How do I kill a background process that...

Leroy Riggs · Post by **Leroy Riggs** » 25 Nov 2003 3:06 pm

is 'Listening" (when I type in netstat -an)? This is a XP system.

I tried 'kill -9' which is a UNIX command but, as one would expect, nothing happened.

The process that is listening is not in the Task Manager list.

Leroy[This message was edited by Leroy Riggs on 25 November 2003 at 05:06 PM.]

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 25 Nov 2003 6:42 pm

Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to bring up the Task Manager. Choose the Process tab. Select the process you want to kill and choose End Process.

Leroy Riggs · Post by **Leroy Riggs** » 25 Nov 2003 7:01 pm

The background op is not in the Task Manager that I can find.

Mark Ardito · Post by **Mark Ardito** » 25 Nov 2003 7:49 pm

Leroy,

What application do you think is running in the background?

In WinXP, you would do what Brad said above and then choose "Task Manager" from the pop-up menu. This will display a list of ALL applications that are currently running in the background. You can highlight any of them and choose "end task" to kill it.

Mark

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Sho~Bud Pro I, Fender D-8 (C6&E13) http://www.darkmagneto.com

Jeff Agnew · Post by **Jeff Agnew** » 26 Nov 2003 4:08 am

Leroy,

As you've discovered, netstat shows a list of open ports, not applications. The trick is to find which app or service is holding the port open, so you can locate it in the Task Manager. Because Windows doesn't support the kill command (insert appropriate joke here) you can't do it with the PID.

Once you identify it, you can either quit that process or perhaps set its preferences to close the open port. You could also use the Component Services administrative tool to display a list of running processes but it doesn't identify them by port.

Another (and easier) alternative is to tell your firewall to block TCP/IP or UDP traffic on the port.

Please give us the complete line from the netstat -an output so we can trace it. If we know the port number and protocol then we can identify what is using it.[This message was edited by Jeff Agnew on 26 November 2003 at 04:19 AM.]

Leroy Riggs · Post by **Leroy Riggs** » 26 Nov 2003 8:49 am

The process is not with me this morning. It must be started with some application that is invoked thru the day. As soon as I see it again, I'll respond.

Yesterday, I did use a reverse IP and it resolved to "akamai.com" (64.124.201.12), an internet company that I do not deal with.

I am so concerned with my computer security that I really don't want anything running in the background if I don't know who they are. The Akamai, so far, has refused to return my email to them.

BTW, I have a Symantec firewall and didn't realize I could block activity like that. I’ll that a try--that capability might turn out to be beneficial to me since I am so paranoid about my computer security.
[This message was edited by Leroy Riggs on 26 November 2003 at 08:54 AM.]

Jeff Agnew · Post by **Jeff Agnew** » 26 Nov 2003 11:58 am

Akamai runs a network of servers that heavily trafficked web sites use to distribute the load. A connection to Akamai simply means the web site you're viewing is being served from a machine physically closer to you. It's nothing to worry about.

Also, Akamai would have no bearing on whether there is an open port on your machine. That's a function of the applications and processes you have running.

I have a Symantec firewall and didn't realize I could block activity like that.

I don't use Symantec's firewall so I can't say whether it allows you to filter based on ports. It should. That's really the prime purpose of a firewall. You should be able to specify a port and protocol for restricting both inbound and outbound connections.

In case it doesn't, there are several free alternatives that will do the job.

Leroy Riggs · Post by **Leroy Riggs** » 27 Nov 2003 8:28 am

Thanks.