How do I monitor anonymous background programs eating up my bandwidth and data?

[travilee]

Hello,
I access my Internet via a wireless USB Modem Stick. Living in South Africa, Internet usage is sky high. I would like to know how to monitor my Internet usage. I.ow, which precise programs are running stealthily and eating up my data. I can actually see from my Modem Interface how the data is consumed.

I would also like to know How do I use Wireshark to capture wireless traffic? Do I require an add-on card to do this?

Thank you in Advance.

 

[SkyWalker1726]

u can try "ProcessExplorer" it's from Microsoft and it's free ...
it will give u a precise list of any process and open app , and the amount of data it's transmitting.

 

[the great randini]

some things that may be using your bandwidth, and doing so in the background would be updates (i.e. java updater adobe updater itunes). anything else may be somthing to worry about and can be controlled via the windows firewall, via outgoing connections.

how to check what connections

open command prompt ( click start > type cmd in the run box

type
netstat -ano
that is all network connections in all states
this one is cool because you open task manager and click on the processes tab and click on view and select colum add "pid" (pid stands for process identifier).
now look for the pid from the netstat -ano and match it up to the protocol and you can identify the program making network connections.

or
netstat -b
is a realtime check



how to use wireshark = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHLTa29iovU

 

[Rockdpm]

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/toolsofthetrade/gr/network-meter-gadget.htm

This should be what your looking for...

 

[de5_Roy]

a software firewall like comodo or online armor may be of some help.
comodo firewall
http://personalfirewall.comodo.com/free-download.html?track=2665
online armor free version
http://www.online-armor.com/products-online-armor-free.php

 

[Hawkeye22]

Use the built in resource monitor.

 

[travilee]

some things that may be using your bandwidth, and doing so in the background would be updates (i.e. java updater adobe updater itunes). anything else may be somthing to worry about and can be controlled via the windows firewall, via outgoing connections.

how to check what connections

open command prompt ( click start > type cmd in the run box

type
netstat -ano
that is all network connections in all states
this one is cool because you open task manager and click on the processes tab and click on view and select colum add "pid" (pid stands for process identifier).
now look for the pid from the netstat -ano and match it up to the protocol and you can identify the program making network connections.

or
netstat -b
is a realtime check



how to use wireshark = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHLTa29iovU

Thanks for this. I am familiar with netstat. I am however looking for something more graphical that actually tells you which programs are consuming my bandwidth. Your input is greatly appreciated though. Thanks again.

 

[travilee]

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/toolsofthetrade/gr/network-meter-gadget.htm

This should be what your looking for...

Thanks Rockdpm

I have had a look at this tiny Desktop Gadget. Its quite useful, but not very different to other similar programs I tried before. I am really looking for a graphical user interface that actually spells out the offending program and the amount of data it is currently downloading or uploading in real-time.
Thanks though for your reply and suggestion. Much appreciated.

 

[travilee]

u can try "ProcessExplorer" it's from Microsoft and it's free ...
it will give u a precise list of any process and open app , and the amount of data it's transmitting.

Hi Skywalker 17

I am also familiar with ProcessExplorer(from the old Sysinternal Suite). However, since it has so many options and columns to select from, it is a bit overwhelming. As I have mentioned in my other replies, I am really looking for a simple graphical output showing me the exact program that consumes my bandwidth. Then on of course the option to kill that pid.
But thanks again for your input. Much appreciated.