Is there a gadget or free tool to monitor which devices are connected, or attempt to connect to my network? Preferably something that automatically detects device connections and displays the device name? Thanks in advance.

Have you checked your router's status/diagnostics web administration page?

Is there a gadget or free tool to monitor which devices are connected, or attempt to connect to my network? Preferably something that automatically detects device connections and displays the device name?Thanks in advance. If you're trying to check whether is there any party that is trying to access your wireless network, you could infact verify it under the lan>client list or alternatively view the log files at the router config page

Hello Ryan and Daniel, Thank you for the response. I just looked at the admin log option for my router. This will be fine for manual review from time to time, but is there anything that is automatic like a gadget? I've explored MS Network Monitor but that shows more information than I'm looking for. Ideally it would be something like this gadget , but it would not need IP input. Daniel, I wasn't able to find the "LAN-->Client List" you mentioned. I run win7 and linksys router. Where can I find this list? Thank you.

Well the only way is if you make your own gadget to "scrape" the router log page or use some sort of API call (doubt any router has one). Another option is to create a PC-based firewall (I use FreeBSD for mine) and then you can do whatever you like with it; just leave a SSH session open and watch clients connect, create a daemon that sends you messages, etc.EDIT: Just to clarify, is this for wireless, wired, or both?

Ryan, Thank you for your reply. I will look into FreeBSD. I was actually thinking to myself "I'll probably just have to create my own gadget" just as you mentioned lol... Unfortunately I'm not much of a coder - a little VB or SQL here and there. Yes, wireless and wired both.