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(More customer reviews)After switching routers with no increase in speed, I decided to try Network Magic in an attempt to increase in-network copy times. What a terrible mistake!
At least before NM, the network was working. I've been involved in computer networking for about 15 years, so it's not new to me. That said, once I added a Vista and a Suse Linux box to the mix, plus a Dlink 634 router, network copy times increased dramatically. In order to complicate things even more, I ensured that I was using no less than three different AV products, each with their own firewalls and quirks.
I could download from the internet at up to 800kbps - perhaps faster, but that's the fastest I had seen. But from machine to machine within my own network, I couldn't get above about 200. After trying everything, from disabling firewalls to the aforementioned router change, there was simply no increase in speed. That's when I made the mistake of adding NM.
Initially, I did get a bump in speed - for the first several minutes. Then, my dlink router decided to shut down. Not power off, just stop routing. Over and over. It had never done this before and hasn't since the removal of NM - but I'm getting ahead of myself. I bounced the router and continued. Now my Vista laptop on wireless began dropping the connection to the network. Again, new behavior. Copy speeds, which had peaked at around 500kbps, were now running at around 160. In an effort to clear up things, I shutdown every box in the network. Bringing them up slowly, according to NM's instructions, I got the network back up. For about five minutes.
I started the project at about 8am on a Saturday morning. By 2pm I was uninstalling. By 5pm, I had my network back. Network Magic is - at least for me - nothing but problems. From what I was able to determine, it seems to do no more than automate the sharing of items. It seems that all it does is automate network tasks using windows networking. If that's true, all is well and good - or should be. However, I did have the router and connection issues. So it seems that somewhere, somehow, NM introduces it's own problems.
Will it work for others? Don't know. Was my combination of OS's and AV products part of the problem? Not sure - but I did shutdown all the AV products to no positive effect. I even took the time to send NM a complete list of all my products and versions in an effort to give them a chance to diagnose the problems. They sent me an email thanking me for installing NM and asking if I wanted to buy it for a discounted price. WOW. Thanks.
All in all, I wasted an entire day installing a product which, in the end, created more problems than it solved. It offered zero in the way of increased functionality. If you take the time to learn this product, you can take the same time and learn windows networking - and get better results. Can't and wouldn't recommend it.
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Network Magic 4.0You try to connect your computers and devices together to share a printer, files and maintain an internet connection, but find yourself wasting hours sorting through confusing dialog boxes. It is time to stop with the hassles and let Network Magic do the work for you! With Network Magic you can easily 1) connect, manage, and secure your network; 2) share printers and files between all of your computers; 3) monitor Internet use and web sites visited; 4) connect and repair your network and internet connection; and 5) Protect your files and personal information from unwanted intruders. Stay connected to your preferred network without wasting time trying to set up or a repair a connection. Network Magic automatically detects connection problems and attempts to fix them for you. Add devices with one simple click. Don't waste another minute sorting through confusing instructions and pop up messages. The network map immediately detects and illustrates every device on your network. View the current status and information of each device, enabling you to easily manage your entire network. Share printers with the click of a mouse be able to print from any computer to any printer in your home and office. Share files, music, and photos between all of your computers quickly and easily. Simply click Share and you can access it from any computer. Wireless and broadband protection keeps your personal files and bandwidth protected from unwanted intruders. Health and security alerts ensure your firewall and antivirus security measures are doing their job by scanning your network, alerting you to issues and helping you resolve them. Know how your devices, software, and Internet are being used. Receive a daily report for each computer showing web sites visited and software applications used.
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