We can select one or more of the network interfaces using shift left-click. On opening Wireshark, we see a list of network interfaces that can be analyzed and monitored. The majority of these are old and unpopular, but TCP, UDP, and ICMP are fully supported, allowing for the analysis of IP packets. Wireshark currently supports thousands of protocols. Wireshark also colors the packet according to the protocol used, so that it becomes easier to identify the type of packet. Each packet contains information such as the protocol used, source and destination IP and MAC, file content, etc. Wireshark provides the privilege of narrowing the results of captured packets by a large number of filters that are provided along with it. Wireshark captures network traffic from Ethernet, Bluetooth, Wireless (IEEE.802.11), and many more. It captures network traffic on the local network and stores that data for offline analysis. Wireshark is a packet sniffer and analysis tool. It also allows you to visualize entire conversations and network streams. Visualization: Wireshark, like any good packet sniffer, allows us to dive right into the very middle of a network packet.By applying a filter, we can obtain just the information you need to see.

Filtering: Wireshark is capable of slicing and dicing all of this random live data using filters.Packet Capture: Wireshark listens to a network connection in real time and then grabs entire streams of traffic – quite possibly tens of thousands of packets at a time.Like any other packet sniffer, Wireshark does three things: Wireshark is the most often-used packet sniffer in the world. Installing Wireshark on Linux: sudo apt-get install wireshark This becomes very effective in conducting a traffic analysis, which can be used to troubleshoot problems by locating the source.īeing a very powerful network sniffer, Wireshark is used popularly used by: Once these packets are captured, Wireshark allows us to inspect the contents of a packet, and monitor your network at a granular level. When two or more devices communicate, a large number of packets are sent over a network and these packets can be captured for further analysis. A packet is a data component that is sent over a computer network. Wireshark is a packet analysis tool and is also used as a protocol analyzer.

Wireshark packet capture utility