Standard ping tools can only tell you if a server is reachable. But what if you need to test specific services, monitor HTTP responses, or check if your email server is actually working? CryPing is a powerful command-line tool that extends standard ping functionality far beyond basic connectivity tests.
Difference Between CryPing and Standard Ping
The traditional ping tool uses ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) to check if a server is online. This is helpful to see if a server can be reached, but it doesn’t tell you if the services on that server are actually working.
CryPing works differently. This Windows tool can test specific services and protocols, giving you more detailed information about your network. Instead of just asking, “Is the server online?”, CryPing can tell you things like, “Is the web server working properly?” or “Can I connect to the email service?”
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System Requirements for CryPing
CryPing is designed for Windows environments and has been tested on:
- Windows 2008 Server
- Windows 2003 Server
- Windows 7
- Windows Vista
- Windows XP
- Windows 2000
Features of CryPing
Protocol-Specific Testing
CryPing lets you test much more than just basic network connectivity. It supports several protocols to check if specific services are running properly:
- HTTP testing for web servers
- SMTP testing for outgoing email servers
- POP3 testing for incoming email servers
- NNTP testing for newsgroup servers
- TCP port testing for any specific service
Monitoring and Alerting
CryPing comes with monitoring and alerting features to help you keep track of your network:
- Audible alarms when connections fail or succeed
- Timestamped output for logging purposes
- Continuous monitoring until manually stopped
Advanced Response Analysis
Unlike basic ping, CryPing can:
- Display full HTTP headers with the verbose flag
- Show specific HTTP status codes (200 OK, 404 Not Found, etc.)
- Provide detailed connection statistics
- Test specific web pages, not only server connectivity
How to Use CryPing with Examples
Basic Network Connectivity Testing
The simplest way to use CryPing is to test the network connection between your current PC and a remote device (usually another PC). You can specify the target by either its DNS name or its IP address.
Example: Pinging by DNS name
cmdCopyEditC:>cryping www.example.com
CryPing - from www.example.com v1.6
Pinging www.example.com [93.184.216.34] with 32 bytes of data:Reply from 93.184.216.34: bytes=32 time=232ms TTL=248
Reply from 93.184.216.34: bytes=32 time=181ms TTL=248
Reply from 93.184.216.34: bytes=32 time=181ms TTL=248
Reply from 93.184.216.34: bytes=32 time=183ms TTL=248
Ping statistics for 93.184.216.34:
Requests: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss)
Approximate round-trip times:
Minimum = 181ms, Maximum = 232ms, Average = 194ms
Example: Pinging by IP address
cmdCopyEditC:>cryping 203.0.113.10
CryPing - from www.testserver.net v1.6
Pinging 203.0.113.10 [203.0.113.10] with 32 bytes of data:Reply from 203.0.113.10: bytes=32 time=180ms TTL=248
Reply from 203.0.113.10: bytes=32 time=180ms TTL=248
Reply from 203.0.113.10: bytes=32 time=180ms TTL=248
Reply from 203.0.113.10: bytes=32 time=182ms TTL=248
Ping statistics for 203.0.113.10:
Requests: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss)
Approximate round-trip times:
Minimum = 180ms, Maximum = 182ms, Average = 181ms
If you can successfully ping a remote device by IP address but not by DNS name, this suggests a problem with DNS resolution.
If CryPing is unable to connect to the specified remote device, it could be due to one or more of the following reasons:
- No network connection exists between your PC and the remote device.
- The address you entered is incorrect (more likely when specifying an IP).
- The remote device is powered off.
- A firewall is blocking ping requests.
- A temporary network or internet issue is preventing connectivity.
Testing Web Server Responses with CryPing
CryPing can also test whether a web server is responding to HTTP requests. Use the -http flag to have CryPing connect using HTTP.
