy with Warcraft II and don't forget to release Version 2.0 that fixed the problem. :)

Best Regards
Jakkrith

[aDEO]

Dear aDEO

Thank you very much for your reply. I love your project so much. Hope you enjoy with Warcraft II and don't forget to release Version 2.0 that fixed the problem. :)

Best Regards
Jakkrith
Hey again,

With Warcraft2 I mean, that I'm feeling like a peon these days: when you click on them, they start to mourn aloud "work! work!"... Even my rogue from WoW suffer from this "no time" syndrome. Too much work, so sorry if I didn't reply quickly.
When I finish the work, I will need someone like you to take a look on v2.0alpha (which is ready for alpha version I think). PM me if you want to see it 1st :)

Best regards,
aDEO

[aDEO]

Just to announce: PingBox v2.0 alpha is ready and already have testers. I will upload screenshots in 1st post :)

[aDEO]

Thanks for all alpha testers:

v2.0 beta
- public beta of v2 released

[aDEO]

Well it's a little bit hard to continue this project if no one giving me any feedback about this BETA. I perfectly know that this isn't some new fancy tool, giving you new shape, background or brand new skin of your dialer... and that's why no one care about it. So here is the last one from me:

[beta-2]
- added ARP on Scan (retrieve MAC address if the destination is in your local network)...
- added up/down elements in the settings
- added few optimizations (need more work)

[Hiero]

could it be possible to include the functionality to auto ping a host in a scheduled periode of time?
and also if theres a bad ping that the tool gives an alarm...

[aDEO]

could it be possible to include the functionality to auto ping a host in a scheduled periode of time?
and also if theres a bad ping that the tool gives an alarm...

Yes, its possible and I will include it in some beta..

[aDEO]

[beta-3]
- added <ARP> scanner (only local networks)
- added <Follow> functionality, which give you ability to auto ping a destination host in a scheduled period of time
- added audio notification if destination host didn't reply on time using <Follow>
- close button now will minimize form, allowing you to start <Follow> and just continue with your work
- some settings are cleared up
- moved hopes field in <Settings> tab

[Hiero]

[beta-3]
- added <Follow> functionality, which give you ability to auto ping a destination host in a scheduled period of time


thx for this implementation!!! ... but, on a normal ping the are some replies but not on the <Follow> Ping: "Request timed out". whats wrong?
And the background work needs lots of memory :(
maybe its possible to improve the efficiency?

[aDEO]

Thanks. Will take a look about this later tonight, but can you try to increase ping timeout value from settings tab?

[Hiero]

ok i've tried it and increased the ping time out to 750 and more ms and its working now....
tried 250 and 500 ms in different combinations.. => time out

[aDEO]

With PING command parameters, you can adjust the way the PING command performs its test of connectivity.

The PING command includes various parameters, such as packet length and wait time for a response. The wait time of 1 second (1000ms) allows the remote system enough time to respond in most networks. However, if the remote system is far away or if the network is busy, increasing the wait time parameter can improve the results.

I will set for now on the default value of timeout parameter to be 1000ms.
Still looking for way to fix memory hunger when <Follow> work in background. Stay tune :)

[Hiero]

I will set for now on the default value of timeout parameter to be 1000ms.
Still looking for way to fix memory hunger when <Follow> work in background. Stay tune :)

ah ok thx for the information.
would be great if you can do something to reduce the memory hunger :)
if there are some new "questions" or if you need some tests, feel free to contact me.

[hotrod101]

I've got a question. Do you think that this Pingbox while running could be used to keep my devices wifi connection established (Keep wifi from shutting off and going into standby). Presently - If I am listening to music from my WIFI home network, the device goes into standbye and I loose my wifi connection as this goes into standby as well. As soon as the current song is done playing, it won't play the next song as it can't find the directory because connection was lost.

I use ping on my laptop for work to stay connected to a VPN Network ( if I am connected and am not constanlty saving or loading new pages it disconnects me from the network within a few minutes) Using Ping allows the system to see constant activity resulting in me not loosing my connection to the server.

Do you think that this would work for connecting to my home network and keep me from loosing my home network connection.

