WiTS and Native Tools

There are of course several programs that are installed as part of Windows that provide the same functionality as WiTS and more. Here we summarize the reasons you might prefer to use WiTS and when you are better off using the native Windows tools such as task manager, control panel applets, administrative tools and winmsd.

Note that WiTS views include buttons to allow for easy access to corresponding Windows tools when needed.

The Windows native tools have the following advantages:

• They cover more types of components.
• They support modification of configuration information. WiTS generally provides only a subset of the possible control operations.
• The Windows tools are localized in various languages and WiTS is available only in English.

On the other hand, WiTS offers several advantages:

• WiTS is a single integrated tool as opposed to a bunch of separate programs and applets. The integration allows quick access to the different views. More important, it facilitates easy navigation between different object types. For example, you can easily jump from a specific network connection, to the process that owns it, to the user account under which the process is running.
• WiTS provides some functionality and tools that are not available with native tools, for example the ability to view active logon sessions, terminate TCP connections etc.
• WiTS provides better filtering and selection capabilities and commands can be invoked simultaneously on multiple objects. For example, you can filter and select all processes for a specific user and terminate them with a single click.
• WiTS is generally faster and more responsive than some of the integrated native tools like winmsd.
• Finally, and possibly most important, WiTS is open source and can be modified in any manner you wish to fit your needs.