Compare
LAN Sheriff vs WinSystemHarden
Maps network traffic, not applies OS hardening rules
LAN SheriffNothing leaves town unnoticed 🤠 Every server your devices talk to, live on a world map. Self-hosted, open source, zero config.Which to pick
Pick LAN Sheriff if you want…
- Live outbound traffic map
- Network visibility
Pick WinSystemHarden if you want…
- Offline Windows hardening
Side by side
- What it is
- LAN Sheriff:LAN Sheriff is a self-hosted, open-source tool that visualizes every outbound connection from your devices on a live world map.
- WinSystemHarden:WinSystemHarden is a free offline tool that applies 29 CIS/NSA-inspired hardening rules to Windows 10/11 systems.
- Best for
- LAN Sheriff:Live outbound traffic map
- WinSystemHarden:Offline Windows hardening
- Who it’s for
- LAN Sheriff:Home users, hobbyists, and small-team IT admins who want privacy-first network visibility.
- WinSystemHarden:Windows users who need local, no-cloud system hardening
- Pricing
- LAN Sheriff:Free
- WinSystemHarden:Free
- Open source
- LAN Sheriff:Yes, 105 GitHub stars
- WinSystemHarden:Yes, 0 GitHub stars
- Works with
- LAN Sheriff:Tailscale, Discord, Slack, ntfy, webhook
- WinSystemHarden:—
LAN Sheriff features
- Watchtower egress map. Shows a live world map with lines to every external server, including country, org, app and traffic details.
- Deputy & Patrol modes. Runs without privileges on a single machine or with elevated access to monitor all devices on a network segment.
- Radio Chatter DNS feed. Streams every DNS lookup with domain, resolver and classification of trackers or malware.
- Precinct network map. Auto-generates a diagram of devices and their connections based on observed traffic.
- Wanted List suspicion engine. Ranks and explains suspicious connections using plain-language reasons.
- Dispatch peer sharing. Pairs multiple instances to aggregate observations without exposing raw traffic.
- Export & alerts. Exports CSV/JSON and can send alerts to webhook, ntfy, Discord or Slack.
- Multi-language UI. Interface available in 12 languages, including right-to-left scripts.
WinSystemHarden features
- One-click hardening. Applies 29 security rules to disable legacy protocols and close high-risk ports with a single click.
- One-click rollback. Restores the system to any previous restore point instantly if changes cause issues.
- Three hardening plans. Standard, Deep, and Custom plans let users choose the level of hardening.
- Offline operation. All processing runs locally with no cloud, telemetry, or data collection.
- CIS & NSA guidance. Rules are based on industry-standard CIS Benchmarks and NSA guidelines.
LAN Sheriff vs WinSystemHarden FAQ
Is LAN Sheriff or WinSystemHarden free?+
Yes, both are free.
Is LAN Sheriff or WinSystemHarden open source?+
Yes, both are open source: LAN Sheriff (291-Group/LAN-Sheriff on GitHub, AGPL-3.0 license) and WinSystemHarden (nissesec-team/winsystemharden on GitHub).
On DevHunt
LAN Sheriff
32 upvotes · Launched on DevHunt on Aug 25, 2026
Based on each tool's website and DevHunt data. Details may change; check the official sites.