Each utility is extremely easy to use and small in size, yet offers in-depth information that is unbelievably helpful. I am personally a big fan of NirSoft utilities and have over a dozen of them in my USB drive to access anywhere. Whether I have to fix a network issue or set up a new Windows PC for an optimum experience, NirSoft utilities have always helped me. If you are up for checking out NirSoft utilities, then I am listing some of the best NirSoft utilities that I find most useful. Whether you are a regular user looking to get a better Windows experience or a system administrator managing multiple PCs, these tools will surely help you.
WirelessKeyView
Although there are many ways to find out your Wi-Fi password in Windows, using a third-party tool is the easiest one. WirelessKeyView automatically finds all Wi-Fi passwords saved on your PC and displays them along with network SSID. You can copy, import, or export Wi-Fi passwords as well.
Download WirelessKeyView
SpecialFoldersView
This tool shows some of the obscure folders in Windows that are usually very useful in different situations. You can just double-click on a folder listed to open it in Windows. Some of the folders include Application Data, Windows History, Administrative Tools, Startup, Start Menu, Temporary Folder, Recent items folder, and many more.
Download SpecialFoldersView
WebBrowserPassView
If you have forgotten a password that is already saved in your browser, then you can use this utility to view all the usernames and passwords saved in your browser. Interestingly, this tool won’t ask for the Windows account password, unlike the browser’s built-in password view setting. Download WebBrowserPassView If not already, you should consider using Password Manager for better password security.
WifiInfoView
A powerful tool that scans all the Wi-Fi networks in the range of your PC and offers extensive information about them, including signal strength, router model, channel, frequency, router company, security type, max download speed, and much more. I personally use it to connect to the best network nearby when I have more than one option available.
Download WifiInfoView
NetworkTrafficView
If you want to know all the network traffic that goes through your network adaptor, then this tool will help. It will track all the packets that go through your network and both their source and destination. It also records a plethora of other information like packet count, data size, maximum data speed, time, country, and a whole lot more.
Download NetworkTrafficView
Wireless Network Watcher
A simple tool to get a bunch of information about the devices that are connected to your network. This includes device MAC address, Adaptor name, device name (if available), and connection time. This information is super useful if you don’t want any unknown devices accessing your network. Download Wireless Network Watcher
SoundVolumeView
This utility is mostly used for getting information about all the connected sound devices to your PC and easily mute/unmute them. However, I like this tool for its ability to create sound profiles containing customized sound levels or muted devices. You can use these personalized sound profiles depending on your need; such as low sound at late night.
Download SoundVolumeView
VideoCacheView
Ever wanted to download a video that you just watched on the web? You can use this tool to extract videos you have watched in your browser from the browser cache. This tool will load all the videos that are stored in your browser cache and you can both view or download them anytime.
Download VideoCacheView
FBCacheView
A very nice tool for Facebook users who may like to download images later that they see on Facebook. FBCacheView will exclusively look for Facebook images in your browser cache and separately list them for you to view and download. This includes all the images you see on Facebook pages, including profile pictures. Download FBCacheView
Volumouse
Using this tool you can control your PC volume using the scroll wheel of your mouse. It lets you set custom rules so you can use the mouse for both scrolling and adjusting volume. For example, you can set it to adjust volume when a specific key is pressed down or when the mouse cursor is hovering over a specific app; like your media app. Download Volumouse
DomainHostingView
You can get loads of information about a web domain using DomainHostingView. The tool runs many DNS and WHOIS queries to extract all possible information about a particular domain (if not hidden). Some of the information includes the hosting company name, registrar name, creation/expiry date, registrant name, registrant address and phone number, web server information, mail server information, and much more.
Download DomainHostingView Alternatively, you can also try the Online Whois hosting tool.
