The Ultimate Guide to NirSoft Utilities: Over 250 Free Tools to Improve Windows

If you are a Windows user and are interested in having full control of your system or solving technical problems easilyThere's a set of tools you should know about: NirSoft Utilities. This website, created by Israeli developer Nir Sofer, brings together more than 250 free tools in a lightweight, portable package that can do wonders for your computer.

From recovering lost passwords to monitoring network traffic or modifying system settingsNirSoft Utilities covers a wide variety of tasks that would otherwise require advanced knowledge or paid software. In this article, we explain in detail, clearly, and in an organized way the most notable utilities and how they can help improve your Windows experience.

What is NirSoft and why is it so useful?

NirSoft is a website that offers over 250 small utilities for Windows, all developed by a single person: Nir Sofer. The tools are completely free, require no installation (they're portable), and cover a wide range of technical functions, from network analysis to system management or key recovery.

These utilities have something in common: They are lightweight, easy to use and extremely powerfulThey can be run directly from a folder or USB drive, making them ideal for technicians, system administrators, or advanced users who need effective tools without the hassle of heavy installations.

Most of them have a graphical interface, but you will also find utilities per line of commands, very useful for automating tasks or working in corporate environments.

How to access all tools easily: NirLauncher

If you don't want to download tool by tool, you can choose Nirlauncher, a package that compiles all of NirSoft’s utilities into a single, organized interface. This launcher weighs just 36 MB and allows you to run any of the tools without installation.

From NirLauncher, you can view brief descriptions, launch tools by category (network, passwords, system, etc.), and add or remove utilities based on your needs. The best part: you can carry it on a flash drive and use it on any other computer.

Password Utilities: Recovery and Security

One of the best-known sections of NirSoft is the set of tools for recover passwords stored in Windows and other programsIf you've forgotten a password that was once saved on your PC, one of these utilities will likely recover it.

• WebBrowser PassView: Displays passwords stored in browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Internet Explorer. The most striking thing is that does not require entering your Windows password to display the saved credentials.
• Mail PassView: Recovers passwords and account settings in email clients such as Outlook, Thunderbird, or Windows Mail.
• RouterPassView: if you have saved your settings router in a backup file, this tool can extract the access data from that file.
• CredentialsFileView, Network Password Recovery y EncryptedRegView: offer advanced forms of access passwords saved on the system, in protected files, or within the registry.

In addition, there is a tool called Password Security Scanner that analyzes all stored passwords and shows how secure they are (length, character type, etc.), helping you detect weak credentials.

Tools for network and traffic monitoring

Another star category of NirSoft is that of network utilitiesThese tools allow you to analyze traffic, monitor connections, see who's connected to your network, and even detect Wi-Fi problems. Some of the most notable are:

• Wireless Network Watcher: Analyzes your Wi-Fi network and shows you all devices connected with your IP, MAC, name and manufacturer. Perfect for detecting intruders.
• WirelessKeyView: shows all Wi-Fi passwords saved on the system, including those from networks you connected to years ago.
• WifiInfoView: Scans nearby Wi-Fi networks and provides you with detailed information such as Channel, security type, frequency, maximum speed, signal, and router manufacturer.
• NetworkTrafficView: Captures and displays the traffic passing through your network card. Ideal for detecting bottlenecks or programs that are consuming bandwidth without your knowledge.
• Smart Sniff y CurrPorts: they offer Packet capture and control of open TCP/IP and UDP connections. They allow you to identify suspicious connections or close unwanted ones.

Also, if you need to make a more technical analysis of the connections, you have tools like IP Net Info (shows information about the owner of an IP), DomainHostingView (check WHOIS and DNS of domains), Country Trace Route (geographical layout of routes) or TcpLogView (record of IPs to which your computer connects).

Windows Operating System Analysis

Knowing in depth what is happening inside your operating system can be key to solving problems or improving performance. These NirSoft tools are ideal for Analyze processes, drivers, registry, open files, errors, and more:

• BlueScreenView: Analyzes dump files (minidump) generated after a crash. blue screen of death (BSOD) and tells you which driver or file caused the failure.
• WhatInStartup: It allows manage the programs that start with WindowsYou can delete, modify, or deactivate them with a couple of clicks.
• ShellExView: shows all Windows Explorer extensions and lets you activate or deactivate the ones you want.
• USBDeview: Displays all USB devices connected to the system at any given time, along with their history and technical details.
• Driverview y DevManView: tools to inspect all the installed drivers or devices recognized by the system.

Also, you can use RegistryChangesView to compare Windows registry states before and after installing software or making modifications. And OpenedFilesView will let you know what files are currently open on your system and by what process.

Utilities for the desktop and graphical environment

NirSoft also has tools that modify the behavior of the desktop Windows or improve their usabilitySome interesting options are:

• Volumouse: Set mouse wheel shortcuts so that, By combining it with a key or by placing the cursor over certain areas, you can adjust the volume or brightness..
• Sound Volume View: manages the connected sound devices, allows you to mute them or create custom sound profiles for different situations.
• SpecialFoldersView: gives you direct access to special system folders such as AppData, Startup, History or Temporary files.
• GUIPropView: shows and allows you manage all open windows, their properties and child elements. Ideal for developers or advanced users.

You also have Clipboardic, which improves the clipboard of Windows saving all copied items, and IconsExtract, that extracts icons and cursors from system files as DLL, EXE or CPL.

Hardware monitoring: battery, disks, and more

If you need to monitor the status of your hardware, there are several NirSoft tools that will be of great help to you:

• BatteryInfoView: displays detailed data about the your laptop battery, such as total capacity, current capacity, charge cycles, power status and temperature.
• DiskSmartView: analyzes the SMART technology of your hard drives to display reading errors, temperature, power-on hours and other key parameters.
• Control My Monitor: Change your monitor settings from Windows, such as contrast, brightness, sharpness, position and custom profiles, without touching the physical buttons.

Other practical and curious utilities

There are many tools that don't fit into a specific category, but are just as useful:

• RunAsDate: runs programs making the system believe that it is another date and time. Useful for compatibility, testing, or expiring software.
• SearchMyFiles: Advanced alternative to Windows File Finder. You can Filter by name, size, date, attributes, extensions, and more.
• PreviousFilesRecovery: Recover deleted files using the shadow copies of the system.
• WakeMeOnLan: It allows Turn on other PCs on the network using Wake-on-LAN.
• NirCmd: one of the most powerful. It allows you to perform tasks such as turning off the monitor, opening drives, changing the volume, or connecting to VPN from the command line.

There are also utilities such as NK2Edit (auto-complete list manager in Outlook), ImageCacheViewer (shows recently viewed images in the browser), LastActivityView (full history of system activity), or Simple Code Generator (create QR codes). All with a simple interface, portable, and no installation required.

NirSoft Utilities represent a hidden universe within the Windows universe. With them, you can recover passwords, monitor networks, know exactly what your system is doing at any given moment, or even deeply customize details that the Windows interface doesn't allow. They're free, lightweight, portable, and most run with a click. Whether you're a tech enthusiast or an IT professional, having NirLauncher on your USB drive can make all the difference when faced with any technical problem or diagnostic needs.