PwnPing

A real-time network monitoring tool that tracks packet loss and latency to help diagnose internet connectivity issues. I wrote this because my internet has been randomly cutting out, and it's been driving me crazy. Now I finally have proof that the problem isn't on my end – just wish the ISP would take it seriously.

Features

• Real-time monitoring of multiple hosts simultaneously (Gateway, Google DNS, Cloudflare DNS)
• Smooth line graphs showing latency trends over time
• Latency distribution histograms to identify patterns
• Packet loss tracking with immediate visual feedback
• WSL2 compatible with true double buffering for flicker-free display
• Detailed logging for evidence collection and later analysis
• Web-based log analyzer for identifying network events and outages
• Configurable router/gateway IP to work with any network setup

Why PwnPing?

When your internet keeps dropping and your ISP insists "everything looks fine from our end", you need hard data. PwnPing continuously monitors your connection to:

• Your local gateway (to rule out local network issues)
• External DNS servers (to confirm internet connectivity problems)

The tool clearly shows when external connections fail while your local network remains stable – proving the issue is with your ISP, not your equipment.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Go
• Root/Administrator privileges (required for ICMP ping)

Build from source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/franzen/pwnping.git
cd pwnping

# Download dependencies
make deps

# Build for your current platform
make build

# Or build for all platforms
make build-all

Usage

Basic usage

# Run with default settings (monitors 192.168.1.1, 8.8.8.8, 1.1.1.1)
sudo ./pwnping

# Or using make
make run

Custom router IP

# Specify your router's IP address
sudo ./pwnping -router=10.0.0.1

# Or using make
make run-custom ROUTER=10.0.0.1

Controls

• Press q to quit
• The display automatically resizes with your terminal

Understanding the Display

Latency Categories

• Great: <15ms (typical for local/nearby servers)
• Good: 15-50ms (normal for most internet services)
• Bad: 50-200ms (noticeable lag, poor for gaming/video calls)
• Unusable: >200ms (severe issues)

Log Files

PwnPing automatically creates detailed logs in the logs/ directory:

• pwnping_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.log - Main application log
• <IP>_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.log - Per-host detailed ping logs

These logs are invaluable when disputing with your ISP.

Troubleshooting

Permission Denied

ICMP ping requires root privileges:

# Always run with sudo
sudo ./pwnping

No hosts could be monitored

Check your network configuration and ensure the hosts are reachable:

# Test connectivity first
ping 8.8.8.8
ping 1.1.1.1

Custom networks

If your router uses a different IP (e.g., 10.0.0.1, 192.168.0.1):

sudo ./pwnping -router=YOUR_ROUTER_IP

Building for Different Platforms

# Linux
make linux-amd64
make linux-arm64

# macOS
make darwin-amd64
make darwin-arm64

# Windows
make windows-amd64
make windows-arm64

Analyzing Logs

Use the included web-based analyzer to visualize your logs:

1. Open ping-analyzer.html in your browser
2. Upload up to 3 log files
3. View synchronized graphs showing:
   • Latency over time
   • Packet loss percentages
   • Network events and outages

The analyzer makes it easy to see patterns like:

• Internet connections failing while local gateway remains stable
• Periodic outages at specific times
• Gradual degradation vs sudden failures

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Whether it's:

• Adding new monitoring targets
• Improving the visualization
• Enhancing the log analyzer

Please open an issue first to discuss major changes.

License

MIT License

Acknowledgments

• Built with tcell for terminal manipulation with true double buffering
• Uses asciigraph for beautiful ASCII line graphs
• Uses pro-bing for ICMP operations
• Vibe-coded with claude cli
• Inspired by countless hours of internet outages and ISP support calls

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Remember: When your ISP says "Have you tried turning it off and on again?" you can now respond with "Have you tried looking at my packet loss graphs?"