Netmon caused a bit of a stir for Microsoft IT since networks and e-mail were not encrypted at the time. The code was originally written for OS/2 and had no user interface a symbol was placed in the device driver where the packet buffers were kept so received data could be dumped in hex from within the kernel debugger. The values were 'RTSS' for Ray, Tom, Steve, and Steve - the first four members of the team. The first 4 bytes of the Netmon capture file format were used to validate the file. Netmon was conceived when the hardware analyzer was taken during a test to reproduce a networking bug, and the first Windows prototype was coded over the Christmas holiday. The LAN Manager development team had one shared hardware-based analyzer at the time. Network Monitor was replaced by Microsoft Message Analyzer (MMA was discontinued in 2019 ). Microsoft Network Monitor 1.0 (codenamed Bloodhound) was originally designed and developed by Raymond Patch, a transport protocol and network adapter device driver engineer on the Microsoft LAN Manager development team. It can be used to troubleshoot network problems and applications on the network.

It enables capturing, viewing, and analyzing network data and deciphering network protocols. Microsoft Network Monitor is a deprecated packet analyzer.

Microsoft message analyser