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Why Does My Computer Show Network Activity When I Don’t Have Wireless or Any Wires in My Computer?

December 3, 2023

by Jeffrey King

Why Does My Computer Show Network Activity

If you are wondering, “Why does my computer show network activity when I don’t have wireless or any wires in my computer?” then you’ve come to the right place. In Windows 10, you’ll see a network icon located on the right side of your taskbar. This icon changes from a globe to a computer or WiFi icon depending on the status of the connection. The network icon on your computer’s taskbar displays whether you’re connected or not. If you’re connected to WiFi, the icon will be solid. If your connection is a private LAN, it will display a different icon. As to the activity, that is the computer’s operating system and applications trying to send and receive. Just because you do not have connectivity, does not mean the computer will not try to communicate.

How to find network activity

If you are using Windows, the Network Activity section of My Computer, you can see a list of all processes that are using your network. This includes the ID of each process and the total bytes they have sent or received. You can also see the name of each process and its remote address. You can even see what applications are using your network and how much traffic they are sending.

The left panel of My Computer’s Network & Internet window shows a graph. The top part of the graph displays data usage by applications. The right side shows a list of all applications that are using your network connection. The number under each application is a graphical representation of the amount of data being sent and received. Click on an icon to view more information about a specific network connection.

Monitoring Using Netstat for Windows and MAC

Open the command prompt or terminal window
type “netstat -n 5 > monitor.txt” for Windows. For MAC type “netstat -n 5 >> monitor.txt”
After a minute press “Ctrl+C” to stop monitoring
Use your favorite text editor to review the log file you made called Monitor.Txt

Monitoring MAC in more detail

With the introduction of “Unified Logging” in macOS 10.12 Sierra, one can use the log command to view system log messages in a terminal. For example

sudo log stream
or sudo log stream --process `pgrep -f /usr/local/bin/myprogram` --info --debug
or log show --predicate 'process == "myprogram"' --last 1h --info --debug

Using the new “unified” Console.app, one can view system messages and can also view messages from connected iOS devices.

There are a lot of things to know about what is in the file you created, but that involves much more than this blog can accomplish. Contact us if you have questions. 704-831-2500

Jeffrey King

President of AT-NET | Managed Technology Solutions Expert | Cybersecurity Specialist

Jeffrey King is an experienced leader in managed technology solutions with more than 20 years of expertise. As President of AT-NET, he oversees a wide range of services including IT support, cloud solutions, cybersecurity, and business risk management.

His work focuses on cybersecurity and network architecture, with hands-on skills across Unix, VMware, Linux, Cisco, and Microsoft systems. Under his leadership, AT-NET delivers solutions in areas such as compliance (HIPAA, CMMC, PCI, SEC, FINRA), vulnerability management, data backup and recovery, email and endpoint security, and IT project management.

Jeffrey also guides initiatives in co-managed IT services, structured cabling, VoIP systems, and integrated security technologies such as cameras and access control.