Unknown download activity in background - how to determine what it is?

[Doc]

I'm using WinXP Media Center, the last few days I've noticed that
there's some kind of d/l actitivity showing even when I'm doing
nothing online even with the Windows firewall up as well as
ZoneAlarm. I'm on 56k dialup. How do I determine what this is? I
don't have Windows update on automatic. I ran AdAware with the latest
definitions but it's still doing it.

Thanks.

 

[Vanguard]

"Doc" wrote in message
news:1185609109.150631.111220@w3g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
> I'm using WinXP Media Center, the last few days I've noticed that
> there's some kind of d/l actitivity showing even when I'm doing
> nothing online even with the Windows firewall up as well as
> ZoneAlarm. I'm on 56k dialup. How do I determine what this is? I
> don't have Windows update on automatic. I ran AdAware with the latest
> definitions but it's still doing it.

Use a software firewall that shows you the current connections and level
of traffic. Comodo has a good firewall for free.

 

[John]

Re: Unknown download activity in background - how to determine whatit is?

Vanguard wrote:

> Use a software firewall that shows you the current connections and level
> of traffic. Comodo has a good firewall for free.
>
>

I'm not sure that will show the poster what they want to know. It will
only confirm what they already know surely.

John.

 

[Vanguard]

"John" wrote in message news:46aaffc3$0$31730$db0fefd9@news.zen.co.uk...
>
> Vanguard wrote:
>
>> Use a software firewall that shows you the current connections and
>> level of traffic. Comodo has a good firewall for free.
>
> I'm not sure that will show the poster what they want to know. It will
> only confirm what they already know surely.

Mine shows which which process (by applications) is using what port and
to where it connects and on what port along with how many bytes came in
or went out. Seems what the OP wants to know.

I'm using the Comodo firewall (free) right now. As I recall when using
the Sygate Pro firewall, it also had decent logging.

 

[John]

Re: Unknown download activity in background - how to determine whatit is?

Vanguard wrote:

> Mine shows which which process (by applications) is using what port and
> to where it connects and on what port along with how many bytes came in
> or went out. Seems what the OP wants to know.
>
> I'm using the Comodo firewall (free) right now. As I recall when using
> the Sygate Pro firewall, it also had decent logging.
>
>

That's nice to know, thanks.

John.

 

[John John]

Re: Unknown download activity in background - how to determine whatit is?

Surely Zone Alarm should tell you that, doesn't it? Reset all your ZA
rules to allow nothing and start reapplying the rules as asked when
applications want to establish connections.

John

Doc wrote:

> I'm using WinXP Media Center, the last few days I've noticed that
> there's some kind of d/l actitivity showing even when I'm doing
> nothing online even with the Windows firewall up as well as
> ZoneAlarm. I'm on 56k dialup. How do I determine what this is? I
> don't have Windows update on automatic. I ran AdAware with the latest
> definitions but it's still doing it.
>
> Thanks.
>

 

[BoaterDave]

Hi Doc

I've been led to believe that, just like one should only ever have a single
active antivirus programme, one should only have a single software firewall
operative. In other words, disable MS Windows firewall if you are using Zone
Alarm.

HTH

David

______________________________________________________________________________________________
"Doc" <docsavage20@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1185609109.150631.111220@w3g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
> I'm using WinXP Media Center, the last few days I've noticed that
> there's some kind of d/l actitivity showing even when I'm doing
> nothing online even with the Windows firewall up as well as
> ZoneAlarm. I'm on 56k dialup. How do I determine what this is? I
> don't have Windows update on automatic. I ran AdAware with the latest
> definitions but it's still doing it.
>
> Thanks.
>

 

[JW]

Could it be Media Center updating your EPG?
If you go to task manager you should be able to see what programs are
consuming CPU power when the downloading occurs.
"BoaterDave" <BoaterDave@nospam.invalid> wrote in message
news:O4neV7R0HHA.5644@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Hi Doc
>
> I've been led to believe that, just like one should only ever have a
> single active antivirus programme, one should only have a single software
> firewall operative. In other words, disable MS Windows firewall if you are
> using Zone Alarm.
>
> HTH
>
> David
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________________________
> "Doc" <docsavage20@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1185609109.150631.111220@w3g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
>> I'm using WinXP Media Center, the last few days I've noticed that
>> there's some kind of d/l actitivity showing even when I'm doing
>> nothing online even with the Windows firewall up as well as
>> ZoneAlarm. I'm on 56k dialup. How do I determine what this is? I
>> don't have Windows update on automatic. I ran AdAware with the latest
>> definitions but it's still doing it.
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>
>

