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Network Activity Indicator for Windows 7

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4.86/5 (61 votes)
27 Jan 2010CPOL1 min read 706.2K   8.5K   83   74
Displays the old "two monitors" icon in Windows 7 that flashed blue to show network activity on the System Tray.
Network Activity Indicator

Introduction

In Windows XP, I was used to turning on "Show icon in notification area when connected" and Windows would display a blinking icon to indicate network traffic on the System Tray.
In Windows 7, all I can get is a static icon to show I am on a network, no animation to show me the traffic.

I figured out that the animation feature had been removed from Windows 7, so I decided to create a simple application to satisfy those people (including myself) who want to see when data is coming and going on the network.

A long time ago, I developed a small utility called Network Lights which blinks keyboard LEDs (Light Emitting Diode) indicating outgoing and incoming network packets on the network interface. This utility with source code can be found here: www.itsamples.com/network-lights.html. I remade it to control the System Tray icon instead of keyboard LEDs and adapted it to Windows 7 environment.

Using the Code

The core of this program is a separate thread that obtains current TCP, UDP and ICMP statistics and decides which icon should be displayed on the System Tray:

C++
void TCPThread(LPVOID pInfo)
{
	MIB_TCPSTATS  mibTcpStats;
	MIB_UDPSTATS  mibUdpStats;
	MIB_ICMP      mibIcmpStats;

	UINT nCounter = 0;
	DWORD dwSegTcpRcvd = 0;
	DWORD dwSegTcpSent = 0;
	DWORD dwSegUdpRcvd = 0;
	DWORD dwSegUdpSent = 0;
	DWORD dwSegIcmpRcvd = 0;
	DWORD dwSegIcmpSent = 0;
	DWORD dwLocalOutSegs = 0;
	DWORD dwLocalInSegs = 0;

	while(m_bWorkContinue)
	{
		if(m_bSetIconContinue)
		{
			m_dwPacketsSent = 0;
			m_dwPacketsReceived = 0;

			m_bSetIconContinue = FALSE;

			if(m_bDisplayTCP)
			{
				if(GetTcpStatistics(&mibTcpStats) == NO_ERROR)
				{
					dwLocalInSegs = mibTcpStats.dwInSegs;
					dwLocalOutSegs = mibTcpStats.dwOutSegs;

					m_dwPacketsSent += dwLocalOutSegs;
					m_dwPacketsReceived += dwLocalInSegs;

					if(dwLocalOutSegs > dwSegTcpSent && 
						dwLocalInSegs > dwSegTcpRcvd)
					{
						dwSegTcpSent = dwLocalOutSegs;
						dwSegTcpRcvd = dwLocalInSegs;
						SetTrayIcon(NIM_MODIFY, 
							m_hActiveIcon);
						goto done;
					}
					else if(dwLocalOutSegs > dwSegTcpSent && 
						dwLocalInSegs <= dwSegTcpRcvd)
					{
						dwSegTcpSent = dwLocalOutSegs;
						SetTrayIcon
						(NIM_MODIFY, m_hSendIcon);
						goto done;
					}
					else if(dwLocalInSegs > dwSegTcpRcvd && 
						dwLocalOutSegs <= dwSegTcpSent)
					{
						dwSegTcpRcvd = dwLocalInSegs;
						SetTrayIcon(NIM_MODIFY, 
							m_hReceiveIcon);
						goto done;
					}
					else 
						nCounter++;

					if(nCounter == 10)
					{
						nCounter = 0;
						SetTrayIcon(NIM_MODIFY, 
							m_hInactiveIcon);
						goto done;
					}
				}
			}

			if(m_bDisplayUDP)
			{
				if(GetUdpStatistics(&mibUdpStats) == NO_ERROR)
				{
					dwLocalInSegs = mibUdpStats.dwInDatagrams;
					dwLocalOutSegs = mibUdpStats.dwOutDatagrams;

					m_dwPacketsSent += dwLocalOutSegs;
					m_dwPacketsReceived += dwLocalInSegs;

					if(dwLocalOutSegs > dwSegUdpSent && 
						dwLocalInSegs > dwSegUdpRcvd)
					{
						dwSegUdpSent = dwLocalOutSegs;
						dwSegUdpRcvd = dwLocalInSegs;
						SetTrayIcon(NIM_MODIFY, 
							m_hActiveIcon);
						goto done;
					}
					else if(dwLocalOutSegs > dwSegUdpSent && 
						dwLocalInSegs <= dwSegUdpRcvd)
					{
						dwSegUdpSent = dwLocalOutSegs;
						SetTrayIcon(NIM_MODIFY, 
							m_hSendIcon);
						goto done;
					}
					else if(dwLocalInSegs > dwSegUdpRcvd && 
						dwLocalOutSegs <= dwSegUdpSent)
					{
						dwSegUdpRcvd = dwLocalInSegs;
						SetTrayIcon(NIM_MODIFY, 
							m_hReceiveIcon);
						goto done;
					}
					else 
						nCounter++;

					if(nCounter == 10)
					{
						nCounter = 0;
						SetTrayIcon(NIM_MODIFY, 
							m_hInactiveIcon);
						goto done;
					}
				}
			}