This would need : that Pingbox does not also disconnect upon the phone going into powersaver mode -

It would also need to be not too heavy on the devices resourses as it is i guess also

How is the Battery consumption while using Pingbox?

Can it be set to just continuously send and receive unlimited pings

I don't know much about this subject - I was just told to do it and how to do it with my work laptop and it works for that so I am wondering will it work with this problem as well.

if it works it might be another useful tool people might be interested in.

[aDEO]

ah ok thx for the information.
would be great if you can do something to reduce the memory hunger :)
if there are some new "questions" or if you need some tests, feel free to contact me.

Will need some tests on version beta4 (incoming in next 2 days I belive) about this memory issue. Thanks!

[aDEO]

Hello hotrod101,

Thanks for your comments!

The <Follow> functionality in PingBox2 is the way to keep your connection live. All you have to do, is to set up destination and hit Follow button. I'm ready with the power management by preventing device to enter in stand by mode(which will stop your connection) if <Follow> is executed, but will include it in next version (in next 2 days I believe). Just check your PM to get the latest build with this power management.

aDEO

[Hiero]

no new version?
what about your updates?

[jakkrith]

Dear aDEO

I have just test PingBox 2 Beta 3 on my Asus P535 WM6.1 and would like to report the result for you.

1. If connect via Wi-Fi ---> PingBox work fine it can ping by IP or by Domain Name.

2. If connect via GPRS ---> PingBox not work. it can not ping any IP or Domain Name.

Best Regards
Jakkrith

[jakkrith]

Dear aDEO

I have test PingBox 2 Beta 3 on my Asus P535 WM6.1 again.

1. If connect via Wifi PingBox work fine. It can ping by IP and by Domain Name.

2. If connect via GPRS PingBox not work. It can't ping by IP and by Domain Name.

Jakkrith.

[neborkia]

Dear aDEO

I have just test PingBox 2 Beta 3 on my Asus P535 WM6.1 and would like to report the result for you.

1. If connect via Wi-Fi ---> PingBox work fine it can ping by IP or by Domain Name.

2. If connect via GPRS ---> PingBox not work. it can not ping any IP or Domain Name.

Best Regards
Jakkrith

Maybe your internet provider block the ping through gprs?

Nice app, it would be great if it will include also the WHOIS command... but i know that it's a little bit out of the scope...

[aDEO]

Sorry about this waiting! I really wish to have more free time for this project, but as you all noticed, there wasn't enough these days.. So here we go again:
[beta-4]
- preventing stand-by mode when <Follow> is active
- code optimization, to allow disposing some resources

[aDEO]

Dear aDEO

I have test PingBox 2 Beta 3 on my Asus P535 WM6.1 again.

1. If connect via Wifi PingBox work fine. It can ping by IP and by Domain Name.

2. If connect via GPRS PingBox not work. It can't ping by IP and by Domain Name.

Jakkrith.

Hi Jakkrith,

Please be more specific about this "not work". Does this mean, that PingBox2 rise some application error, or just return "Request Timed Out" message, or you see something else?
GPRS is a little bit slower for the default value of the TimeOut parameter, which is increased to 1000ms(1sek) from the latest beta4. In most cases this value will be enough to allow PingBox2 to retrieve information about each ping, before timeout on each packet. If this value is not comfortable for your needs, you can always increase/decrease it with just few clicks in settings tab. Please know, that this values are for the current session, so even you change them, they will reset to their defaults next time when you start this tool (they will be savable soon).

Best regards,
aDEO

[aDEO]

Nice app, it would be great if it will include also the WHOIS command... but i know that it's a little bit out of the scope...

Thank you, neborkia! This tool started from just one ping command, and take a look now... I will try to keep it as clean as possible, but still with everything you need to check your connectivity.

Best regards,
aDEO

[aDEO]

Please report back in order to continue this project.

[aDEO]

[beta-5]
- added functionality to save your current settings

Please report back in order to continue this project.

[rwertz14]

As a suggestion, I would update Post 1 to reflect the new update with date so people know this is still being worked on. This is such a great tool, and I sure hope you continue to develop it.

