Northwest Performance Software’s NetScanTools Basic
NetScanTools Basic Edition is a free graphical utility for the following network query commands: DNS (simple IP/hostname translation, Who Am I? (shows your computer name, IP and DNS servers)), ping, traceroute, and Whois. It runs on modern versions of Windows (XP, Vista, 7, 2003, and 2008).
As NetScanTools Basic is intended as a stepping stone to Northwest Performance Software’s other commercial products, it is comparably slimmed down and limited in its functionality. NetScanTools Basic v2.30 was released on Sep. 4, 2013 and was the latest version available at the time of writing.
A simple DNS query for kernel.org on NetScanTools Basic v2.2
A traceroute to yahoo.com on NetScanTools Basic v2.2
NetScanTools basic does offer a few configuration options as shown below.
NetScanTools Basic ping options
NetScanTools Basic traceroute options
NetScanTools Basic whois options
NetScanTools basic is freeware and is a good tool to use when you start learning the commands for network querying and information gathering. Given the abundance of tools available only in NetScanTools Pro, you should consider installing that version and experimenting with it as well.
Recommended reading
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Doug Vitale Tech Blog 
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