Installation questions
Purchasing Questions
What is the difference between X-NetStat and X-NetStat Professional?
Is the price a one time fee or a subscription rate? Will you accept check or money order?
Will there be any physical product shipping?
I can’t get my registration key to work!
Is there an upgrade path for registered versions of X-NetStat (standard) to the latest version of Professional?
Network questions
How do I use the packet sniffer?
How do I get X-NetStat to work with Ethereal?
How do I know what application opened a port?
Does X-NetStat show UDP connections?
What does a SYN_SENT connection mean?
It looks like some outdated or incorrect addresses are appearing in X-NetStat…
Is it possible to see with X-NetStat, which machine on my network is heavily sending ICMP requests to another pc on the internet?
X-NetStat is monitoring the wrong NIC/network adapter. Is there a way to tell X-NetStat which NIC to watch?
Are there any types of blocking mechanisms (once a connection is attempted) in X-NetStat?
Does X-NetStat do snmp to get info from routers?
Can I automatically have X-NetStat send the results of tests to another machine via SNMP or email?
I use X-NetStat to block several IP addresses, but doing it through the Rules dialog is time consuming. Is there a better way?
Q: How do I use the Packet Sniffer? [Back to top]
A: When the Sniffer is enabled, you can see the bytes in/out for each connection.
First, make sure you press down the Sniffer button on the toolbar. Nothing can be sniffed without this button down!
If you still don’t see anything, try using the WinPcap packet sniffer, which supports more network adapters. Go to www.winpcap.org and download WinPcap 3.1 and run the auto-installer. A restart of your computer may be required. Then, go into X-NetStat > Options >Packet Sniffer and check the box that says Use WinPcap Sniffer. Restart X-NetStat.
If you still don’t see anything, make sure you have installed the latest drivers for your network adapter, and then try either the X-NetStat sniffer or WinPcap again.
If you still don’t see anything, please report the bug to Fresh Software. Click on the Sniffer menu at the top and choose Show X-NetStat Sniffer or Show WinPcap Sniffer, which ever item is available. Check the box that says “Display Data” and then do some network activity. Did anything show up in the Sniffer window? What if you do the same process with the other Sniffer enabled? Please let us know, along with the name and model of your network adapter, whether it is wireless or wired, what version of Windows you are using, and what version of X-NetStat you are using.
A note on Sniffing with Wireless adapters (from http://www.winpcap.org/misc/faq.htm#Q-16 )
Wireless adapters: these adapters may present problems, because they are not properly supported by the Windows Kernel. Some of them are not detected, other don’t support promiscuous mode. In the best case, WinPcap is able to see an Ethernet emulation and not the real transiting packets: this means that the 802.11 frames are transformed into fake Ethernet frames before being captured, and that control frames are not received. Again, refer to the http://www.micro-logix.com/WinPcap/Supported.aspto discover if your adapter works. If it doesn’t, you can use the trick explained in this video to capture its traffic.
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Q: How do I get X-NetStat to work with Ethereal? [Back to top]
A: First, you must download and install Ethereal from www.ethereal.com. Then you must specify a default adapter to capture packets. Open Ethereal, and click
Edit Menu > Preferences > Capture
Click the down arrow next to “default interface” and choose the same adapter/interface that X-NetStat is monitoring.
Click SAVE, and then OK.
Q: How do I know what application opened a port? [Back to top] A: If you use Windows XP, both editions of X-NetStat will display the application EXE (“process”) behind each connection. X-NetStat Professional will display more detailed information through the Process Information window (Full path to EXE, Product Name, Company Name, Version Info, etc) If you do not run XP, you can use the Port Database feature to make an educated guess. For example, the port databases would tell you that connections with port 80 are usually web-browser connections, port 1214 is used for KaZaA, etc.
Q: Are there any types of blocking mechanisms (once a connection is attempted) in X-NetStat? [Back to top] A: Both editions of X-NetStat can forcibly disconnect (“kill”) undesired connections manually, but X-NetStat Professional provides a more automatic way to continually block certain connections. Just right-click on the connection in question and choose “Extended Kill” to create a rule that automatically kills a certain address. Additionally, X-NetStat Professional also has a Block Hostname tool to block contact with a hostname at the system-wide level.
Q: I have just installed your X-NetStat software, and what I found really surprised me. I found over hundred of remote addresses on my ports (mostly on port 1214), and I don’t know what to think about it. [Back to top] A: Port 1214 is used by the KaZaA media sharing program, and all these connections you see are media-sharing connections from that program.
Q: Does X-NetStat show UDP connections? [Back to top] A: X-NetStat Standard currently does NOT show UDP connections. X-NetStat Professional does.
Q: Does X-NetStat do snmp to get info from routers? [Back to top] A: No. X-NetStat 3.0 and 4.0 used SNMP to get its information, but this is no longer the case.