[aDEO]

As a suggestion, I would update Post 1 to reflect the new update with date so people know this is still being worked on. This is such a great tool, and I sure hope you continue to develop it.

Thank you!

It's actually updated, but with date mask dd/mm/yyyy (04/11/2008) :)
Seams that its a little bit confusing, so I will update it in a minute.

Best regards,
aDEO

[aDEO]

Announce:
I'm working on WhoIs functionality, which you will be able to try... very soon :)

[aDEO]

[beta-6] (17-NOV-2008)
- added WhoIs functionality

[xplode]

Awesome tool aDEO, nice to see bulgarian developers for PDA in this site :)

[ArunOnline]

Thanks aDEO, the whois functionality is working fine. If anyone is unable to use it, make sure that you enter the domain name in the format: domain.com

[aDEO]

Awesome tool aDEO, nice to see bulgarian developers for PDA in this site :)

Thanks!

It is a pleasure to read comment from bulgarian, taking into consideration this forum :)

Best regards,
aDEO

[aDEO]

Thanks aDEO, the whois functionality is working fine. If anyone is unable to use it, make sure that you enter the domain name in the format: domain.com

Thanks for this remark, ArunOnline!

The best way to receive correct information from this, is to querying by using domain names (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_name), but IP addresses are fine for PingBox2 also.

I don't have really time to fully test it, so any comments about this are welcome. :)

Best regards,
aDEO

[aDEO]

[Final-2.1] (24-NOV-2008)
- added <Follow> alarm mode settings, which will help you to choose when to trigger the alarm sound
- added installation cab file
- added shortcut in Programs
- uninstall is now possible

[aDEO]

Still working on this project, for some performance improvements. I will be glad to hear, if someone have suggestions or features requests. Thanks!

Best regards,
aDEO

[kosmarnik]

Still working on this project, for some performance improvements. I will be glad to hear, if someone have suggestions or features requests. Thanks!

Best regards,
aDEO

Nice little bundle of tools.
One feature I'd love to see implemented is copy-paste. Maybe a list of recently used addresses?
It's hard enough to type ip addresses, so once should be enough.
Even on a Tytn II with hw keyboard it's still a pain in the butt, as as you can't get numbers and the dot in the same mode :(

Keep up the good work.

[alt236]

Hello!

I Just stubled to this useful project (I really like the follow capability).

Just a number of suggestions:

1. It would be great if you could add traceroute in the toolbox. No network toolbox is complete without it :p
2. Add the ability to change the Whois Server you are querying.
3. Copy and paste would also be very usefull (although you can achieve the same effect by using ctrl+c and ctrl+v on the soft keyboard but it's not very practical).
4. DNS lookup / Reverse DNS Lookup
5. Adding a bookmarking capability to keep often used addresses.
6. A list of recent addresses.

[iRiKi]

the bookmark is definitely a plus! that's why i still use Pocket Ping - v1.6 (http://www.pocketpcfreewares.com/en/index.php?soft=1213) alonside PingBox2.

i love the whois feature, many thx aDEO !

[jpmatrix972]

hi
i was looking for a light tool to keep my internet connexion up on my pocket and i just found pingbox !!!
testing in progress , i'll report back here soon :)
thank you !

[jpmatrix972]

hello again
it seems PingBox succceed in maintaining my hsdpa internet connection :) great ! i've set a 30s follow rules on www.yahoo.fr
can you tell me if the log automaticly cleans itself ? it seems it can get bigger... could you implement a no log-setting, or a 10 lines wrap-up for example? i think it's not really helpful to have a so long log for that follow function.

[aDEO]

[2.1.1] (01-FEB-2009)
- added bookmark context menu in <Ping>, <WhoIs> and <Follow> tabs. Hold your stylus over the text box, to use this feature. The bookmarks are saved in "bookmarks.txt" file, which can be modified easily if needed
- added limitation in <Follow> log window, to hold maximum 15 rows (FIFO)

[aDEO]

Thanks for your replies and suggestions!

