WhatRoute for Mac

Pros

Quickly traces routes and probable servers of IP addresses. Free or a small donation is a hard price point to beat.

Cons

Glitchy. A previous verssion just locked up after a couple of uses. This one works but does some very strange things. needs some cleaqning up.

Summary

If you need an affordable way to trace the general location of servers en route to the origin point of any internet connection, then WhatRoute is a great product. It doesn't do better than the general location (i.e., country and probable city of origin) and isn't quite as exact as the mythical movie/TV versions of this kind of software, but it does well within realistic limits. At least you can locate in what the part of the planet that the spammer resides.

Now for the problems...

Older versions could easily be placed very deep within nested folders and work well. this one can't find itself it it is more than one folder deep inside of the Applications folder. You can place it into the utilities folder, but no deeper! You cannot keep it in the Utilities folder inside of its own folder with pertinent info (web site, description, etc.) That makes for a messy organization schema.

It does work with Google Earth, but currently creates a sort of space going network of digital push-pins floating hundreds of mile above the Google Earth globe. That is very strange!

I would suggest two fixes...

1. Currently it cannot find itself (so you can log on...) if it is more than one folder deep inside of the the Applications folder. Redesign it so it can find itself even if it is several folders deep inside the Applications folder. Some of us use a series of folders to organize applications in a sensible order. I really hate the Harpo Marx' pockets method of organization! Please don't force me to make a mess of my Applications folder! I have to use odd kludges (aliases to everything!) to get some semblance of order in there with some applications.

2. Find and fix that floating push-pin thing! I do believe that the author intended for the pins to be placed on the surface of the Google globe, not floating way out there in space.

Borborygmus

Pros

Comparin with native Network Utility, I found traceroute was faster, which was a surprise. Also, unlike NU, a second test with ping shows the results in the same window, handy for assembling a net test. A number of nice reports in the Windows menu.

Cons

While the report windows respond to a traceroute and update, I found I could not navigate with Cmd-~ as I can in other apps. It only switches from current report to main. Interface of Edit > Location Database window is a bit curious. (What to do?)

Summary

It is free with the option to donate if you like. Works as expected. It has been around for a long time but features are much updated since my last use years ago. Worth you time, worth a donation.

Pros

Works as it should

Cons

None I can speak to, except perhaps that the downloaded DMG file is misnamed with a previous version.

Pros

Quickly runs trace routines and maps the route for you.

Cons

Not as high a mapping resolution as I would like. The mapping trace shows the city of origin and routers but not closer than that to the actual source. A CIA or FBI tool it ain't.

Summary

This is a lot of tool for the price (freeware or donationware), especially considering that shareware utilities like this don't really do much more.

The ability to show the trace via Google Earth is rather spectacular. I ran a quick test to see the Download.com route from my Southern California location to the San Francisco download point of origin (via Download.com). I was very surprised to see eleven intermediate routers and a very long path from Southern California to New York to Washington and the to San Francisco, and back again. Talk about going around Robin Hood's barn! I would have thought that a shorter routing of around 850 miles round trip would have been more efficient.

I was also puzzled at the problems other reviewers had. I noticed that they were running Intel Macs. Maybe WhatRoute just likes PPC Macs better, like my trusty iMac G5. Whatever the difference, i had no problems whatever downloading and opening the file. Plus, it just works, although it does help to be a real Internet tech geek to understand the details of really getting the most from this product.

The only weakness I noticed was that the mapping did not come closer to the point of origin than the general cities in which the the servers and routers were located. This is obviously not a Hollywood style super tracer that big intelligence operations would use to locate the city, building and even the exact room of the computer of origin. Not quite like in the movies, but not too shabby for a freeware/donationware product.

Borborygmus

Updated on Sep 26, 2010

I have to update the review I just sent.

Unfortunately, after launching WhatRoute a couple of times it stopped working!

I get an error message about WhatRouteHelper not starting.

WhatRouteHelper basically checks for administrator's access. If it doesn't start, you cannot access WhaRoute!

Why it suddenly decided not to work is a mystery to me, but WhatRoute was great for ,about two launches then it went dead.

This is a serious flaw and the author is going to have to correct the problem as quickly as possible.

I am NOT HAPPY!

Borborygmus

Pros

It works! It's ping, trace, whois, querie, finger etc, etc all function well. A very clean interface, easy to use, just pop your address in and a way you go.

Cons

No cons - UNTIL now. Will not install. It crashes my iMac (24" 3.0gGHz Core 2 Duo 4GB RAM 10.6.4) - every time.Tried multiple installations, tried deleting earlier version first - no difference. Fortunately my 1.8.18 version reinstalled.

Summary

I have been using ver 1.8.18 and earlier versions for years. Never had a problem until now. OK guys, back to the drawing board. An excellent product that now crashes!

Updated on Sep 25, 2010

You never know, so I also tried updating my 1.8.18 version on my Macbook Pro 15", 2.53GHZ, 4GB RAM, OS.X10.6.4 - same result exactly as per my iMac experience. Crashed, I couldn't even open the original 1.8.18 without it crashing. So i tried a fresh reinstall of new version having removed 1.8.18 using AppDelete, to make certain all associated files etc were gone. Still crashed. Reinstalled from Time Machine and original works. Looks like latest version is a dud!

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Summary

This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.
Better layout of information shown. Copies better for pasting into email complaints to ISPs. : O Remembers previous sites touched. Map. Have you even tried this app, W-Creative?

Summary

This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.
Thanks to the developer for making this available. I had also used it on OS 9.

It's popular and good enough to be shareware... I've paid for much worse!

$10 would be a good shareware price... maybe it would motivate the developer to update it.

Summary

This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.
...for a free application, albeit no changes in the last 6 months and a few hiccups within Panther, like issues with it locking up and using the majority of the resources when trying to quit the app from time to time.

WhatRoute is quite a valuable tool for procuring information on not only global internet lag spots but site information as well. Nothing comapres to it's simplicity and ease of use on the Mac side and only NeoTrace Pro is equivalent on the Windows side of the fence.

My only peeve with WhatRoute is Traceroutes appear to start from the center of Australia as there is no way to set the home location. I have e-mailed the developer 3x in the last 6 months but to no avail...

Summary

This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.
Program works as advertised for me.