If the network you’re sniffing is anything but your own private network-a public Wi-Fi connection, for instance-sniffing could be unethical or illegal depending on the data you’re observing and collecting. Sniffing isn’t a privacy-friendly practice. The goal of sniffing is to monitor and scan the data entering and leaving the network to 'sniff out' malicious or problematic data flow. Packet sniffing is the practice of observing, collecting, and logging data packets flowing through a network. Wireshark also offers built-in data visualization tools, saving you time from having to export and import your data into a separate visualization tool. Using live data filters, Wireshark slices and divides all captured data into categories that meet your specific search criteria.Īnd it doesn’t stop there. It can capture anywhere from dozens to tens of thousands of data packets at a time.īut unlike many other packet sniffers, Wireshark can be used for both real-time network analysis and troubleshooting, as well as offline and post-incident. It starts by accessing a network connection and grabbing whole sections of data traffic in real-time. Like most packet sniffers out there, Wireshark captures, filters, and visualizes network data and traffic. To many, Wireshark is the best way to learn more about the ins and outs of your network.

You could find use cases of Wireshark in the networks of government agencies, commercial corporations, and even non-profit organizations. Wireshark isn’t a niche tool that’s only used by a few amateurs and underground networks. That way, the network protocol is able to deliver it to the right location. How individuals data packets are handled depends on the transmission protocol in use.īut similarly to real-life packages, data packets include information about their source and destination. In order to transport data within a network, it gets grouped into units known as data packets. Wireshark plays a major role in every IT professional's toolkit, but that doesn’t mean only certified IT professionals get to use it to secure and understand networks. Using it, they could access the contents of suspected transactions in order catch criminal and malicious activity. It also gives cybersecurity professionals and cybercrime forensic investigators the ability to trace network connections.

Wireshark can be used to troubleshoot networks with connection and performance issues. Wireshark was first developed in 1998 and known under the name Ethereal-its name changed to Wireshark in 2006, almost 10 years after.

Wireshark network monitoring