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Is there a good bit of software on Mac OS X that I can use to monitor incoming and outgoing network activity? Nothing too geeky, I just want something simple to use.

I'm on version 10.6 (Snow Leopard) if that helps.

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6 Answers

up vote 13 down vote accepted

Wireshark is widely acknowledged as one of the best network monitor tools available. Distributions are available for OS X.

If you prefer something more simplistic you can use iStatMenus to show incoming / outgoing network traffic speeds.

For the person who doesn't want to install anything you can also use tcpdump in Terminal.

tcpdump -i [interface, en0 is ethernet, en1 is wireless]
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iStatMenus looks like the day to day winner, but I also appreciate the terminal command too for the quick/dirty way of doing it. – xentek Mar 23 '10 at 8:08
Wireshark is a packet analyzer with delusions of grander. It doesn't give a good view of everything going on, but it's great for going through packets with a hex editor. – vy32 yesterday
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up vote 5 down vote

Also look at MenuMeters. I tried iStat Menus & MenuMeters and preferred MM. Not saying one is better; just that there are a couple of choices.

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+1. MenuMeters beats iStat Menus anyday. – cOle2 Apr 8 '10 at 14:52
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up vote 4 down vote

Commercial (16$) iStat Pro and iStat Menus (dashboard widget and menu bar item respectively) are great for monitoring everything from network activity to CPU temperatures.

And of course there's the network tab of Activity Monitor.

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up vote 2 down vote

LittleSnitch! - 30$

It is mainly a software Firewall that may help you to prevent some apps to access the internet. It also has a nice menubar icon with live network usage. Mouseover on it and it displays which app is communicating with which server or ip address.

I have LittleSnitch and iStat Menus installed. Both are complementary.

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LittleSnitch will be a pain in the ass unless you're explicitly blocking stolen / cracked programs from calling home. Also the menu item is not nearly as informative as iStat. You'd have to open up the Network Monitor screen to get any benefit. – Josh K Mar 23 '10 at 17:50
Well, there is a lot of programs that are calling home and should not. If you are a bit concerned about security you will understand what I mean. The LittleSnitch's mouseouver pop-up is also great for showing realtime process-host network activity. But yes, it is not as informative as iStat. That's why i use both. – Arko Mar 24 '10 at 9:05
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up vote 0 down vote

I've just installed Net Monitor and Net Monitor Sidekick and so far I like them. Nothing you can't get with other tools, but a nice summary display. Each is $10 after a 30 day eval, so YMMV, but I thought I'd mention them.

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up vote 0 down vote

/System/Library/CoreServices/Network Diagnostics Simple green/red LEDs for various layers. I slide it over to the right side of the screen until just the lights show.

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