There isn't much time for this project, so thanks for your patient. Today I just implemented bookmarks (kosmarnik, alt236, iRiKi) and add some restrictions on <Follow> log (jpmatrix972).

What will be next:
- traceroute, because "No network toolbox is complete without it :p" (alt236)
- ability to change the whois server (alt236)

Happy pinging :)

[jpmatrix972]

Thanks for your replies and suggestions!

There isn't much time for this project, so thanks for your patient. Today I just implemented bookmarks (kosmarnik, alt236, iRiKi) and add some restrictions on <Follow> log (jpmatrix972).

What will be next:
- traceroute, because "No network toolbox is complete without it :p" (alt236)
- ability to change the whois server (alt236)

Happy pinging :)


very great thank you !
another request: it seems that pingbox cannot launch an internet connection when there is not one up...is that normal ?

[aDEO]

very great thank you !
another request: it seems that pingbox cannot launch an internet connection when there is not one up...is that normal ?

I think it will be better to add manual connection menu for that. I don't want to fire up internet connection while checking my router or something.
Will add this in Tools menu soon. :)

Best regards,
aDEO

[iRiKi]

thx for the updates, will try asap :)

[aDEO]

Hello there :)

[2.1.2] (03-FEB-2009)

- added ability to choose <WhoIs> server from settings tab. The servers are saved in "WhoIsServers.txt" file, which can be modified easily if needed. The default server is "whois-servers.net", which have to be queried with domain extension, beside others servers from this list, which have to be queried without it. Will change this when I have more time.
- added "Connect" in Tools menu, which will check your internet connection and will try to establish it, if not exist.

Best regards,
aDEO

[jpmatrix972]

I think it will be better to add manual connection menu for that. I don't want to fire up internet connection while checking my router or something.
Will add this in Tools menu soon. :)

Best regards,
aDEO

ok you 're right
however my device is connected always via 3g and i would like to be able to launch pingbox and establish the internet connexion,
something like:

pingbox.exe /connect


and the best would be:
pingbox /connect /follow:www.yahoo.fr

that would be terrible for me ;)
thanks!

is that possible or do you know another way to do that ?

[aDEO]

ok you 're right
however my device is connected always via 3g and i would like to be able to launch pingbox and establish the internet connexion,
something like:

pingbox.exe /connect


and the best would be:
pingbox /connect /follow:www.yahoo.fr

that would be terrible for me ;)
thanks!

is that possible or do you know another way to do that ?

Hey,

Are you talking about version 2.1.2? Asking that, because with this version come manual ability to connect you to internet, which work as intended.

Best regards,
aDEO

[jpmatrix972]

Hey,

Are you talking about version 2.1.2? Asking that, because with this version come manual ability to connect you to internet, which work as intended.

Best regards,
aDEO

yeah v 2.1.2,
but what would be great is to just launch
pingbox.exe /autoconnect /follow (for example)
and it automatically launchs the internet connection and maintains it with following a specific url. It is just to not to have to launch pingbox, then click on connect, then click on follow and choose the www and click follow then minimize pingbox.
that way people who don't want autoconnect would just launch pingbox.exe

[aDEO]

yeah v 2.1.2,
but what would be great is to just launch
pingbox.exe /autoconnect /follow (for example)
and it automatically launchs the internet connection and maintains it with following a specific url. It is just to not to have to launch pingbox, then click on connect, then click on follow and choose the www and click follow then minimize pingbox.
that way people who don't want autoconnect would just launch pingbox.exe

Well, the primary idea of <Follow> is, just to check periodically your connectivity with someone in intranet or internet: For example, when you want to know, that some server in your network is going offline, or when your server just returned from restart. In that case, you don't really need to be connected to internet.
The thing I can do here, is to add one checkbox in settings, with which you can decide to auto connect, or not on PingBox2 start.

Best regards,
aDEO

[kosmarnik]

Great stuff aDEO! I'll go check it out.
I really nice to have good dev<->users communication!

[jpmatrix972]

The thing I can do here, is to add one checkbox in settings, with which you can decide to auto connect, or not on PingBox2 start.

