Netstat allows you to see your computer's connections to the internet. This tool allows you to monitor your connections and diagnose any problems. You can change some of the commands by adding different arguments at the end of the command. Since you run netstat off of command prompts, you won't have to install any kind of additional software to run netstat commands. If you're new to using netstat commands follow these simple steps and you will learn to open and use the different commands and arguments.

If you have any programs open or running on your computer, close them. Click on the start menu and click “run.” When you have the “run” text box up type in the word “CDM.” This will display the command prompt.

When you have the command prompt window up type in the word “netstat.” You can add an argument to the end of the word. To get a list of all the arguments you can use, type in “netstat/?.” You can also use “netstat-a” and that will bring up a list of all the open networks as well as the internet connections; if you want to see the IP addresses instead of the names, use the “-an” argument.

If you want to know what different protocols are in use then just type in “netstat” with the argument of “-p TCP”, this will show you the TCP connections. You can see the UDP usage by typing the argument “-p UDP.”

You can have netstat information displayed at intervals by typing “net at interval” followed by whatever number you want. The number that you type in will determine how often the information will be displayed. You can stop the display from appearing by pressing “ctrl” and “c” at the same time.

You can create a netstat file by using “>” and type a file location and name. For example you could write “netstat-a>c:\log.txt.” This will create a file called log.txt that you can then open in notepad. You can then open this file and review the contents at any time without having to go through all the different commands and arguments.