			if(m_bDisplayICMP)
			{
				if(GetIcmpStatistics(&mibIcmpStats) == NO_ERROR)
				{
					dwLocalInSegs = 
					mibIcmpStats.stats.icmpInStats.dwMsgs;
					dwLocalOutSegs = 
					mibIcmpStats.stats.icmpOutStats.dwMsgs;

					m_dwPacketsSent += dwLocalOutSegs;
					m_dwPacketsReceived += dwLocalInSegs;

					if(dwLocalOutSegs > dwSegIcmpSent && 
						dwLocalInSegs > dwSegIcmpRcvd)
					{
						dwSegIcmpSent = dwLocalOutSegs;
						dwSegIcmpRcvd = dwLocalInSegs;
						SetTrayIcon(NIM_MODIFY, 
							m_hActiveIcon);
						goto done;
					}
					else if(dwLocalOutSegs > dwSegIcmpSent && 
						dwLocalInSegs <= dwSegIcmpRcvd)
					{
						dwSegIcmpSent = dwLocalOutSegs;
						SetTrayIcon(NIM_MODIFY, 
							m_hSendIcon);
						goto done;
					}
					else if(dwLocalInSegs > dwSegIcmpRcvd && 
						dwLocalOutSegs <= dwSegIcmpSent)
					{
						dwSegIcmpRcvd = dwLocalInSegs;
						SetTrayIcon(NIM_MODIFY, 
							m_hReceiveIcon);
						goto done;
					}
					else 
						nCounter++;

					if(nCounter == 10)
					{
						nCounter = 0;
						SetTrayIcon(NIM_MODIFY, 
							m_hInactiveIcon);
						goto done;
					}
				}
			}
done:
			m_bSetIconContinue = TRUE;
		}

		Sleep(m_nDuration);
	}

	m_hTcpThread = NULL;
}

Unlike the original Windows XP utility (that has individual indicators for each interface), this program indicates outgoing and incoming network packets on all available interfaces.

History

  • Initial post: November 20, 2009
  • Updated: January 14, 2010

    Version 1.2 allows you to display ICMP and UDP packets, show selected Network Interface traffic in bytes, use Vista-styled icons, and access the "Network Connections", "Windows Firewall" and "Network and Sharing Center" applets directly.

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Software Developer (Senior)
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Comments and Discussions

 
GeneralMessage Closed Pin
5-Feb-18 21:01
Member 136632305-Feb-18 21:01 
GeneralExcellent! Pin
whawn26-Apr-11 9:12
whawn26-Apr-11 9:12 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Scott Wichall27-Feb-11 22:45
Scott Wichall27-Feb-11 22:45 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Waleed Eissa20-Feb-11 2:02
Waleed Eissa20-Feb-11 2:02 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
gndnet16-Dec-10 14:21
gndnet16-Dec-10 14:21 
GeneralAnother 5 vote from me! Pin
code_junkie2-Dec-10 3:46
code_junkie2-Dec-10 3:46 
GeneralGreat app, 5 points. Pin
dickdickson22-Oct-10 11:29
dickdickson22-Oct-10 11:29 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
EFEaglehouse12-Oct-10 8:45
EFEaglehouse12-Oct-10 8:45 
Thank you for this gem!
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
lescol@gmail.com25-Sep-10 5:33
lescol@gmail.com25-Sep-10 5:33 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
William Escue2-Aug-10 5:26
William Escue2-Aug-10 5:26 
GeneralMy vote of 4 Pin
DrCezW3rd14-Jul-10 6:39
DrCezW3rd14-Jul-10 6:39 
GeneralGood software Pin
DavidSmithgf6-Jul-10 19:59
DavidSmithgf6-Jul-10 19:59 
GeneralSuggestion Pin
DavidSmithgf6-Jul-10 20:15
DavidSmithgf6-Jul-10 20:15 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
castletonroad3-Jul-10 9:54
castletonroad3-Jul-10 9:54 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
fubuhead@hotmail.com26-Jun-10 8:18
fubuhead@hotmail.com26-Jun-10 8:18 
GeneralThanks For The Network Indicator! Pin
tallowtreemfg18-Jun-10 15:53
tallowtreemfg18-Jun-10 15:53 
GeneralBug in Autostart code Pin
User 7049431-May-10 21:32
User 7049431-May-10 21:32 
GeneralRe: Bug in Autostart code Pin
alx_max14-Dec-10 5:59
alx_max14-Dec-10 5:59 
GeneralRe: Bug in Autostart code Pin
alx_max14-Dec-10 23:35
alx_max14-Dec-10 23:35 
GeneralThanks! Pin
Heathheath22-May-10 20:00
Heathheath22-May-10 20:00 
QuestionExcellent idea and implementation! Pin
DrABELL11-Apr-10 8:09
DrABELL11-Apr-10 8:09 
Generalmerci Pin
kannyy9-Apr-10 9:23
kannyy9-Apr-10 9:23 
GeneralMysterious "inactive"-status Pin
tray-icon10-Mar-10 23:09
tray-icon10-Mar-10 23:09 
GeneralRe: Mysterious "inactive"-status Pin
Igor Tolmachev14-Mar-10 6:58
Igor Tolmachev14-Mar-10 6:58 
GeneralRe: Mysterious "inactive"-status Pin
tray-icon23-Mar-10 23:32
tray-icon23-Mar-10 23:32 

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