Have you been port scanned lately? Completely ignoring network security is not smart and ignorance isn't exactly bliss. If you access the Internet via a cable modem, DSL, or even a dial-up connection, someone is always knocking on your virtual front door, giving your system the once-over.

Whether you dial-up your ISP or have an "always on" cable modem, the first item on your agenda needs to be finding a secure firewall to protect your computer. Some firewalls are better than others, but you should never trust clever advertising claiming that a cheap firewall will completely protect your data. Once you have decided on a firewall, be it a hardware or software solution, testing the security of that firewall is essential, and AATools is just a testing utility that verifies the integrity of your security and firewall functions.

Advanced Administrative Tools (AATools) investigates and gathers information about your computer, network status, and service availability. That is a layman's way of saying it performs an inspection on everything vital to network security as it pertains to the protection of your computer, including the utilization of tools to check open ports, proxies, email lists, Internet applications, and general system information. It's useful for system administrators, service personnel or anyone who simply wants to know more about their PC and its connections to the network or Internet, audit your network security.

AATools includes:

- Port Scanner
- Proxy Analyzer
- RBL Locator
- Trace Route
- Email Verifier
- Links Analyzer
- Whois
- Network Monitor
- Process Monitor
- System Info
- Resource Viewer
- Registry Cleaner