iOS Security Tools - Netstat

Netstat - FREE with IAPs
Developer: James Devenish

Netstat, as you may be familiar with already on Linux and Windows, gives you live information such as protocol (http, https, imaps), remote address, connection duration, idle time, round-trip-time (rtt) and bytes received grouped by interface such as wifi, VPN or cellular.

Netstat on an iOS device is a useful tool for being able to see where an app is connecting to and over what protocols without having to packet sniff your device traffic. It's also handy for finding apps that might be sending your information across the internet using insecure protocols or to watch how other security tools on your device are communicating.

The paid version which is available as an IAP comes in two flavors. The first is a $.99 Connection Details which allows you to tap on a connection to see additional information. The second is a $3.99 IAP which includes the Connection Detail, but also adds audio alerts, delta mode for new activity, sorting connections by various criteria, host connectivity testing, whois lookup and port info.



The free version allows export to CSV which will give you basically the same thing as the $.99 IAP for Connection Details with just a couple extra steps.


One potentially fatal limitation is the lack of IPv6 support. If IPv4 is all you need though, then this will do the trick.



- Leif Gregory, Security Professional