How do I see all open connections?

If you want to see the active network connections in your Windows computer, then you can check it in Network and Sharing Menu, Network connections folder, and by using ‘netstat’ command. In all the versions of Microsoft Windows, you check active network connections with these methods. Windows 10 users can open the Network and Sharing Center. And the ‘netstat’ command can be used in all other versions of Windows. With this command tool, you can check the problems and the network traffic.

How to access Network and Sharing Menu in Windows (Windows 7 & 10)

Network and Sharing Center is where you can check the type of connection you’re connected to and the status of the network.

1. Click ‘Start.’

2. Click ‘Settings’.

3. Under Network & Internet, click ‘Ethernet.’

4. On the right side, click ‘Network & Sharing Center.’

5. Click the ‘icon’ next to “Connections:” It should correspond to the type of connection your device is connected with like Ethernet or Wireless.

6. On the connection status windows, click the ‘Details…’ button.

Here you can check the details of the network connection you’ve.

How to access the network connections folder in Windows (Windows 7)

1. Click the ‘Start’ button.

2. Enter ‘ncpa.cpl’ in the search bar.

3. Press ‘Enter’.

4. Open ‘ncpa.cpl’ from the result.

5. Network connections folder will open. Here you can see all the connections available on your network.

6. Select the connection you want to enable or disable and check its status.

7. Right click on the connection and select ‘Status’ from the options.

8. On the connection status windows, here you can see the details of the network connection.

9. Click the ‘Details…’ button for more information.

How to use the netstat command to view network connections

1. Click the ‘Start’ button.

2. Enter ‘cmd’ into the search bar to open the command prompt.

3. Wait for command prompt (black window) to appear. This is the window where you’ll enter the ‘netstat’ command.

4. Enter ‘netstat -a’ to view current connections.

When you run netstat command, a list of current TCP (Transmission Control Protocol connections and ports) with the details like computer name, local address, remote address, state, etc. will display.

5. Enter ‘netstat -b’ to see the programs using connections.

6. Enter ‘netstat -n’ to see the IP addresses.

When you run this command, it will also show the TCP list but with the IP address of the computers or services instead of their name.

7. Enter ‘netstat /?’ to view the more commands available for you.

That’s it! Check the active network connections in any version of Windows computer with this command.

Howdy, I’m Ela Thomas. I’m a software engineer living in Ohio. I am a fan of technology, photography, and design. I’m also interested in music and blogging.

To see your active network connections in Windows, start by selecting Settings in your Start menu and going to Ethernet. Then, click on the Network and Sharing Center before choosing the icon that’s next to Connections. On the next page, click on Details to display information about your network connection. Alternatively, if you’re using Windows 7, open the Start menu and type NCPA.CPL into the search box. After the Network Connections folder opens, right click on the connection you want and choose Status from the dropdown menu. After the Network Status page loads, go to Details to find out more about the connection. For tips on how to get network connection details on Windows Vista or XP, keep reading!

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Using GeekTool and lsof, you can display an automatically updated list of open network connections directly on a Mac OS X desktop. This is tip is a “safe” alternative to the previously mentioned open_ports utility.

The problem with installing and using open_ports is that it is a third party script running as root, and for many users that is unacceptable. Here is a method that is native to Mac OS X and doesn’t even require root access to watch network connections:

First, if you want to discard the GeekTool portion and just get a quick look at open connections, you can quickly list all open network connections with:
lsof -i | grep -E "(LISTEN|ESTABLISHED)"

You could also combine this with the ‘watch’ utility and just keep an eye on open connections in a terminal window.

That portion of the tip has been covered here before regarding lsof, but the next part is geared specifically for GeekTool because it allows a constantly refreshed list of active connections to overlay against your desktop background picture.

Displaying a Active Network Connections on the Mac OS X Desktop

In order to do this, you’ll need to install GeekTool, it’s a free download and is a great addition to any advanced Mac users toolkit.

Assuming you have now downloaded and installed GeekTool, it will appear in your System Preferences. Here is the setup procedure now:

• Click on “Shell” and drag it to the desktop, resize it to a reasonable area
• Using the Properties editor, name the newly dragged Shell to something like “Show Connections”
• Under “Command” paste the following:

lsof -i | grep -E "(LISTEN|ESTABLISHED)" | awk '{print $1, $8, $9}'

• Set your refresh rate to something reasonable, I chose 3 seconds but you can do whatever you want

• Adjust the font, font color, and font size in accordance to your desktop wallpaper

You will immediately see a printed list of active network connections on your Mac desktop that automatically updates itself, just like the screen shot at the top of this article. No third party scripts or root access required. The GeekTool script comes from the comments on the MacWorld article about open_ports that they didn’t test. Very nice!

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