What is
Wireshark?
Wireshark is a free and open-source packet analyzer. It is used for network troubleshooting, analysis, software and communications protocol development, and education. It captures and analyzes network packets in real-time. With Wireshark, users can see what’s happening on their network at a microscopic level and troubleshoot problems.
Features of Wireshark
• Live Capture & Offline Analysis: Wireshark can capture and analyze data packets in real-time as they are transferred over the network. It also allows users to analyze previously captured data stored in log files.
• Protocol Decoding: Wireshark can decode a wide range of protocols, including popular ones such as IP, TCP, UDP, HTTP, FTP, SMTP, POP, IMAP, and more.
• Color-Coding: Wireshark allows users to color-code packets to make it easier to identify different types of traffic. This helps users quickly identify which protocol is being used and troubleshoot issues faster.
• Filtering: Wireshark has powerful filtering capabilities which allows users to filter traffic based on a wide range of criteria. This makes it easier to filter out irrelevant traffic and focus on the traffic that is of interest.
• Analysis Tools: Wireshark includes a wide range of analysis tools which can be used to analyze traffic and identify performance issues. This includes tools for flow graph analysis, packet length distribution, conversation statistics, and more.
• VoIP Analysis: Wireshark includes a specialized VoIP analysis feature which allows users to analyze Voice over IP calls and troubleshoot issues.
• Network Interfaces: Wireshark supports a wide range of network interface types, including Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and more.
• Remote Capture: Wireshark supports remote capture, allowing users to capture traffic from other computers on the network.
• Advanced
Portable Wireshark allows users to capture, view, and analyze network traffic on multiple platforms without needing to install the application.
Features: Wireshark includes advanced features such as export of captured data to XML, PostScript, or CSV, malware detection, and more.
• Scripting: Wireshark includes a scripting feature which allows users to write scripts to automate common tasks.
• Cross-Platform Support: Wireshark runs on a wide variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, macOS, and more.
• Open Source: Wireshark is an open source project and is free to use.
Conclusion
Wireshark is a powerful and popular network protocol analyzer. It can capture and analyze data packets in real-time, and includes a wide range of features such as protocol decoding, color-coding, filtering, analysis tools, VoIP analysis, remote capture, scripting, and more. Wireshark is open source and runs on a wide variety of platforms.