Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Is Your PC Connecting To Websites Without Your Knowledge

Is Your PC Connecting To Websites Without Your Knowledge

If you are worried that some programs on your PC are secretly making connections to websites in the background, here's a quick tip that uses a simple DOS command to detect and prevent such suspicious activity:

1. Type cmd in your Windows Run box.

2. Type netstat -b 5 > activity.txt and press Enter. After 2 minutes, press Ctrl+C.

3. Type activity.txt on the command line to open the log file in Notepad.



The file activity.txt will have a log of all process that made a connection to the Internet in the last two minutes. It will also show which process connected to which website in this time. And not just the web browsers (like iexplore.exe or opera.exe), the log will also show your IM clients, download managers, email programs or any software that requires a net connection.

Scroll though the activity.txt file and look for any process names or website addresses that you are not aware of.
If you track one , go to the Task Manager (or Process Explorer) to find the location of the executable file on your computer and eliminate the threat.


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