 

[Cyberiade.it Anonymous Remailer]

On Sat, 28 Jul 2007, "Vanguard" <vanguard.x@comcast.net> wrote:
>"John" wrote in message news:46aaffc3$0$31730$db0fefd9@news.zen.co.uk...
>>
>> Vanguard wrote:
>>
>>> Use a software firewall that shows you the current connections and
>>> level of traffic. Comodo has a good firewall for free.
>>
>> I'm not sure that will show the poster what they want to know. It will
>> only confirm what they already know surely.
>
>Mine shows which which process (by applications) is using what port and
>to where it connects and on what port along with how many bytes came in
>or went out. Seems what the OP wants to know.
>
>I'm using the Comodo firewall (free) right now. As I recall when using
>the Sygate Pro firewall, it also had decent logging.

That is good to know. It seems to be a good firewall, especially for
freeware. I just installed it and it's working great, AFAICT.

Here is the manufacturer's link:

http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

Ckyp

 

[Andy Walker]

Cyberiade.it Anonymous Remailer wrote:

>>>> Use a software firewall that shows you the current connections and
>>>> level of traffic. Comodo has a good firewall for free.

Or, you could simply run some simple DOS commands to determine what
program(s) are using external connections.

c:\netstat -nab > netstat.txt
c:\more netstat.txt

Look for established connections using foreign addresses other than
127.x.x.x. You should be able to determine what port and what process
is communicating, as well as the external IP address.

To check the external IP address go to http://www.dnsstuff.com and
enter it into the "IP Information" box.

 

[Vanguard]

"Andy Walker" wrote in message news:46ab6529.6936765@news.webtv.com...
>
> Or, you could simply run some simple DOS commands to determine what
> program(s) are using external connections.
>
> c:\netstat -nab > netstat.txt
> c:\more netstat.txt
>
> Look for established connections using foreign addresses other than
> 127.x.x.x. You should be able to determine what port and what process
> is communicating, as well as the external IP address.
>
> To check the external IP address go to http://www.dnsstuff.com and
> enter it into the "IP Information" box.


I couldn't remember the 'netstat' command. I kept thinking 'net' but
that doesn't list the current port usage. Thanks for the reminder. One
of these, it'll find some better brain cells to stick to.

 

[Kayman]

"BoaterDave" <BoaterDave@nospam.invalid> wrote in message
news:O4neV7R0HHA.5644@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Hi Doc
>
> I've been led to believe that, just like one should only ever have a
> single active antivirus programme,
One should only ever have a single *real- time* AV program, if you wish you
can have several *on-demand* AV apps.
> one should only have a single software firewall operative. In other
> words, disable MS Windows firewall if you are using Zone Alarm.
>
Uninstalling ZA would be an even better solution. It's Phoney-Baloney ware;
It gives you a false sense of security.
Go to:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2006/05/SecurityMyths/default.aspx
and scroll down to:
Myth: Host-Based Firewalls Must Filter Outbound Traffic to be Safe.

Then read this:
("...the typical form of outbound protection in client firewalls is just
security theater.)
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2007/06/VistaFirewall/default.aspx

And this:
http://www.samspade.org/d/firewalls.html

Read and impelement this:
http://www.ntsvcfg.de/ntsvcfg_eng.html
http://www.dingens.org/index.html.en

And consider implemening Hardening your OS:
http://www.5starsupport.com/tutorial/hardening-windows.htm

Good luck

 

[John John]

Re: Unknown download activity in background - how to determine whatit is?

Kayman wrote:


> and scroll down to:
> Myth: Host-Based Firewalls Must Filter Outbound Traffic to be Safe.

That article itself is baloney. It is true that any malware can
circumvent a firewall's outbound protection but it is also true that a
lot of malware is detected by firewall outbound monitoring. The
outbound monitoring also alerts you when otherwise legitimate software
is trying to call home. Perhaps you like it better when things like
Media player call home without your knowledge, a pesky annoyance that
you should be aware of things like that.

