Release Notes

Network Magic 4.8

What's new in this release

Network Magic Essentials - Provides those with a small network of PCs and devices the tools they need to do the basics: set up and secure a network, share files and printers, and troubleshoot home networking issues.

Network Magic Pro - Provides the features of Network Magic Essentials plus additional capabilities, such as support for network attached storage (NAS) devices, reports that provide detailed information about the network, remote access to shared files, Internet speed test, and an enhanced user interface.

Network Magic for Mac - This is an add-on product for people who use both PCs and Macs. It simplifies the extremely challenging task of integrating different computer environments into one seamless network, allowing households and small offices that use both Macs and PCs to share files and printers on the same network. Network Magic for Mac is available as an add-on to Windows versions of the product.

New and extended router support has been added; please follow this link for a complete supported list.

Known issues and helpful information

For a current updated list of known issues and workarounds, please go to http://www.networkmagic.com/support/. Our support page contains all of the most up-to-date information about Network Magic, including a FAQ and Knowledge Base.

Routers

Network Magic is fully compatible with most popular routers and recent router firmware versions.

The Network Magic Net2Go feature requires a router that supports Net2Go. For a list of these routers, please visit the Network Magic website (http://www.networkmagic.com/product/supported/ ).

The Wireless Protection feature requires a router that supports this feature. For a list of these routers, please visit the Network Magic website (http://www.networkmagic.com/product/supported/netlock.php ).

On the website you will see the list of routers and firmware versions that we have tested and verified that work with Network Magic. If your router and firmware is not listed, it may still work with Network Magic and most of its features. The only features that may not work or will need to be manually configured are the Net2Go and the Wireless Protection features.

Application Compatibility

Network Magic 4.7 and previous version compatibility issue
In previous releases of Network Magic, having different versions of the application on the network were generally backwards compatible. In this release the 4.7 version is not backwards compatible with older versions (versions 2.1 or older) of the application. You will need to update all Network Magic installations on your network to version 4.7. This release also requires the Macintosh client to be updated to the latest version 4.0.74.0.

Kaspersky Antivirus 6.0 can cause installation issues for Network Magic
When using Kaspersky version 6.0 and Network Magic, Network Magic does not run and the Kaspersky process avp.exe consumes 98% or more of your CPU resources. This continues until either Network Magic or Kaspersky is uninstalled. This has been fixed in the most recent version of Kaspersky Antivirus.

Failure to start Network Magic trial
If you have upgraded the operating system on your PC and get the following error when starting the Network Magic trial "Cannot Start Trial - Unexpected Error " please see the following KB article: http://support.networkmagic.com/cgi-bin/pure.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=192&p_created=1190413883

Upgrading to the new version of Network Magic could require reboot for shared folders from the desktop to work
After upgrading to Network Magic 4.7, the desktop icon for Network Magic Folders and the right-click option to "Add to Shared Folders" may not work. To fix this issue, simply reboot the computer.

Firewall and Antivirus detection
Network Magic uses the nmctxth process running in the Windows Task Manager for firewall and antivirus detection. If you stop this process, firewall and antivirus applications will not be detected and will stop functioning.

Network Map

Access Point Support
In some circumstances, Network Magic will either not detect or be unable to display an access point in your home network. We are currently improving Access Point support in the Network Map.

Using the Add a Device wizard over wireless connections
When using the Add A Device wizard from within the Network Map, for maximum reliability you should run this from a PC on your network that has a wired Internet connection. Due to the uncertainty of a wireless connection, the Add a Device wizard may fail when using it over wireless.

Net2Go

Net2Go service stops working when UPnP goes from enabled to disabled on the router
The Network Magic Net2Go service will stop working when UPnP goes from being enabled to disabled on the router. To fix this, reboot the computer.

Wireless Configuration Manager
When setting up the Network Magic Wireless Configuration Manager you could be notified that another application is managing your wireless connection. In this case, continue to let the other application remain your wireless connection manager.

Network Magic Wireless Configuration Manager currently supports WEP, WPA, and WPA2.

x64 Support

This release of Network Magic has been tested on Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows Vista for x64-based systems. In this release for these platforms, Windows Desktop Shell Integration is not supported.

Windows Service Pack Support

This release of Network Magic has not been tested on pre-release versions of Windows Service Packs. We will test on these Service Packs as they approach readiness for release.

Network Advisor

For the best user experience, enable cookies and JavaScript ("active scripting") in Internet Explorer.

Network Reports

Emails (authorization, reports) are not fully optimized for spam filtering.
For this release we have tested and verified receiving emails from these providers/clients: hotmail.com, yahoo.com, aol.com, gmail.com, Microsoft Outlook, Mail.app
Unsubscribing from Network Reports is a multi-part process. You need to unsubscribe in the Network Magic application as well as unsubscribe from the emailing service.
A report might not display the correct time zone for the PC it's reporting on. Time zone is recorded on a per email basis. If the network contains multiple computers with different time zones, the last computer to update their time zone before the report email is sent will determine the time zone for all of the reports.
The browser history tracking is currently limited to Internet Explorer.
Browser history tracking is normalized by domain name and includes http:// and https:// requests only.
The trial days left in a Network Report might not match the Network Magic application trial if the PC has changed networks, or if there has been a new installation of Network Magic on that PC.

General Network Magic items

If a Macintosh computer is on your network and printer sharing is enabled on that machine, Network Magic may discover it as a print server. If the Macintosh Network Magic client is installed on this computer, it will then be detected correctly. You can also change the computer's device type on the Network Map or turn off printer sharing on the Mac.