Best regards,
aDEO

i m okay for that choice :)
you know, since i run pingbox with 30s auto follow, it succeeds in maintaining my internet 3g connection on my hp ipaq device.... before using pingbox, the device sometimes showed you connected but could not reach any www...now with pingbox all is okay :)

[Fogg]

Yes i agree and vote for the auto connect from pingbox start.
Thanks for providing us such a useful software.
I would also vote for a "start with windows" setting if you don't mind :)

[aDEO]

OK!

In next minor version:
- settings are revamped (really needed more space for more options :) )
- added gather statistics check box
- added auto connect on program start
- added auto connect on whois

Check 1st post for more info soon.

Best regards,
aDEO

[Fogg]

Cool news. I suggest some "little" things if you allow me to :

- When we do Tools\connect, we have a popup titled "Pingbox2" with msg "Online mode". I suggest to put this in the settings with the option to suppress this behavior, that is this modal windows or this can be a problem for the "silent mode" (autostart pingbox and forget it)

- Even when pingbox is launched and running, for a reason or another, the connection may be lost. With me it happens when i don't use the pocket after some time, yes strange but it does. So i suggest pingbox auto reconnect when it obtains a request time out in the follow mode. By the way, i propose to have the disconnect option in the tools menu instead of "connect" when it is already connected.

- This is a bug to my mind : when the connection is lost as explained previously, the follow has a time out. So we manually use the connect action again and the connection is back or supposed to. Fine but the follow mode try to reach the previous ip so it continues to have this time out.

[Fogg]

OK!

In next minor version:
- settings are revamped (really needed more space for more options :) )
Best regards,
aDEO

Ok, so what don't you use collapsible list for settings like in coreplayer ? Have a lot here http://coreplayer.com/content/view/37/1/ choose 7.jpg
Ok , it's the third picture if you begin by the end :)

[aDEO]

Hello everyone,

[2.1.3] (08-FEB-2009)
- revamped settings
- added gather statistics check box
- added auto connect on program start
- added auto connect on whois
- added user notifications check box
- new notifications system
- connect menu is changed, depend on connection state

Thanks Fogg, some of your suggestions are implemented.

Best regards,
aDEO

[jpmatrix972]

that s great !

-should the "disconnect"option disconnect your internet connection ? it does nothing for me...

-would you add my personnal setting : automatically launch follow (first favorite) on program launch

many thanks anyway !

[aDEO]

that s great !

-should the "disconnect"option disconnect your internet connection ? it does nothing for me...

-would you add my personnal setting : automatically launch follow (first favorite) on program launch

many thanks anyway !

Well,
- if you switch user notifications, will see the message, telling you that I know about this issue :)
- PingBox2's <Follow> functionality, will not be extended any more, but:
I'm planing to start my next project, that will work in the way you want and expect. That is all I can say about it for now. :)

Best regards,
aDEO

[Fogg]

Even when pingbox is launched and running, for a reason or another, the connection may be lost. With me it happens when i don't use the pocket after some time, yes strange but it does. So i suggest pingbox auto reconnect when it obtains a request time out in the follow mode.

The disconnect option does not work

This is a bug to my mind : when the connection is lost as explained previously, the follow has a time out. So we manually use the connect action again and the connection is back or supposed to. Fine but the follow mode try to reach the previous ip so it continues to have this time out.

[aDEO]

[2.1.4] (26-FEB-2009)
- added "Auto run with Windows" checkbox
- added some ARP settings
- fixed bug with notification hangup on tray

[aDEO]

The Trace functionality is ready, but it's untested yet.. Any volunteer? :)

[alt236]

Thats traceroute right?
I can help with the testing if you want :)

[aDEO]

Hi alt236!

Thank you for your interest!
Yes, it's Traceroute, but in PingBox2 is just Trace (I can live with that) :)
Will pm you with the latest version for testing.

Best regards,
aDEO

[alt236]

If the functionality is there, you can even call it Mary:p

I'l have a go today and tell you what i find.

[aDEO]

If the functionality is there, you can even call it Mary:p

Nice one! :)

I'l have a go today and tell you what i find.

Thanks!