Example: HTTP Ping to a Web Server
cmdCopyEditC:>cryping -http www.cryer.co.uk
CryPing - from www.example.com v1.6
Pinging www.example.com for HTTP status:Reply from www.example.com: 200 OK time=72ms
Reply from www.example.com: 200 OK time=42ms
Reply from www.example.com: 200 OK time=40ms
Reply from www.example.com: 200 OK time=39ms
HTTP ping statistics for www.example.com:
Requests: Sent = 4, Responses = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss)
200 OK received 4 times (100%)
Approximate round-trip times:
Minimum = 39ms, Maximum = 72ms, Average = 48ms
Example: HTTP Ping to a Specific Page
You can also ping a specific page on the server. For example:
cmdCopyEditC:>cryping -n 1 -http www.example.com/index.htm
CryPing - from www.example.com v1.6
Pinging www.example.com/index.htm for HTTP status:Reply from www.example.com/index.htm: 200 OK time=144ms
HTTP ping statistics for www.example.com/index.htm:
Requests: Sent = 1, Responses = 1, Lost = 0 (0% loss)
200 OK received 1 time (100%)
Approximate round-trip times:
Minimum = 144ms, Maximum = 144ms, Average = 144ms
Example: HTTP Ping to a Missing Page
If the requested page does not exist, the server will return an appropriate HTTP error code, such as 404 Not Found:
cmdCopyEditC:>cryping -n 1 -http www.example.com/index
CryPing - from www.example.com v1.6
Pinging www.example.com/index for HTTP status:Reply from www.example.com/index: 404 Not Found time=58ms
HTTP ping statistics for www.example.com/index:
Requests: Sent = 1, Responses = 1, Lost = 0 (0% loss)
404 Not Found received 1 time (100%)
Approximate round-trip times:
Minimum = 58ms, Maximum = 58ms, Average = 58ms
Monitoring a Network Connection with Audible Alerts
CryPing can monitor a network connection for failures and sound an audible alarm (beep) when the connection is lost. This is useful for keeping an ear on critical connections without constantly watching the screen.
To enable this feature, use the -t and -alarm flags:
-tkeeps CryPing running continuously until stopped (press Ctrl+C to stop).-alarm(or-afor short) makes CryPing beep when a ping fails.
Example: Alert on Failure
C:>cryping -t -alarm www.example.com CryPing - from www.example.com v1.6 (build June 2010) Pinging www.example.com[69.89.27.225] with 32 bytes of data: Reply from 69.89.27.225: bytes=32 time=179ms TTL=248 Reply from 69.89.27.225: bytes=32 time=182ms TTL=248 Reply from 69.89.27.225: bytes=32 time=180ms TTL=248 ... If the network connection fails, your computer will emit a beep. Make sure your speakers or system sound are enabled to hear the alarm.
Inverting the Alert: Beep on Success
You can reverse this behavior, beep on success instead of failure using the -beep flag instead of -alarm. This is useful if you prefer a sound to confirm successful pings while staying silent on failure.
Example: Beep on Success
C:>cryping -t -beep www.example.com CryPing - from www.example.com v1.2 (build June 2010) Pinging www.example.com [69.89.27.225] with 32 bytes of data: Reply from 69.89.27.225: bytes=32 time=181ms TTL=248 ... With this setup, the computer beeps every time a ping succeeds.
Checking Connections to Specific Ports with CryPing
CryPing can also test connectivity to a specific port on a remote server. This is a simple and effective way to verify whether a service is listening and accepting connections on that port.
Example: Testing FTP Port (21)
Port 21 is commonly used by FTP servers. To check if a server is listening on port 21, use the -port flag followed by the port number:
C:>cryping -port 21 www.example.com CryPing - from www.cryer.co.uk v1.6 (build June 2010) Pinging port 21 on www.example.com: Successful connection to www.example.com port=21 time=201ms Successful connection to www.example.com port=21 time=192ms Successful connection to www.example.com port=21 time=199ms Successful connection to www.example.com port=21 time=196ms Ping port statistics for port 21 on www.example.com: Requests: Made = 4, Successful = 4, Failed = 0 (0% loss) Approximate round-trip times: Minimum = 192ms, Maximum = 201ms, Average = 197ms The output shows that connections to port 21 were successful, indicating an FTP service is running on the server.
Example: Testing VNC Port (5900)
Port 5900 is used by the popular VNC remote desktop service. To test if VNC is running on the server:
C:>cryping -port 5900 www.example.com CryPing - from www.example.com v1.6 (build June 2010) Pinging port 5900 on www.example.com: Failed to connect to www.example.com, port 5900 Failed to connect to www.example.com, port 5900 Failed to connect to www.example.com, port 5900 Failed to connect to www.example.com, port 5900 Ping port statistics for port 5900 on www.example.com: Requests: Made = 4, Successful = 0, Failed = 4 (100% loss) In this example, all attempts to connect to port 5900 failed, confirming that the VNC service is not running on the server.
By specifying a port with the -port option, you can quickly check whether a particular service is available and responsive on the target machine.
