HttpWatch Basic Edition

Basic network tools don't offer the same level of data as Http Watch. It's been designed to monitor HTTP traffic and display statistics such as header values, cookies, query strings and others. It can come in quite handy for trouble shooting a web site.

Getting it running is no big deal. The size of the installation package may slow you down a bit. Almost 29 Mb of kit may not be so kind with slower Internet connections. Fortunately for you, the speed of the installation process will make up for lost time.

Http Watch is a plug-in for Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. After the installation is complete, you can activate it as you would with any other plug-in. It's not a toolbar you can see and use all the time, it's more like an entire interface, integrated in the browser. Clicking the Http Watcher icon will bring it up.

The toolbar from the interface's top side features all options you'll need. The first thing to do is hit the Record button and then, when you access a web site, Http Watch will automatically log every traffic related detail and you can see this in real time. The application will show every HTTP request in the main list on the interface, along with statistics, like a color coded time chart, sent and received bytes, response time, content type and more.

Beneath this rich list you'll find a page summary view. This displays additional information on a selected item from the main list, like an overview, a more detailed look on the time chart, headers, cookies and more. They're all accessible via tabs, but some of them will display nothing in the basic version of Http Watch.