Process Hacker Tutorial: Monitoring Network Connections

Network monitoring is crucial for security and troubleshooting. Process Hacker provides comprehensive network connection monitoring capabilities that help you identify which processes are using your network, view active connections, and detect suspicious activity.

Accessing Network Monitoring

To view network connections in Process Hacker:

Launch Process Hacker with administrator privileges
Go to View → Network (or press Ctrl+Shift+N)
The Network tab displays all active TCP and UDP connections

Understanding Network Information

The Network tab shows:

Process: The process making the connection
Protocol: TCP or UDP
Local Address: Your computer's IP and port
Remote Address: The remote IP and port
State: Connection state (ESTABLISHED, LISTENING, etc.)

Identifying Suspicious Connections

Look for:

Connections to unknown IP addresses
Processes making unexpected outbound connections
High network activity from specific processes
Connections on unusual ports

Closing Network Connections

If you identify a suspicious connection, you can close it:

Right-click on the connection
Select "Close Connection"
The connection will be terminated

Best Practices

Regularly monitor network connections
Investigate unknown processes making connections
Use network monitoring in conjunction with process monitoring
Document normal network activity for your system

Conclusion

Process Hacker's network monitoring capabilities are essential for security and troubleshooting. By regularly monitoring network connections, you can identify suspicious activity and maintain better control over your system's network usage.