The article states:

"Speaking of host firewalls, why is there so much noise about outbound
filtering? Think for a moment about how ordinary users would interact
with a piece of software that bugged them every time a program on their
computer wanted to communicate with the Internet..." What a pile of
baloney!"

Firewall have rules, it appears no one at Microsoft knows this, which
isn't really surprising to tell you the truth. Microsoft's logic is
that "you don't need seat belts if you have airbags". And you don't
need to know what it is that things like Media Player doing. Baloney
indeed!

John

 

[Kerry Brown]

"John John" <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote in message
news:%23mmjLjX0HHA.4568@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Kayman wrote:
>
>
>> and scroll down to:
>> Myth: Host-Based Firewalls Must Filter Outbound Traffic to be Safe.
>
> That article itself is baloney. It is true that any malware can
> circumvent a firewall's outbound protection but it is also true that a lot
> of malware is detected by firewall outbound monitoring. The outbound
> monitoring also alerts you when otherwise legitimate software is trying to
> call home. Perhaps you like it better when things like Media player call
> home without your knowledge, a pesky annoyance that you should be aware of
> things like that.
>
> The article states:
>
> "Speaking of host firewalls, why is there so much noise about outbound
> filtering? Think for a moment about how ordinary users would interact with
> a piece of software that bugged them every time a program on their
> computer wanted to communicate with the Internet..." What a pile of
> baloney!"
>
> Firewall have rules, it appears no one at Microsoft knows this, which
> isn't really surprising to tell you the truth. Microsoft's logic is that
> "you don't need seat belts if you have airbags". And you don't need to
> know what it is that things like Media Player doing. Baloney indeed!
>


There is no way a software firewall can guarantee it will stop outbound
traffic on the computer it is running on regardless of the OS. Software
firewalls can be useful for stopping programs communicating outbound through
normal channels. That's it, period. The fact that some firewalls notify you
about malware communicating out is a function of how poorly the malware is
programmed not the firewall. Intel motherboards can communicate though the
onboard NICs at the BIOS level with no OS present. Rootkits can easily
modify all traffic going through any NIC in the computer. Malware running in
Windows can easily corrupt traffic from legitimate programs. Malware can
even create it's own TCP/IP stack and bypass Windows (or other OS')
networking stack altogether. Virtual server software is capable of spoofing
a MAC and getting multiple IP addresses for one NIC from a DHCP server. What
makes you think malware can't do the same type of thing?

--
Kerry Brown
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User
http://www.vistahelp.ca

 

[John John]

Re: Unknown download activity in background - how to determine whatit is?

Kerry Brown wrote:

> "John John" <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote in message
> news:%23mmjLjX0HHA.4568@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>
>> Kayman wrote:
>>
>>
>>> and scroll down to:
>>> Myth: Host-Based Firewalls Must Filter Outbound Traffic to be Safe.
>>
>>
>> That article itself is baloney. It is true that any malware can
>> circumvent a firewall's outbound protection but it is also true that a
>> lot of malware is detected by firewall outbound monitoring. The
>> outbound monitoring also alerts you when otherwise legitimate software
>> is trying to call home. Perhaps you like it better when things like
>> Media player call home without your knowledge, a pesky annoyance that
>> you should be aware of things like that.
>>
>> The article states:
>>
>> "Speaking of host firewalls, why is there so much noise about outbound
>> filtering? Think for a moment about how ordinary users would interact
>> with a piece of software that bugged them every time a program on
>> their computer wanted to communicate with the Internet..." What a
>> pile of baloney!"
>>
>> Firewall have rules, it appears no one at Microsoft knows this, which
>> isn't really surprising to tell you the truth. Microsoft's logic is
>> that "you don't need seat belts if you have airbags". And you don't
>> need to know what it is that things like Media Player doing. Baloney
>> indeed!
>>
>
>
> There is no way a software firewall can guarantee it will stop outbound
> traffic on the computer it is running on regardless of the OS. Software
> firewalls can be useful for stopping programs communicating outbound
> through normal channels. That's it, period. The fact that some firewalls
> notify you about malware communicating out is a function of how poorly
> the malware is programmed not the firewall. Intel motherboards can
> communicate though the onboard NICs at the BIOS level with no OS
> present. Rootkits can easily modify all traffic going through any NIC in
> the computer. Malware running in Windows can easily corrupt traffic from
> legitimate programs. Malware can even create it's own TCP/IP stack and
> bypass Windows (or other OS') networking stack altogether. Virtual
> server software is capable of spoofing a MAC and getting multiple IP
> addresses for one NIC from a DHCP server. What makes you think malware
> can't do the same type of thing?

