Windows Resource Monitor

Windows 7 provides Resource Monitor so that you can view processor, disk, network, and memory utilization. Open Resource Monitor in one of two primary ways:

• Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and Resource Monitor.
• Open Task Manager, click the Performance tab, and then click Resource Monitor.

In the context of troubleshooting network issues, the Network section is the most interesting section of the Resource Monitor. The Network section displays bytes per minute that each process on your computer is using. With this information, you can identify a process that is transmitting large amounts of data and stop it if it should not be communicating on the network. To identify and terminate a process that is using the network, follow these steps:

1. Open Resource Monitor.
2. Expand the Network section. Click the Total column heading to sort the process list by bandwidth utilization.
3. The topmost process is sending and receiving the most data. Make note of the process name (in the Image column), the PID, and the remote computer (in the Address column). If this is enough information to identify the process, you can close the application now.
4. If the process is SvcHost.exe, you might not be able to identify the specific application generating the network traffic, because it is a Windows feature (or it is using a feature for communications). If it is a different process, open Task Manager.
5. In Task Manager, click the Processes tab, click the View menu, and then click Select Columns.
6. In the Select Process Page Columns dialog box, select the PID check box. Click OK.
7. Click the PID column to sort by process ID. Click the process that corresponds to the PID you identified as generating the network traffic using the Resource Monitor. If the PID does not appear, click Show Processes From All Users.
8. To identify the service, right-click the service and then click Go To Service. To stop the process, click End Process.

In most cases, an application that is sending or transmitting a large amount of data has a legitimate need for that data, and you should not terminate it. However, in some cases, the process may be associated with malware. Verify that the computer has Windows Defender enabled and that Windows Defender is up to date.