Ping & Net FAQ

• Ping & Net is an Android app for TCP/IP network diagnostics that I develop. It includes many tools: ping, DNS (including DoH), reverse DNS, Dig, Whois, RDAP, SSL scan, port scan, geo lookup, liveness check, traceroute, subnet scan, HTTP header check, port scan, IP risk and spam check, path MTU discovery and Wake-on-Lan. It also has home screen widgets for long-running pings and for sending Wake-On-Lan signals. You can find it in the Google Play Store. Way back when it used to be called Ping & DNS.

Where can I get help?

• The app has extensive built-in help, accessible from the menu at the top left. The General Usage chapter explains in detail what the app can do, and how to use it. For further help, I support the app in the Google Group Ping & Net. That's the place to ask questions, make suggestions and report bugs.

Why does the app require the ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION permission (a.k.a. GPS)?

• GPS is only accessed if the Show Location checkbox is set in the Ping options dialog. This checkbox is turned off by default, so unless you explicitly set it, you don't need to worry about your location ever being tracked. Tracking the location is useful for measuring ping times during long-running pings across large areas, like a factory or a university campus. Once a long-running ping with location is done, a Google Earth file (.kmz) is created that shows the ping times along with the geo location of each ping. Most people will likely never use this option, so you don't have to worry. And even if you do use it, location data is stored on the device, it is not sent or uploaded anywhere (the exception being if you attach the .kmz file to an outgoing email - in which case you're in charge of where the email is sent to). This will also work with just the ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION granted, but -obviously- the geo locations will be much less exact.

What is the app's privacy policy?

• The app does not collect or store any personal information, or any other information that would allow in-app behavior to be correlated with a human being. The only data collection is done via Google Analytics for the purpose of analysing how the app is used, and improving its behavior; this can be turned off in the app's Preferences screen.

On which Android versions does the app run?

• Back in 2010, the app ran on Android 1.5. This has been raised time and again, as it became awkward to support old versions, and fewer people used those versions. Currently, the minimum required is Android 8 (which was released in 2017). There used to be an older version available in the Play Store that ran on earlier Android versions, but at some point it no longer satisfied Google's Play Store rules, and I had to remove it.

Is the source code available?

• No, I have no plans for that. But if you have suggestions, post them to the Google Group, and we'll take it from there.

How can I support its development?

• Actually, I just wish this were a FAQ :-) You can make a donation via Paypal or send me a gift from my Amazon wish list. A rating and some nice words in the Google Play Store are also welcome: Rate the app

Is there a way to pre-install the app on a device my company makes?

• Yes, I do license the app to OEMs, in which case it can be customized to fit your requirements. Contact me with the details.

Why do I need an app like this?

• Thanks to XKCD for putting it in a comic: