Mitrobe StaffAkamai’s NetSession Interface is a secure program or application that can be installed on your computer to improve the speed, reliability, and efficiency of downloads of applications, data and multimedia content, and streams on the Internet. Many software manufacturers and media publishers use it to distribute files or streams.
If your software manufacturer or media publisher uses this feature, and if you enable it, NetSession can also use a small portion of your upload bandwidth to allow other NetSession Interface users to download some of the publisher’s content from your computer. NetSession Interface runs in the background and uses a limited amount of computer resources and upload bandwidth when you don’t download content.
How to see how Akamai NetSession works
NetSession has a console that lets you control its activity and manage its settings.
In Windows, open the Control Panel window and click the Akamai NetSession Interface Control Panel icon or link.
On Mac OS X, the Akamai extension icon is located under Other –> Akamai in System Preferences.
Akamai NetSession interface, Should I remove it?
Akamai Technologies which developed the Akamai NetSesssion have disclosed that the program only makes use of your computer when it is in idle so it can limit the extent of network resources used. This tells us that you the program it continuously monitor your network and send information to the developer. In any case you do not like the program read further to see how to uninstall the Akamai NetSession on both and Windows OS.
Is it NetSession malware that can damage my computer or violate my privacy?
No! NetSession Interface is a secure software and does not contain spyware, adware or viruses. It does not collect or transmit your personal information and does not damage your computer. Its purpose is to improve the speed, reliability, and efficiency of downloads and streams.
Can NetSession Interface provide me with content without me requesting it?
№. Akamai’s NetSession Interface only provides you with download and stream content if you ask the software manufacturer or media publisher.
Some content providers may give you the option to subscribe to a service for content delivery in a background mode. For example, a sports site might offer an automatically distributed news service. If you have subscribed to this service, relevant news will be pre-delivered to your system as soon as it becomes available.
Does this software affect my upload and download speed?
NetSession Interface runs in the background and uses an insignificant amount of your computer’s resources and bandwidth for uploading when you don’t download content. The software should not affect the activities of your computer system.
However, there have been some cases where a computer with high bandwidth usage has experienced a decline in download performance. If you suspect this may be your case, and if NetSession’s upload feature is turned on, you can stop or disable uploads and see if there are any changes. Open the Control Panel/System Preferences window as shown above. Select the Preferences tab and stop or disable uploads.
If you turn off uploads, they won’t resume until you’ve turned them back on. Note that some software manufacturers or media publishers may require you to enable uploads while using their services.
Why does the netSession seems to upload even when I’m not installing anything?
When downloading or streaming, your Akamai NetSession Interface must communicate with the source of the download or stream to request more data or to let you know that the data has been received successfully, and to inform the source server NetSession is working very well. There will always be a minimum upload during streaming or download.
If I am having difficulty downloading what should I do?
If yours is a simple problem, you could solve it by running a troubleshooting report with NetSession. You can run the troubleshooter as follows:
Open the NetSession Control Panel/System Preferences window as shown above.
Choose the Support tab from the NetSession Control Panel and run the troubleshooting report. When you create the report, you will be indicated by any issues.
If this does not resolve your issue, select the Applications tab in Control Panel and contact Customer Support for the application you were trying to download or stream.
If your problem doesn’t affect any application (if it’s not related to a download or stream), you can report the issue to Akamai, so, if possible, please contact Akamai technologies to help you resolve the issue.
Can I disable Akamai NetSession temporarily?
Yes. If you do, however, remember that any NetSession downloads or streams in progress will be interrupted until the service is reactivated or your computer restarts.
To temporarily stop NetSession:
Open the Control Panel/System Preferences interface as shown above.
Select the Preferences tab
Under Service, click the Stop button.
The button will change to “Start” and you can, at any time, click this button to reactivate the service. The service starts automatically when you restart or reboot the machine.
How do I uninstall Akamai NetSession?
Before uninstalling the service, remember that if you don’t need to, it might be better not to uninstall it, as other downloads or streams may require you to use NetSession.
In addition, Akamai’s NetSession Interface is a shared network library that can be used by various applications. It will then be uninstalled correctly only when other applications using this interface have been uninstalled. These other applications may not work correctly if they do not find NetSession Interface.
If you decide to uninstall this service, you will need to delete the downloaded files saved in the NetSession cache folder. If you do not want to delete these files, copy or move them to another folder before uninstalling. Typically, you’ll find the files you’ve downloaded by following the path C:-Documents and Settings?Local Settings?Application Data?Akamai or, in Windows Vista and Windows 7: C:-Users-?AppData?Local?Akamai or, in Macintosh OS X: X: /Users//Applications/Akamai on Macintosh OS X.
Uninstalling Akamai NetSession on Windows
In the Windows Control Panel, run Add or Remove Programs.
Select Akamai NetSession Interface
Click Change/Remove, then Yes to confirm your choice.
Uninstalling Akamai NetSession on Macintosh
Use the search tool to navigate to the NetSession Interface installation folder, which is usually located in the NetSession Interface
Double-click the uninstall application and confirm your choice.
If for some reason these above methods do not work, you can try the following alternative uninstallation method
On Windows:
Select the command prompt from the Start menu, or select Run in the same menu and type “cmd” in the open text box, then clicking OK.
Navigate to the NetSession installation folder. Use the same path above (the location of the cache folder).
Type the command line:
admintool.exe uninstall -force
Press the Enter key to complete the task.
On Mac OS:
In the Application -> Utilities folder, double-click Terminal.
Navigate to the Akamai NetSession Interface installation folder, which is usually located in ./Applications/Akamai/.
Type the command line
./admintool uninstall -force
Press the Return key to complete the task.
Another alternative method for Mac OS, in case the previous one does not work, for example, because of a corrupted or missing admintool:
In the Application -> Utilities folder, double-click Terminal.
Navigate to the Akamai NetSession Interface installation folder, which is usually located in ./Applications/Akamai/.
Type the following command lines, and after typing all the lines, press the Enter button
(Return) to execute the command:
launchctl unload ./Library/LaunchAgents/com.akamai.client.plist
rm -rf :/Applications/Akamai
rm -rf -/Library/LaunchAgents/com.akamai.single-user-client.plist
rm -rf -/Library/PreferencePanes/AkamaiNetSession.prefPane
If the NetSession client did not stop after performing this procedure, restart the computer to complete the operation.
How can I check if a NetSession file is Akamai and is unaffected?
Akamai NetSession On Windows:
Navigate to the NetSession installation folder, which is usually located in
C:-Users-AppData-Local-Akamai (in newer versions of Windows) or in
C:-Documents and Settings-?Local Settings?Application Data?Akamai (in older versions of Windows).
Right-click the file in question and select Properties from the menu that appears.
Select the Digital Signatures tab and verify that there is the signature “Akamai NetSession Client, Akamai Technologies, Inc.” and that the signature is marked OK.
Akamai NetSession On Mac OS X:
In the Applications -> Utilities folder, double-click Terminal.
Navigate to the NetSession installation folder, which is usually located in
“/Applications/Akamai/”, typing the command line
cd :/Applications/Akamai
Check that the file in question has a valid signature. For example, check netsession_mac. Type the command line:
codesign -vvR ”anchor trusted’ netsession_mac
Check that the command provides output similar to the following:
netsession_mac: valid on disk
netsession_mac: satisfies its Designated Requirement
netsession_mac: explicit requirement satisfied
Check that the file in question has been released by Akamai. Type the command line:
codesign -dvv netsession_mac 2>&1 grep “Authority” head -n 1
Check that the command provides output similar to the following:
Authority-Akamai NetSession Client, Akamai Technologies, Inc
What the NetSession Interface does
Faster and more reliable on-demand download delivery software
An extension of Akamai’s global network of servers that helps businesses and their customers more easily complete more downloads
Extremely secure: supports the best HTTPS/SSL protocols in the category
What the NetSession Interface doesn’t do
Spyware, malware, or other types of malicious software
A security threat: does not display or share sensitive data on the machine
Permanently installed: You can remove it at any time
Where is the Akamai NetSession on my PC?
If NetSession is installed, you can view it on your machine from the Windows Control Panel or from the Mac OS X System Preferences window
On Windows, open the Control Panel and click the Akamai NetSession Interface Control Panel icon or link
On Mac OS X, the Akamai extension icon is located under Other –> System Preferences – Akamai
Source: Akamai Technologies
OFONIMEH JOHNSON
Mitrobe Staff
mitrobe
