Many people know about the tracerouting feature in Windows which allow you to ping a URL or IP address and see the bounces your network traffic takes to get there. Its a cool little thing and also gives a bit of education on how the internet works. VisualRoute 2005 is a graphical version of this tool, available from VisualWare. Enter a URL or IP address, and watch the program trace the bounces and map them to a world map. It allows you to see the geographical path of your data as it reaches its target. The program is free for 15 days, then $49.95 to buy.

The program is kinda fun, but it has its uses, too. For example, I have used it as a way to verify the originating IPs for credit card transactions to see if they are fraudulent.

www.visualiptrace.com/index.html