NetworkUsageView Tips & Tricks: Analyze Per-Process Network Traffic

How to Use NetworkUsageView to Track Data Usage and Bandwidth

NetworkUsageView is a lightweight Windows utility that reads the built-in network usage data collected by Windows and presents it in a simple, searchable table. This article shows a step-by-step workflow to track data usage and bandwidth per app, export reports, and troubleshoot unexpected network consumption.

What NetworkUsageView shows

• Per-application usage: total bytes sent/received by each executable.
• Per-connection details: network interface, local/remote addresses, and timestamps.
• Time filters: view usage for specific date ranges.
• Export options: CSV, TSV, HTML for reporting or further analysis.

Download and run

1. Download NetworkUsageView from its official NirSoft page (portable executable, no install).
2. Unzip and run NetworkUsageView.exe. If Windows blocks the app, click “More info” → “Run anyway.”

Basic navigation

• The main window lists records by app name (or executable path), network interface, date/time, and bytes sent/received.
• Columns you’ll commonly use: Application Name, Process Path, Start Time, End Time, Bytes Sent, Bytes Received, Total Bytes.

Filtering and narrowing results

• Use the built-in search box to quickly find an app or process path.
• Sort columns by clicking headers (e.g., sort by Total Bytes descending to find top consumers).
• Apply advanced filters: View → Advanced Filter (set conditions like Process Path contains “chrome” and Total Bytes > 50,000,000).

Setting a date range

1. View → Advanced Options → Set “Time Range” to specify start and end dates.
2. Apply to restrict entries to the period you care about (daily, weekly, or monthly analysis).

Identifying high bandwidth users

• Sort by Total Bytes or Bytes Received to locate top data consumers.
• Combine filters (e.g., interface = Wi‑Fi and Total Bytes > X) to isolate devices or connections.

Inspecting connection details

• Double-click a record to open the detail window showing local/remote IPs, ports, interface name, and timestamps—useful for spotting connections to unexpected remote addresses.

Exporting reports

1. Select rows (Ctrl+A for all).
2. File → Save Selected Items (choose CSV, TSV, or HTML).
3. Use CSV in Excel or Google Sheets for charts and trend analysis.

Automating periodic exports (manual workaround)

• NetworkUsageView is portable and supports command-line options. Use a scheduled task to run the tool and save output:
  • Create a batch file that runs NetworkUsageView.exe with /scomma or /stab to export.
  • Schedule the batch with Windows Task Scheduler to run daily/weekly and save outputs to a timestamped folder.

Practical examples

• Monthly billing check: export data for the last 30 days, sum Total Bytes per app in a spreadsheet to compare against ISP usage.
• Troubleshooting sudden spikes: set a short date range covering the spike and sort by Total Bytes to find the culprit process.
• Per-device usage (shared PC): filter by interface name or process path to separate virtual machines or specific user sessions.

Tips and caveats

• NetworkUsageView reads Windows’ built-in telemetry; if Windows hasn’t logged an app (e.g., very old entries or privacy settings changed), it may not appear.
• Data granularity depends on Windows’ logging intervals—short-lived connections might be undercounted.
• For real-time packet-level inspection, use tools like Wireshark; NetworkUsageView is for aggregated usage and historical trends.

Quick checklist

• Download and run NetworkUsageView executable.
• Set appropriate time range and filters.
• Sort by Total Bytes to find heavy users.
• Double-click records for connection details.
• Export CSV/HTML for reporting or scheduling automated exports.

Use NetworkUsageView as a fast way to understand which apps and processes consume your bandwidth and to produce simple usage reports without installing heavy monitoring software.