Testing Email Servers: SMTP and POP3
To fully test that an email server is operational, you should check both SMTP and POP3:
- SMTP is the protocol used to send email.
- POP3 is the protocol used to retrieve email.
CryPing lets you test each protocol individually, or both at the same time. The example below demonstrates how to check both protocols in a single command.
Example: Checking SMTP and POP3 Together
C:>cryping -pop3 -smtp www.example.com CryPing - from www.example.com v1.6 (build July 2010) Pinging www.example.com for SMTP status: Pinging www.example.com for POP3 status: Reply from www.example.com: 220 Service ready time=0.90s Reply from www.example.com: +OK Positive - Success time=374ms Reply from www.example.com: 220 Service ready time=0.70s Reply from www.example.com: +OK Positive - Success time=379ms Reply from www.example.com: 220 Service ready time=0.87s Reply from www.example.com: +OK Positive - Success time=382ms Reply from www.example.com: 220 Service ready time=0.71s Reply from www.example.com: +OK Positive - Success time=376ms SMTP ping statistics for www.example.com: Requests: Sent = 4, Responses = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss) 220 Service ready received 4 times (100%) Approximate round-trip times: Minimum = 0.70s, Maximum = 0.90s, Average = 0.80s POP3 ping statistics for www.example.com: Requests: Sent = 4, Responses = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss) +OK Positive - Success received 4 times (100%) Approximate round-trip times: Minimum = 374ms, Maximum = 382ms, Average = 378ms The output shows that both the SMTP and POP3 servers are responding correctly, with POP3 responding slightly faster than SMTP.
This feature of CryPing makes it easy to confirm the health and responsiveness of your email infrastructure.
If you’d like to see the full HTTP response headers when pinging a website, you can add the -v (verbose) flag along with -http. This can help you inspect server details, response metadata, and more.
Example: Displaying HTTP Headers
C:>cryping -http -v -n 1 www.example.com CryPing - from www.example.com v1.6 Pinging www.example.com for HTTP status: Reply from www.example.com: 200 OK time=386ms HTTP/1.1 200 OK Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:51:55 GMT Server: Apache/2.2.15 (CentOS) mod_ssl/2.2.15 0.9.8l DAV/2 mod_auth_passthrough/2.1 FrontPage/5.0.2.2635 Last-Modified: Wed, 19 May 2010 17:44:16 GMT Accept-Ranges: bytes Content-Length: 8049 Connection: close Content-Type: text/html HTTP ping statistics for www.example.com: Requests: Sent = 1, Responses = 1, Lost = 0 (0% loss) 200 OK received 1 time (100%) Approximate round-trip times: Minimum = 386ms, Maximum = 386ms, Average = 386ms The verbose output includes standard HTTP headers such as Date, Server, Last-Modified, Content-Length, and Content-Type, providing valuable insight into the web server’s configuration and response.
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Command Line Options Explained
CryPing offers extensive customisation through command-line flags:
Protocol Selection:
- -tcp (default): Standard TCP/IP ping
- -http: HTTP protocol testing
- -smtp: SMTP email server testing
- -pop3: POP3 email server testing
- -nntp: NNTP newsgroup server testing
Monitoring Options:
- -t: Run continuously until stopped
- -alarm: Beep on connection failure
- -b: Beep on connection success
- -d: Include timestamps in output
Connection Parameters:
- -p port: Test specific port number
- -n count: Number of ping attempts
- -r seconds: Delay between attempts
- -v: Verbose output (shows HTTP headers)
When to Use CryPing Over Standard Ping?
Web Server Monitoring: Standard ping only checks if the server is on, but not if the website works. CryPing’s HTTP test makes sure the website is loading properly.
Email Server Checks: Email issues often happen with sending or receiving. CryPing can test SMTP (sending) and POP3 (receiving) separately, so you can see where the problem is.
Service Troubleshooting: If an app can’t connect to a service, CryPing can test the exact port and service the app uses.
Automatic Monitoring: CryPing can beep if a service stops working, so you’ll know right away even if you’re not watching the screen.
Verdict
CryPing is a big improvement over the standard ping tool. It can check specific services, show more detailed information, and even monitor connections for you. This makes it a very helpful tool for anyone managing networks.
You can use it to find out why a website isn’t loading, fix email server issues, or keep an eye on your servers automatically. It gives you clear, service-specific results so you can solve pronnnnnblems faster.
CryPing is efficient and easy to use from the command line, and fits well into your usual work. At the same time, it has powerful features for serious network testing.