All that you say is true and I never said or argued otherwise. But
software firewalls that monitor outbound connections can be useful and
can help to keep some applications in check, just because the Microsoft
firewall can't do it doesn't mean that all others are not good.

John

 

[Kayman]

"John John" <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote in message
news:evGvOsY0HHA.4568@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>>> Firewall have rules, it appears no one at Microsoft knows this, which
>>> isn't really surprising to tell you the truth. Microsoft's logic is
>>> that "you don't need seat belts if you have airbags". And you don't
>>> need to know what it is that things like Media Player doing. Baloney
>>> indeed!
>>>
It's a pc, apply your own logic (utilise sensible apps.); So take
ownership, do some research, do not consult advertisement-driven
publications and be responsible - *you* are in charge! If you don't like pc
go for available alternatives.
>>>
>> There is no way a software firewall can guarantee it will stop outbound
>> traffic on the computer it is running on regardless of the OS. Software
>> firewalls can be useful for stopping programs communicating outbound
>> through normal channels. That's it, period. The fact that some firewalls
>> notify you about malware communicating out is a function of how poorly
>> the malware is programmed not the firewall. Intel motherboards can
>> communicate though the onboard NICs at the BIOS level with no OS present.
>> Rootkits can easily modify all traffic going through any NIC in the
>> computer. Malware running in Windows can easily corrupt traffic from
>> legitimate programs. Malware can even create it's own TCP/IP stack and
>> bypass Windows (or other OS') networking stack altogether. Virtual server
>> software is capable of spoofing a MAC and getting multiple IP addresses
>> for one NIC from a DHCP server. What makes you think malware can't do the
>> same type of thing?
>
> All that you say is true and I never said or argued otherwise. But
> software firewalls that monitor outbound connections can be useful and can
> help to keep some applications in check,
>
Outbound filtering is useless, the PFW pop-ups just give a warm feeling for
being in control but it's too late already - it's an illusion to belive
otherwise.
> just because the Microsoft firewall can't do it doesn't mean that all
> others are not good.
>
M/S firewall *can't* do (but they could) because it's recognised to be waste
of resources and time. And yes, PFW's are IMO of no value whatsoever; I
know because I operate without these apps.
John John, don't get blinded by all the marketing hype

 

[dc]

Andy,

What does the -b parameter do?
I couldn't find it, and when I included it, I got the help legend.
After looking at the legend, I did this...
c:\netstat -na > netstat.txt
Did you mean to use another pararmeter
and if so, what is the command
What is this for? c:\more netstat.txt
Just trying to learn...

thanks in advance,
dc


"Andy Walker" <awalker@nspank.invalid> wrote in message
news:46ab6529.6936765@news.webtv.com...
> Cyberiade.it Anonymous Remailer wrote:
>
> >>>> Use a software firewall that shows you the current connections and
> >>>> level of traffic. Comodo has a good firewall for free.
>
> Or, you could simply run some simple DOS commands to determine what
> program(s) are using external connections.
>
> c:\netstat -nab > netstat.txt
> c:\more netstat.txt
>
> Look for established connections using foreign addresses other than
> 127.x.x.x. You should be able to determine what port and what process
> is communicating, as well as the external IP address.
>
> To check the external IP address go to http://www.dnsstuff.com and
> enter it into the "IP Information" box.

 

[Peter Foldes]

--
Peter

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

"BoaterDave" <BoaterDave@nospam.invalid> wrote in message news:O4neV7R0HHA.5644@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Hi Doc
>
> I've been led to believe that, just like one should only ever have a single
> active antivirus programme, one should only have a single software firewall
> operative. In other words, disable MS Windows firewall if you are using Zone
> Alarm.
>
> HTH
>
> David
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________________________
> "Doc" <docsavage20@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1185609109.150631.111220@w3g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
>> I'm using WinXP Media Center, the last few days I've noticed that
>> there's some kind of d/l actitivity showing even when I'm doing
>> nothing online even with the Windows firewall up as well as
>> ZoneAlarm. I'm on 56k dialup. How do I determine what this is? I
>> don't have Windows update on automatic. I ran AdAware with the latest
>> definitions but it's still doing it.
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>
>

