Ethical Hacking Essentials Practice Test

What tool is used for collecting information about network connections in a Windows system?

1. Wireshark

2. netstat

3. Nbtstat

4. LOIC

The correct answer is: netstat

The tool that is primarily used for collecting information about network connections in a Windows system is netstat. This command-line utility displays active connections, routing tables, and protocol statistics, providing valuable insights into the current state of the network interfaces and connections on a machine. By using netstat, users can see details such as the local and remote IP addresses, port numbers, and the status of each connection (e.g., established, listening, etc.), which is essential for troubleshooting and monitoring network activity. While other tools mentioned also serve specific purposes related to network analysis, they do not directly focus on providing a comprehensive view of network connections like netstat does. For instance, Wireshark is a powerful packet analysis tool that captures and analyzes network traffic but requires more setup and is not solely focused on snapshotting current connections. Nbtstat is used for querying NetBIOS information, while LOIC is primarily known as a stress testing tool and not for monitoring real-time connections. Thus, netstat stands out as the appropriate choice for this particular functionality.