Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

PsPing VS netcat

Compare PsPing VS netcat and see what are their differences

PsPing logo PsPing

PsPing is a command-line utility for measuring network performance.

netcat logo netcat

Netcat is a featured networking utility which reads and writes data across network connections...
  • PsPing Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-28
  • netcat Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-11-19

PsPing features and specs

  • Versatile Functionality
    PsPing supports ICMP ping, TCP ping, latency and bandwidth measurement, making it a comprehensive tool for network diagnostics.
  • Command-Line Interface
    Being a command-line tool, PsPing is suitable for automation and scripting, allowing users to integrate it into batch files or other automated systems.
  • Detailed Output
    PsPing provides detailed statistics on latency and throughput, which can aid in thorough network analysis and troubleshooting.
  • Ease of Use
    It is straightforward to use for those familiar with command-line tools, providing a simple and effective way to measure network performance.
  • No Installation Required
    PsPing is a portable tool that doesn't require installation, making it convenient to use on different systems without administrative privileges.

Possible disadvantages of PsPing

  • Limited to Windows
    As a Sysinternals tool, PsPing is designed for Windows, which limits its use in environments where other operating systems are prevalent.
  • Command-Line Limitations
    While powerful, the command-line interface might be intimidating or less intuitive for users who are more comfortable with graphical interfaces.
  • Dependency on Network Configuration
    Accurate measurements depend on network configuration and permissions, such as ICMP traffic being allowed, which might not be the case in all networks.
  • Learning Curve
    Users unfamiliar with command-line tools or networking concepts might face a learning curve in understanding and effectively using all of PsPing's features.
  • No Full-Scale Management Features
    PsPing is primarily a diagnostic tool and lacks the broader network management capabilities found in more comprehensive network monitoring solutions.

netcat features and specs

  • Versatility
    Netcat can be used for a wide variety of network-related tasks, including port scanning, file transfers, and working as a backdoor.
  • Simplicity
    Netcat operates with simple command-line arguments, making it easy to use for those familiar with command-line interfaces.
  • Speed
    Netcat is lightweight and performs network operations quickly, without the overhead associated with more complex tools.
  • Scriptability
    Netcat is highly scriptable, allowing users to automate network tasks by including it in bash or other scripts.
  • Cross-Platform
    Netcat is available on multiple operating systems including Unix, Linux, and Windows, making it a versatile tool for different environments.

Possible disadvantages of netcat

  • Security
    Netcat can be misused, as it is often favored by attackers for creating reverse shells and other malicious activities.
  • Lack of Encryption
    Netcat does not natively support encrypted connections, meaning data transmitted can be vulnerable to interception.
  • Minimal Logging
    Netcat provides minimal logging capabilities, which can make it difficult to track usage or troubleshoot issues.
  • Basic Functionality
    Netcat provides core networking functions but lacks advanced features found in specialized tools.
  • Cannot Handle High Load
    Netcat is not designed to handle high traffic loads effectively, making it less suitable for some enterprise use cases.

PsPing videos

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netcat videos

Linux Terminal 101: Netcat

More videos:

  • Review - Advanced Netcat and TCP Fun - Hak5 1922
  • Review - Netcat 101: Remote Shells in Windows, HakTip 86

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to PsPing and netcat)
Monitoring Tools
24 24%
76% 76
Security
54 54%
46% 46
Log Management
18 18%
82% 82
Productivity
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare PsPing and netcat

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netcat Reviews

9 Best Angry IP Scanner Alternatives Reviewed 2021 (Free & Paid)
Netcat lacks a lot of the documentation you can easily find with software like AngryIP or Nmap which in my opinion is its biggest drawback. If you’re thinking about trying out Netcat, check out our Netcat Cheat Sheet to quickly pull up powerful and useful commands. Netcat is compatible with Windows, Linux, and macOS systems.
Top 5 Best Port Scanners
Netcat is one of the oldest network tools in the "Unixverse", it's been there since 1995, and the last official version is from 2004. Although it has many forks and variants that work pretty well on modern operating systems, like ncat from the Nmap suite, or this alternative Netcat version from Mike Frysinger.

Social recommendations and mentions

netcat might be a bit more popular than PsPing. We know about 7 links to it since March 2021 and only 5 links to PsPing. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

PsPing mentions (5)

  • Frequent freezing with otherwise good connections
    [1] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/psping. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Ping Spikes on Wi-Fi
    I wonder what would happen if you tried using something like psping to do a TCP ping to the router. You can get that here if you don't already have it https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/psping. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • existing VPN not allowing TCP traffic now?
    A great tool is test FW rules is PSPing, it allows you to ping TCP ports to test your rules. Https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/psping I use it all the time. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • How can I tell where this server is located?
    PSPing could also be used as it does a TCP latency check rather than ICMP (see here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/psping). Source: over 3 years ago
  • SWTOR Performance Tips
    Try to improve your loopback performance. The game uses two seperate processes because reasons, and they comminicate with each other over the loopback device. You'd probably assume this is really efficient and limited only by your memory bandwidth + a small overhead. The overhead is actually very large. You can measure what your loopback transfer speed is by using a program called psping... Source: almost 4 years ago

netcat mentions (7)

  • could not connect to the rhel-9 from putty in windows machine
    If you don't like using telnet, that's fine. Don't use it. There are plenty of other options available. Use netcat. Or use netcat. Or use netcat. Or read and write directly to /dev/tcp/hostname/port using shell constructs. Or run openssl s_client if you suspect something complicated is listening on the other end. There is more than one way to do it and ways that are not your way still work. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • The HTTP crash course nobody asked for
    Reminder, there are many different netcats, here are some of the most commons: - netcat-traditional http://www.stearns.org/nc/ - netcat-openbsd : https://github.com/openbsd/src/blob/master/usr.bin/nc/netcat.c (also packaged in Debian) - ncat https://nmap.org/ncat/ - netcat GNU: https://netcat.sourceforge.net/ (quite rare) To prevent any confusion, I like to recommend socat: http://www.dest-unreach.org/socat/. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Gaining remote access to a computer with a reverse shell attack in Node.js
    A common tool to execute a reverse shell is called netcat. If you're using macOS, it should be installed by default. You can check by running nc -help in a terminal window. - Source: dev.to / almost 3 years ago
  • Programm to send and receive TCP/UDP Packets
    You could try using Ncat on Windows or netcat on Linux, though it's a command-line only tool if that matters. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Is there a way to copy a file from a remote shell to local without using scp?
    If you have netcat, you can easily set up a transfer from one machine to the other:. Source: over 3 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing PsPing and netcat, you can also consider the following products

Wireshark - Wireshark is a network protocol analyzer for Unix and Windows. It lets you capture and interactively browse the traffic running on a computer network.

PPerf - PowerShell Iperf GUI - A PowerShell script to start iperf and show the output (similar to Jperf).

Ettercap - Ettercap is a suite for man in the middle attacks on LAN.

Nmap - Nmap Free Security Scanner, Port Scanner, & Network Exploration Tool. Download open source software for Linux, Windows, UNIX, FreeBSD, etc.

tcpdump - tcpdump is a common packet analyzer that runs under the command line.

iperf - A TCP, UDP, and SCTP network bandwidth measurement tool