Which Linux command shows listening ports and current TCP connections?

• A. ss -ltnp
• B. lsof -i
• C. netstat -tunp on Linux
• D. ifconfig

Answer: (C)

You want a snapshot that shows both what ports are open for connections and which TCP sessions are currently active, including which process owns each socket. netstat with -t (TCP) and -u (UDP) shows the sockets in use, -n presents numeric addresses and ports for clarity, and -p reveals the owning process. This combination lists both listening ports and established TCP connections in one view, giving you a complete picture of what’s exposed and what’s actually connected, along with who owns each connection. It’s a concise, widely available Linux command for this purpose. Other tools can show similar data but may be slower, more verbose, or skew toward a different aspect of networking, whereas this invocation cleanly covers listening and active TCP connections in one shot.