Q: Can I automatically have X-NetStat send the results of tests to another machine via SNMP or email? [Back to top] A: In X-NetStat Professional, yes. Set up a Rule, click the Actions tab and check “Send Email Notification”. See the User’s Manual for more information on setting up a rule.
Q: What does a SYN_SENT connection mean? [Back to top] A: It isn’t technically a connection, but one waiting to be born. SYN_SENT means that a program on your PC has made a request for TCP communication to another computer, but has not yet received an acknowledgment (SYN_ACK). It can be indicative (but not always) of a network problem somewhere between you and the remote computer.
Q: It looks like some outdated or incorrect addresses are appearing in X-NetStat… [Back to top]
A: Try clearing the DNS cache. You can do this in the first page of Options.
Q: I use X-NetStat to block several IP addresses, but doing it through the Rules dialog is time consuming. Is there a better way? [Back to top] A: Yes! Right-click the connection and choose Extended Kill > Kill and Add Rule to AutoKill
Q: Is it possible to see with X-NetStat, which machine on my network is heavily sending ICMP requests to another pc on the internet? [Back to top] A: Yes, in fact with X-NetStat Professional it shows you the number of ICMP going in/out right on the status bar! Just double-click the status bar and check ICMP stats.
Q: X-NetStat is monitoring the wrong NIC. My server is part of a cluster and has 1 NIC for public access and 1 for the cluster heartbeat. Unfortunately, it is monitoring the heartbeat NIC. Is there a way to tell X-NetStat which NIC to watch? [Back to top]
A: Yes, do this:
Installation Questions
Which platform does X-NetStat run on? [Back to top]
X-NetStat runs smoothly on most Windows operating systems:
Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10, including 64-bit versions. XNS also runs on Windows Server platforms: Windows 2003, 2008, and 2012.
XNS used to run on Win95 (Winsock upgrade required), Win98, WinME, and Win2000, but this hasn’t been tested in a while. To run on these legacy operating systems, try downloading an earlier version.
When updating, do I need to uninstall older versions of X-NetStat first? [Back to top]
No, it isn’t needed, but may be useful if you are having problems — when you uninstall, your personal settings will be erased and you will go back to the X-NetStat default settings.
During setup, I had the Ctrl-Alt-X hotkey set up. How can I remove it? [Back to top]
Go to Start Menu > Programs > X-NetStat Professional and right-click on the program file, and choose Properties. There will be a field for you to clear the hotkey or set a new one.
Purchasing Questions
What is the difference between X-NetStat and X-NetStat Professional? [Back to top]
X-NetStat (standard edition) is a program to display your Internet and network connections. You can view, sort, and kill connections.
X-NetStat Professional has everything X-NetStat has and much, much more. See the Overview page for details.
Is the cost of the program a one-time fee or a subscription rate? Will you accept check or money order? [Back to top]
The fee is one time, and by registering you get free program updates. Checks and Money Orders are welcome, and can be sent to:
Fresh Software
519 Erin St
Eau Claire, WI 54703
Please don’t forget to include your email address for a license key!
Will there be any physical product shipping? [Back to top]
The won’t be any product shipping unless you explicitly indicate you want X-NetStat on CD-ROM. If you purchase X-NetStat through RegSoft, please be aware they are charging $12.95 plus $2.00 shipping for CD delivery. If you pay us directly, we can mail you a CD for $5.00 in the US, and $10.00 in all other countries. Just ask.
I can’t get my registration key to work! [Back to top]
First make sure you have the right edition — Look at the Title bar to see if you are running Standard or Professional edition, and then at your order — the registration key will only work for the product you ordered. Second, each license key is case sensitive, so it is best to copy and paste the information right into the program.
Is there an upgrade path for registered versions of X-NetStat (standard) to the latest version of Professional? [Back to top]
Yes, there is an upgrade path, you just pay the difference in price ($39.95 – $12 = $27.95). Just send us an email with your old order number and we will give you a discounted order link.
Other Questions
How do I turn off the sound when X-NetStat pops up a balloon in the system tray? [Back to top]
Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Drivers
Browse down to System Notification and select (none) in the drop-down box (ComboBox). Note this turns off sounds for ALL balloon notifications from the system tray.
Is there a beta test that I can participate in? [Back to top]
From time to time Fresh Software holds beta tests for upcoming releases of X-NetStat and X-NetStat Professional. These beta tests are made up of a variety of [awesome] users who actively participate in the design of new versions. We love to get as much input as possible, so if you want to hunt bugs, bounce ideas around and have some fun, get involved! Currently there are no betas open. Check the home page from time to time…
What is hypersonic.machfront.com and why is it always showing up in the connection table? [Back to top]
This is X-NetStat checking for updates on startup … Fresh Software is hosted by machfront.com.