IPNetInfo
If you are looking to track an IP address, then this tool can provide all the information you need. Just enter the IP address in its interface and it will show country name, network name, contact name, email address, abuse email address, phone number, physical address, and more. This information is for the owner of the IP address range, not the single user whose IP address you have. Although you can further track down by contacting the owner if needed. Download IPNetInfo
GUIPropView
If you need to open loads of windows at the same time, then you can use GUIPropView to make it easy to keep track of them. The tool will show all child windows when you will click on a parent window and even let you control them, like minimize, close, or maximize them without opening the actual window. Download GUIPropView
Clipboardic
A simple tool to replace the native clipboard of Windows with a more advanced one. Clipboardic stores all the content you copy in the clipboard and saves it separately to let you access all of it later, unlike the default clipboard that only stores the latest copied content. Furthermore, you can also share the clipboard data with other computers on the network.
Download Clipboardic
SearchMyFiles
It’s a more advanced alternative to the basic Windows Search for Files and Folders features. With this, you can search for files and folders using different parameters like creation date, file size, attributes, wildcard, and more. You can combine multiple parameters to further pinpoint the file/folder. Download SearchMyFiles
DiskSmartView
A small utility tool to extract S.M.A.R.T information of your disk drive to learn more about it. This includes information like disk manufacturer name, power-on hours, temperature, read error rate, cylinders/heads, power cycle count, and much more.
Download DiskSmartView
FoldersReport
This tool creates a full report of a folder and everything inside it. This includes subfolders inside the folders along with the files stored in them. You can see the size of each file and also the size they are taking on the disk. It will even separately show hidden, compressed, or system folders if they are inside the parent folder. Download FoldersReport
ControlMyMonitor
If you don’t want to use your monitor’s buttons to control its settings or they are broken, then you can use this tool to control the settings from its interface. You can monitor brightness, contrast, sharpness, color, position, and enable auto-setup. You can also create custom monitor profiles to load them later according to your need.
Download ControlMyMonitor
BlueScreenView
If your PC crashed with a blue screen of death (BSoD) and you want to learn what caused this, then give BlueScreenView a try. The tool will show important information like the time of the crash, bug check code, and the name of the file or app that possibly caused it. You can use this info to pinpoint the problem and get help online by exporting this information to a file and sharing it. Download BlueScreenView
RegistryChangesView
A very useful tool if you need to make sure that no program makes changes to your registry after installation. You can take a snapshot of your Windows registry to compare later for any changes made to the registry after installing a program. The comparison feature comes with this tool and the changes will be shown separately. Download RegistryChangesView
BatteryInfoView
Laptop or netbook users can use BatteryInfoView to get tons of information about the battery. Apart from manufacturer information like name, manufacture date, and serial number, etc. it shows current battery capacity, max capacity, charge/discharge rate, and current power state. All this information can be very useful for understanding the health of your laptop battery. Download BatteryInfoView
BulkFileChanger
You can make changes to multiple files at the same time using BulkFileChanger. All you need to do is select the folders containing the files and the files will be listed in the tool’s interface. You can then bulk change their creation or modification date or open them using any executable file. Download BulkFileChanger
ProduKey
Produkey shows all the product keys saved in your PC for Windows, Microsoft Office, Exchange server, or SQL Server. If you have lost the product key for any of these programs, then ProduKey should be able to retrieve it. You can even run it via Command line so it can extract product keys from dead PCs as well.
Download ProduKey
WebCamImageSave
If you are worried about someone using your PC, then you can configure your webcam with this tool to take a picture after every few seconds. The tool will take a picture at a set interval and save them in a set location on your disk. The tool can be configured to work from the system tray while being hidden inside the button. You can also use it as a security camera to take pictures of your room every few seconds. Download WebCamImageSave
LastActivityView
This tool shows the complete history of all the activity on your Windows computer, including apps and files opened, software installed, start and shutdown times, crashes, and much more. All the activity is time-stamped so you will know exactly when each action occurred. You don’t need LastActvityView installed beforehand to record all this information.
Download LastActivityView
Ending thoughts
So these were NirSoft utilities I find most useful for day-to-day use. If you like them, feel free to check out other tools by NirSoft; you might find a cool tool that I may have skipped. I should mention that all NirSoft tools come as a Zip file, so you can run them from a USB drive as well; no need for installation. Next, if your Windows computer is running slow then this optimization software can help you.
