Those connecting regularly to different location-based networks will find NetSetMan a highly useful and necessary complement to Windows’ network manager. This free and intuitive tool will allow you to save and reuse up to six different network settings, so that you can switch between them with no more than two clicks of your mouse. You can import and export your network profiles independently (new to this version) so that you can still use them even after a software or hardware upgrade.
The easiest way of creating a new profile is by telling the program to fill in all the relevant fields for you directly from the network you are currently connected. All the details necessary to go back to that connection in the future will appear on the screen – IP and Gateway data, DNS Server address, the name of the WiFi network you are connected to, any printer connected to the network, the name of the computer, etc. Add a significant name (home, work, airport, café, etc.) to your new set and save it for reuse whenever necessary.
More savvy users will enjoy the possibility of configuring their own sets manually. By opening the Advanced TCP/IP Settings, you will be allowed to enter your own IP addresses, Gateway and DNS Server details, WINS servers, Route tables, DNS suffixes, etc. There are also specific settings for the more recent IPv6 addresses, which you can also configure either automatically or manually. The program comes with an NSM WiFi Management tool that will let you find out more about the WiFi networks available in your area, and whose profiles can also be saved, imported, and exported. Other utilities included in the Tools menu actually open already existing Windows tools without having to go to the corresponding entries in the Control Panel. Some system settings such as the screensaver, the wallpaper, the sound scheme or the firewall can also be adjusted from here.
All in all, this excellent free tool (as long as you don’t use it for commercial purposes) is a fabulous “agenda” for all those network connections you need to have access to on a regular basis. With NetSetMan you can forget about mingling with your network settings every time you change locations – configuring your computer so that it connects to the current network seamlessly or going back to your home network settings will now take you but a couple of clicks. Certainly, an extremely useful network tool worth having installed on your laptop.
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