After many years the Microsoft network sniffer, Network Monitor, is coming back.

Network Monitor 2.1 is included as optional component in every Windows installation but has a severe limitation: it cannot put the network interface in promiscous mode, preventing capture of all packets passing on the cable (to have a full version of Network Monitor 2.1 you have to buy Microsoft System Management Server (SMS)).

Upcoming Network Monitor 3 will offer several new features and will finally be an uncapped, free, stand-alone application for Windows XP/2003/Vista/codename Longhorn (both 32 and 64bits):

• Real time capture and display of frames
  
• Simultaneous capture on multiple network adapters
  
• Multiple simultaneous capture sessions
  
• Network conversations and a tree view displaying frames by conversation
  
• Enhanced capture/display filtering (with intelli-sense)
  
• A new script-based protocol parser language, and script-based parsers

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