[alt236]

Hello again!

It seems to be fine.
For some reason, i can't get it to work over activesync, but that is probaly just my setup.
On my data connection, it woks fine.

Just a couple of suggestions:
1. If you can, avoid resolving the provided hostname into an IP in the textbox as it can get confusing.
2. It would be great if you could add an option to resolve the routers into hostnames in the results window. Or show them both (IP/hostname).

And a minor issue:
When running, I can see the progressbar filling up, but the textbox is not updated until the traceroute is completed.

[alt236]

Forgot to write that it works fine over WiFi as well.

[aDEO]

Thanks for your feedback!


For some reason, i can't get it to work over activesync, but that is probaly just my setup.
On my data connection, it woks fine.
Hmm, same here. Will have to take a closer look for this.


Just a couple of suggestions:
1. If you can, avoid resolving the provided hostname into an IP in the textbox as it can get confusing.
fixed


2. It would be great if you could add an option to resolve the routers into hostnames in the results window. Or show them both (IP/hostname).
fixed


And a minor issue:
When running, I can see the progressbar filling up, but the textbox is not updated until the traceroute is completed.
fixed

Will pm you with the fixes when I get home.

Best regards,
aDEO

[aDEO]

Hello everyone!

[2.1.5] (15-MAR-2009)
- added Trace functionality (thanks to alt236 for testing)
- added new <Trace> tab in settings
- updated code, to display results on fly
- improved speed

Download link is in the first post.

Best regards,
aDEO

[aDEO]

Update:

[2.1.6] (09-MAY-2009)
- fixed disconnect menu
- added new sound for each <Follow> alarm mode

Best regards,
aDEO

[aDEO]

PingBox Lite updated:

- fixed lost packages' statistic
- fixed log file export
- added about box
- improved speed - ping before you blink!

Check first post for more info.

Best regards,
aDEO

[JonInAtl]

Excellent work!

[Harani]

This app works great for me when I'm connected to my local Lan by wifi but when connected to the internet via my mobile carrier i just get "destination host unreachable" I'm trying to ping obvious stuff like Google by IP and Name but no luck.

Orange SPV M3100 (HTC Hermes)
Running Windows mobile 6 professional "3.0 Black"
on T-Mobile UK Carrier

[aDEO]

This app works great for me when I'm connected to my local Lan by wifi but when connected to the internet via my mobile carrier i just get "destination host unreachable" I'm trying to ping obvious stuff like Google by IP and Name but no luck.

Orange SPV M3100 (HTC Hermes)
Running Windows mobile 6 professional "3.0 Black"
on T-Mobile UK Carrier

Hey Harani,

Try to Trace some internet address (google.com for example) and give some feedback here. At least, you will have to see some response from your gateway.

Best regards,
aDEO

[Harani]

Hi

Thanks for getting back to me.

today this is sort of working for me don't know why it's now acting differently than it was the last few days.



Did some tests going to google.com and google's IP

PING by IP - lots of timeouts but gets there eventually
TRACE by IP - taking something like 10 hops to get to google so it's going somewhat around the houses.

PING by Name - "unknown host" error
TRACE by name - does about 14 hops then goes into timeout

[Harani]

done loads of repeated tests on this TRACE can get through by name sometimes but it's taking an age to do so and goes through many hops to get there. sometimes making it and sometimes timing out.

I think it's just down to speed of link. Perhaps I need some DNS info plugged into my connection becuase it seems to be having problems with that auto assigned by the provider.

[aDEO]

Hey Harani,

The default values for all settings, are just suitable for me :) You have to increase some of them, to find out which values fit your needs:
Ping settings
- Time to live (TTL) = 128 (for example)
- TimeOut = 5000 (for example)

Let me know how is going after this changes.

Best regards,
aDEO

[hesian]

I wish to use this on my HD2 touch screen. Problem is that when I bring up the keyboard the screen workspace reduces to top half of screen, but does not go back to full size when I turn the keyboard off. Any chance of a fix ?

[Frank1966]

Great tool, thanks a lot for it.

Whats about wake on lan? Will you implement it in future?