# I need an internet connection monitor
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-an-internet-connection-monitor/373524
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [September 21, 2006, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-an-internet-connection-monitor/373524 "2006-09-21T04:19:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2006, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-an-internet-connection-monitor/373524/1 "2006-09-21T04:19:32Z")
I’m connected through a cable modem. Lately the connection has been off as much as 30% of the time. What I would like to find is a bit of software that would run continuously and record when the connection is off or on, so I have something to show the cable company when I email them to complain about the crappy service.
I didn’t see anything obvious at [download.com](http://download.com). Anyone got a suggestion?
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### Author:  [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2006, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-an-internet-connection-monitor/373524/2 "2006-09-21T04:53:25Z")
[www.dslreports.com](http://www.dslreports.com) has a [connection monitor tool](http://www.dslreports.com/schedule) or two. For the first week, it’s free, then something like a buck a week after that.
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### Author:  [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2006, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-an-internet-connection-monitor/373524/3 "2006-09-21T04:54:16Z")
Although I’ve never used it, I know there’s a 24x7 line monitoring tool that’s available for free for a week from [dslreports.com](http://www.dslreports.com/tools). After the first week, it’ll cost you a buck a week at most.
If you’re losing your IP address when you drop your connection, you’ll need to arrange for [dynamic DNS](http://dyndns.com) for this service to work. And your address will need to be pingable throughout the monitoring period.
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### Author:  [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2006, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-an-internet-connection-monitor/373524/4 "2006-09-21T05:19:34Z")
> [@Kyrie Eleison](#):
>
> If you’re losing your IP address when you drop your connection, you’ll need to arrange for [dynamic DNS](http://dyndns.com) for this service to work. And your address will need to be pingable throughout the monitoring period.
Sorry, I have no idea what this means. Where’s that Luddite icon when you need it?
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### Author:  [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2006, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-an-internet-connection-monitor/373524/5 "2006-09-21T05:21:34Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#):
>
> [www.dslreports.com](http://www.dslreports.com) has a [connection monitor tool](http://www.dslreports.com/schedule) or two. For the first week, it’s free, then something like a buck a week after that.
This sounds promising. I would only need it for a week to make make my case. I’ll get back to you.
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### Author:  [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2006, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-an-internet-connection-monitor/373524/6 "2006-09-21T05:56:03Z")
> [@Oslo Ostragoth](#):
>
> Sorry, I have no idea what this means. Where’s that Luddite icon when you need it?
There’s a FAQ linked from the montoring service’s page that explains both better than I’m about to, but here’s my shot anyway:
When you sign up for the monitoring service, you need to give a network address, or IP address, that the service is to monitor. Usually, the address that your machine is assigned is from a pool of addresses that are available when you establish your connection with your ISP. If your machine is frequently dropping its connection, it’s possible that you’re being assigned a new address each time connectivity is re-established. If so, specifying a fixed address to monitor will be useless, since your address is likely to change frequently. Instead, you need to give a symbolic address that will be translated to your current address at any given time. The dynamic DNS service allows you to create such a symbolic address, and to maintain its association with your actual network address.
The “pingable” part just means that if the address you’re asking to have monitored is behind a firewall, that firewall must be configured to permit ICMP ping responses. In simpler terms, the service works by sending a machine at your house a packet that says, “Are you there?” and waits for a response of “Yes.” Many firewalls will, by default, refuse to answer the “Are you there” query. On my Linksys router, for instance, there’s a setting for “Block Anonymous Internet Requests” that controls whether it will respond to such requests.
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### Author:  [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-an-internet-connection-monitor/373524/7 "2006-09-21T17:39:01Z")
Try PingPlotter.
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### Author:  [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2006, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-an-internet-connection-monitor/373524/8 "2006-09-21T22:24:27Z")
> [@Kyrie Eleison](#):
>
> There’s a FAQ linked from the montoring service’s page that explains both better than I’m about to, but here’s my shot anyway:
>
> When you sign up for the monitoring service, you need to give a network address, or IP address, that the service is to monitor. Usually, the address that your machine is assigned is from a pool of addresses that are available when you establish your connection with your ISP. If your machine is frequently dropping its connection, it’s possible that you’re being assigned a new address each time connectivity is re-established. If so, specifying a fixed address to monitor will be useless, since your address is likely to change frequently. Instead, you need to give a symbolic address that will be translated to your current address at any given time. The dynamic DNS service allows you to create such a symbolic address, and to maintain its association with your actual network address.
>
> The “pingable” part just means that if the address you’re asking to have monitored is behind a firewall, that firewall must be configured to permit ICMP ping responses. In simpler terms, the service works by sending a machine at your house a packet that says, “Are you there?” and waits for a response of “Yes.” Many firewalls will, by default, refuse to answer the “Are you there” query. On my Linksys router, for instance, there’s a setting for “Block Anonymous Internet Requests” that controls whether it will respond to such requests.
I think I actually understand this. Thanks! How do I determine my IP address?
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### Author:  [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-an-internet-connection-monitor/373524/9 "2006-09-22T15:30:41Z")
[IPChicken](http://www.ipchicken.com) if XP,
START-RUN- Type “cmd” (without quotes)
when the window opens, type “ipconfig /all” (without quotes)
It’ll give you more information than you need, but the relevant part is “IP Address” For Dynamic DNS, you may need your hostname.
You can also find out your external IP address (if using a router, like a Linksys device) by going to
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### Author:  [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2006, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-an-internet-connection-monitor/373524/10 "2006-09-22T15:46:10Z")
Grr… Put the link at the bottom, after the word “to”.
Preview preview preview.
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### Author:  [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2006, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-an-internet-connection-monitor/373524/11 "2006-09-22T21:23:50Z")
If you want to do something free, you could write a script that tries to ping the cable company’s webserver every few minutes, and writes to a log when the ping doesn’t work. That could potentially be easier than messing with a Dynamic DNS setup. What OS are you running?
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### Author:  [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2006, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-an-internet-connection-monitor/373524/12 "2006-09-22T21:39:51Z")
> [@iamthewalrus(:3=](#):
>
> If you want to do something free, you could write a script that tries to ping the cable company’s webserver every few minutes, and writes to a log when the ping doesn’t work. That could potentially be easier than messing with a Dynamic DNS setup. What OS are you running?
Windows 2000 Pro.