The Tracer 2019.11

Overview

The Tracer is a small but quite useful application for Windows users who want to find out where websites or people are located. It includes 3 networking tools: tracretoute, whois and port scanner. It is lightweight so it can be used even in older computers and by anyone, considering it is very easy to use. Now with this simple program you can trace servers and websites in an instant.

Installation

The installation package is very small (less than a MB) and you won’t have any issues while installing it. At some point you will be asked to install Incredibar toolbar if you want to, and make IB MyStart the default homepage and default search engine. Uncheck the boxes if you wish, and then continue with the procedure. A few steps afterwards the main installation will begin, and will finish in very few moments. The only special requirement for the program to run properly is .NET Framework 4.

The supported operating systems are Windows 200, XP, 2003, Vista and 7.

Interface

The interface is not very stylish or filled with graphics, but it’s neat. The main window is split into 4 screens: the map area, where the location of the website you’re tracing is marked on it, the LogPanel, which is basically an activity log, the Report panel for displaying a summary of the results and the last area is for viewing information about the current website that is being traced.

At the top is the Address box, where you type the address of the website you want to trace. Next to it are start/stop buttons, along with other buttons that bring up the port scanner and whois tool. There is also one more button that shows local network information.

Pros

It is very easy to use. Just enter the address of the desired website and locate it on the built-in map, along with other information about it. The 4 screens are there to divide information appropriately and to view the flow of every task that is or has been carried out.

The main tool of The Tracer, traceroute is used to display the path and measuring transit delays of packets across the internet. Whois is used for querying the databases that store the registered users of a domain name or an IP address. Lastly, the port scanner scans the server or host for open ports that can be used mainly to identify security openings.

Cons

There is no configurations menu and you can’t make any settings at all. Also there is no help file with explanations of features and details about the information displayed.

Alternatives

There are a lot of tracerouting tools with additional features. Some of them are WinTraceRoute, Path Analyzer Pro, Ping-Probe, AdRem iTools and Free IP Tools. Except for the last one, the rest are shareware.

Conclusion

The Tracer can be used for various reasons, both by novices and professionals. Whenever you want to look up the location of a website, scan a server for open ports or view whois information about a domain, just open the program and do it. Simple as that.