Speed Meter Pro 1.1

What’s New In This Release

When browsing the Internet or just using your computer, it's frustrating when things seem to be painfully slow and there is no obvious reason why. Most users don't know how to check processes or network usage on their own, so they suffer through it and hope things will eventually improve. Speed Meter Pro is an easy-to-use application that shows how each computer on the network is affecting network traffic, current connection speed and status, and offers ways to improve overall performance.

Poor performance can be caused by a number of factors such as several computers on your network competing for bandwidth, the number of other wireless routers in your area using the same wireless channel, poor wireless signal strength, low memory on your PC, or simply a slow Internet site that's beyond your control.

Without identifying the true cause, you can spend hours of wasted time on the phone with support experts, searching through online help forums, or trying to figure out the problem on your own. Speed Meter Pro helps you identify and understand the causes of poor network performance, answering the question “why is it slow?”

Unlike other computer-specific monitoring and optimization tools, Speed Meter Pro is a comprehensive tool that:

Scans across the entire network including connected computers, wired and wireless networks, and the Internet connection
Identifies the source of network slowdowns, saving troubleshooting time
Enables you to address problems quickly and optimize your network, wireless, and Internet connection for maximum speed and productivity
Proactively monitors your network to detect issues that need your immediate attention

Features

Network Map

Presents a visual map of your network and connected devices
Uses gauges and numbers to display the overall traffic flow through your network
Displays alerts when issues are detected

Side Panel

Shows current status of the network including alerts, Internet connection speed, and local network connection speeds
Shows the current performance status of user-specified websites in the Website Watch List
Links to the Network Performance History

Scan Now

Lets you run all PC and network tests on-demand to check current status
Shows the results in an easy-to-read Summary that provides a full listing of all issues
Adds “Warning” severity for issues that are close to firing
Provides drill-down option into result details for current issues
Educates with “More info” links for items not currently affecting performance

Network Performance Tests

Tests your network connection to the Internet via Ookla’s SpeedTest.net
Tests the connection between the local PC and any device on the network with Pure Networks Platform installed

Performance History

Internet upload and download speed for each hour of the day
30 day interactive trend graph of your hourly speed test results
Click functionality on graph for each hour reveals:

Upload and download results for that hour
Fastest and slowest speed test results for the day
Alerts fired for the selected hour and day, and how many times they fired

Website Watch List

Shows current performance status of user-specified websites
On demand “Test Now” functionality allows you to determine if website loading problems are due to that particular server, or if there is an overall slowdown/connection problem

Dashboards

Drills down into more network traffic details from the Network Map. Allows you to see upload and download speed, network traffic via trend graphs, and the top applications using network resources (for any device with Speed Meter Pro installed)

Alerts

Displays issues requiring attention in various network categories
Allows you to turn alerts on and off depending on what issues you are most concerned with and tailor Speed Meter Pro to your network needs

Internet Status

Notifies you when the Internet connection is broken
Helps pinpoint if connection and speed issues are on your local network, or if they're caused by your Internet provider

Local Network Conditions

Identifies connection issues and provides information about possible causes
Alerts you if connected devices or applications on the local PC are consuming an unusually large amount of bandwidth
Shows traffic for the router and network
Shows top applications using network bandwidth (for devices with Speed Meter Pro installed)
Alerts you of non-network conditions that could be impacting your network performance

Wireless Network Conditions

Alerts you when your wireless signal is low, slow, or interrupted and helps find the optimal positioning and signal
Determines the optimal wireless channel to use and displays an alert if it's not being used
Alerts you of non-network conditions that could be impacting your wireless network performance
Alerts you of excessive signal consumption by connected devices

Local PC Performance

Assesses memory usage and shows an alert when lack of memory affects your performance
Identifies applications using excessive amounts of resources
Displays an alert when your computer’s processor (CPU) is overworked and provides steps to resolve it

Details

Provides detailed information about alerts that display and steps to resolve the issue
Offers suggestions and how-to’s for improving performance issues

Licensing and Support

Speed Meter Pro licenses cover a network of up to eight PCs
Free Technical Support along with access to Priority Premium Support Phone Line

Known Issues and Helpful Information

For a current updated list of known issues and workaround, please go to http://www.purenetworks.com/support/. Our support page contains all of the most up-to-date information about Speed Meter Pro, including an FAQ and a Knowledge Base.

Windows Service Pack Support

This release of Speed Meter Pro has been tested on pre-release and released versions of Windows Service Packs. We will test with future Service Packs as they approach readiness for release.

General Speed Meter Pro Items

When you first install Speed Meter Pro and immediately click on the router icon, users with supported routers should see a dashboard of download and upload speeds. If you are seeing the router dashboard on one computer but not the rest, please be patient. The router dashboard will be visible on all Speed Meter Pro PCs once the router information is passed around the network. If there are computers on the network that are showing 0 bytes for router upload and download speeds when other computers are correctly showing data, please go to File menu, select Exit and then reopen Speed Meter Pro. The gauges on the router dashboard will now show the actual upload and download speeds.

After first installing Speed Meter Pro, Internet Speed Test may say that it is not currently available in your area. This can happen if you experienced Internet connectivity problems while starting your trial and going through the ‘Let’s Get Started’ screens. After regaining Internet connectivity, please go to File menu, select Exit and then reopen Speed Meter Pro. Clicking Test Now for Internet Speed Test should now let you continue to do the speed test.