network monitoring

[timeless]

l was just wondering if there is a good way to monitor networking.

long story short l booted up my laptop and the network suddenly becomes very slow for some reason, lve looked on my firewall and it tells me lm maxing out the connection, the strange part is that l dont know where!! because it seems to be a service rather than from my direct activity which is pretty confusing which is why l want to know which exact service was causing the issue so l know why my download speed is being hogged!.

 

[Layback Bear]

Try this with no deviations. Start and type in msconfig. Go to Services, lower left corner check Hide All Microsoft Services. Uncheck all except your security programs.Do not fool with Microsoft Services.
The reason for this is many programs will be doing what we call calling home. They are installed to check for updates automatically which is done by going on line. The next thing that comes to mind is a infection. What security programs do you have installed?

 

[timeless]

l use BitDefender (l know some dislike it but it works for me) however there was hardly anything noted under netstat.. maybe one microsoft task, this is what makes it curious. tho it might be related to firefox but in those respects it still doesnt make all that much sense because my main systems plugins match what is on my laptop.

 

[Layback Bear]

Did you look where I ask you to? Their are ways and programs to monitor anything. I'm a simple person so I like to start out a square A before going to Q.
Many programs on a computer do not need access to the net until you tell them to access the net. I'm unable to recommend a program to monitor the internet traffic because I have never used one. Never had because I control what is allowed to access the internet and when.

 

[timeless]

well it was how l found firefox seemed to be using maximum bandwidth.

 

[solarmystic]

Hello timeless,

Just for future reference, (or perhaps this is how you discovered the offending program), you can open up Resource Monitor (Start|type in Resource Monitor|enter) and click on the network tab to get a quick glance at all the processes that have network activity, which you can then sort according to your own preferences.

 

[Layback Bear]

What was using Firefox. That is the point. What is using Firefox. Are their programs in the background using Firefox. Or are you using it with a lot of tabs open at the same time. It could be a combination of both. That is why msconfig was suggested.

 

[Layback Bear]

Excellent solarmystic I forgot all about that. A little brain fade from me. If you catch it when it's doing it would be great.

 

[timeless]

l still cant really pin the issue, however lve gone a step further with the services turning off ones that werent mentioned in the services tab in msconfig (the no-MS ones that werent noted).

problem is l noticed that when firefox was closed the problem didnt resolve itself.

now lm basically using Downloadthemall addon and disabled most of my addons in the hopes it was related, at this second lm downloading at my max speed from where lm downloading video files from (helping with quality checking with a translation project for a friend subbing Japanese), problem is lm trying to get these files down while there is still time for him to finish his coursework before he goes off for summer.

 

[timeless]

l have attached a screencap of what lm seeing.

firefox seems to only be passing the data which lm downloading as only Downloadthemall addon is active, the monitor l tried earlier states that whatever is using the bandwidth is an unknown network task, so l havent really located anything it seems.

as for the above everything apart from virus scanner is disabled and as said lve been through my services and disabled other 3rd party ones that arent microsoft ones.

 

[solarmystic]

Thanks for the screencap.

I see no other suspicious network activity on Resource Monitor.. and if you're the only user on your LAN that's using the Internet, you should be getting the full bandwidth from your ISP..

It could just be an issue of available network bandwidth from the international servers you're trying to download your anime from... Not every international server can max out your connection or give you the bandwidth you desire, especially if you're utilizing free services.

What are your normal download/upload speeds from local servers?

Post a screenshot from your results at speedtest.net if you don't mind.

 

[timeless]

its not a speed issue with the remote server, if l reboot l get full speed again which is the strange part.

you see l have two comps on my network, my main system and the laptop.. currently the laptop is downloading the files, after a reboot it downloads at full speed, when the problem occurs speed goes down and in turn my main systems browing gets sliggish.. much like if l was to use bittorrent for example.. at full speed it bogs down the connection of any computer on the network due to the bandwidth going to one location.

the strange part is while everything looks ok in the screencaps the external monitor lm testing seems to pick up unknown services using it which means whatever is using the bandwidth isnt listed where l would have expected it to be when monitoring tasks using windows making it extremely hard to track.

tho l will note l did a speed test on my main system which stated a good 220k download.. l will note tho its not just from one server, l believe this same problem happened while downloading from other servers as well l just didnt look until l got tired of downloading at 50k finding out that rebooting seems to allow me full speed again and considering l should a static IP begs the question on where this problem seems to be as lm sure its local.

 

[Layback Bear]

Have you been using torrents? Using them can leave some very nasty things on your computer. Such as botnet. That why I recommended What is Windows Defender Offline? It's free from Microsoft. It does take some time to run. No anti virus finds everything. Some times we need to scan with other programs. Any time you reboot and then you start downloading again their is a good chance you picked up another server some place in the world their for the speed changes. Their are many maybe or could be. You first need to make sure your computer is clean. If you have a torrents program I recommend removing it.

 

[timeless]

l havent had the time to run a full system scan however l intend to shortly.