Download of the Week: Network Activity Indicator (for Windows 7!)

Posted 12/10/2009 at 7:00pm | by David Murphy

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Oh, Windows 7. I enjoy a number of enhancements to the operating system over that of its lesser brother, Windows Vista. However, one of the chief omissions of this new OS has actually been one of the more useful staples of Windows for a long time. It's the good ol' network activity light, a little icon in your tray that would blink on and off to match whenever you sent or received network traffic. Not only was this tiny icon a quick troubleshooting device--no send light when loading an Internet-using application means trouble--but it was a useful way to tell how much bandwidth you've eaten up during your daily computing session, as you'd get your usage stats by simply hovering your mouse over said icon.

But alas, there is no way to resurrect said icon or functionality natively in Windows 7. Sure, you can bring back an icon of-sorts, but it ain't gonna blink. Sorry. It's just a simple little link to your Network and Sharing center. To truly reap the benefits of the old-school network activity light, you're going to have to look to a third-party developer. That, or click the jump, because I've found the perfect little utility that replicates this feature in Windows 7 error-free.

Here's the deal: The program is called, as you might expect, Network Activity Indicator for Windows 7. You don't install it, you just unzip the downloaded file and double-click on the subsequent executable. Poof. Up pops the trusty network activity light you've come to know and love. Right-click on the icon and select settings, and you can have the icon auto-start with Windows 7. And that's about all you can configure.

Unfortunately, the application doesn't monitor your bandwidth and tell you exactly how much you've uploaded and downloaded over the course of the computer's uptime. But hey, it's an icon, and the lights blink. That's 90-percent of the problem solved.

Every Wednesday, Maximum PC picks a new free or shareware download as its favorite of the week. Have a nifty application that you can't live without? Twitter David Murphy @acererak with your latest suggestions.

Super-Awesome Giveaway!

Remember Topify, the little Web App of the Week I mentioned a bit ago? In short, it's a way to better control Twitter follower requests through your email account--in fact, you can use it to perform all your following and "checking to see if this person is lame or not" activity straight out of your inbox.

Anyway, I have some extra invite codes to this closed-door service that I'd love to share with you. If you want one, scroll your eyes up to my Twitter handle. Friend me and shoot me an @message, and I'll DM you an invite! I will keep this up until I run out and, when that happens, I'll post a note on my own account.