 

[Kerry Brown]

"John John" <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote in message
news:evGvOsY0HHA.4568@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Kerry Brown wrote:
>
>> "John John" <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote in message
>> news:%23mmjLjX0HHA.4568@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>>
>>> Kayman wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> and scroll down to:
>>>> Myth: Host-Based Firewalls Must Filter Outbound Traffic to be Safe.
>>>
>>>
>>> That article itself is baloney. It is true that any malware can
>>> circumvent a firewall's outbound protection but it is also true that a
>>> lot of malware is detected by firewall outbound monitoring. The
>>> outbound monitoring also alerts you when otherwise legitimate software
>>> is trying to call home. Perhaps you like it better when things like
>>> Media player call home without your knowledge, a pesky annoyance that
>>> you should be aware of things like that.
>>>
>>> The article states:
>>>
>>> "Speaking of host firewalls, why is there so much noise about outbound
>>> filtering? Think for a moment about how ordinary users would interact
>>> with a piece of software that bugged them every time a program on their
>>> computer wanted to communicate with the Internet..." What a pile of
>>> baloney!"
>>>
>>> Firewall have rules, it appears no one at Microsoft knows this, which
>>> isn't really surprising to tell you the truth. Microsoft's logic is
>>> that "you don't need seat belts if you have airbags". And you don't
>>> need to know what it is that things like Media Player doing. Baloney
>>> indeed!
>>>
>>
>>
>> There is no way a software firewall can guarantee it will stop outbound
>> traffic on the computer it is running on regardless of the OS. Software
>> firewalls can be useful for stopping programs communicating outbound
>> through normal channels. That's it, period. The fact that some firewalls
>> notify you about malware communicating out is a function of how poorly
>> the malware is programmed not the firewall. Intel motherboards can
>> communicate though the onboard NICs at the BIOS level with no OS present.
>> Rootkits can easily modify all traffic going through any NIC in the
>> computer. Malware running in Windows can easily corrupt traffic from
>> legitimate programs. Malware can even create it's own TCP/IP stack and
>> bypass Windows (or other OS') networking stack altogether. Virtual server
>> software is capable of spoofing a MAC and getting multiple IP addresses
>> for one NIC from a DHCP server. What makes you think malware can't do the
>> same type of thing?
>
> All that you say is true and I never said or argued otherwise. But
> software firewalls that monitor outbound connections can be useful and can
> help to keep some applications in check, just because the Microsoft
> firewall can't do it doesn't mean that all others are not good.
>


You said that this: "Myth: Host-Based Firewalls Must Filter Outbound Traffic
to be Safe." was baloney. It is not. You are talking about privacy not
safety. Software firewalls do nothing to improve your safety. They may
actually decrease your safety by giving you a false sense of security. They
can as you say be used to protect your privacy. You went on to say this:
"Firewall have rules, it appears no one at Microsoft knows this" which is
also false. All of the firewalls in Microsoft OS' use rules. Some of them
don't monitor outgoing traffic but they all use rules.

--
Kerry Brown
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User
http://www.vistahelp.ca

 

[witan]

On Jul 28, 12:51 pm, Doc <docsavag...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I'm using WinXP Media Center, the last few days I've noticed that
> there's some kind of d/l actitivity showing even when I'm doing
> nothing online even with the Windows firewall up as well as
> ZoneAlarm. I'm on 56k dialup. How do I determine what this is? I
> don't have Windows update on automatic. I ran AdAware with the latest
> definitions but it's still doing it.
>
> Thanks.

A long shot: A couple of months back, I had downloaded and installed a
free "flash video player" that was seen on Firefox. The same day, I
found that my Internet account had been drained out, because some 2GB
was "downloaded" in the matter of a few hours, although I had shut
down the program after using it for just a few minutes. I could not
locate any downloaded files even in the "Temporary Internet Files"
folder to account for that size, and my hard disk space was not
decreased. Apparently, the program continued to run in the background
even after I shut it off. When I opened the "Local Area Connection
Status" by clicking on the double-computer icon in system tray area, I
saw that heavy downloading was gong on. I am not absolutely sure that
the Flash Video Player was the culprit, but I after I uninstalled the
program, the unknown internet activity also stopped.
I suggest that you check for something similar on your computer.