What is Wireshark Software? | A Guide to Network Analysis

Want to check out network traffic? Try Wireshark—it’s free and helps you see and study data packets. It’s great for figuring out how your network works and fixing problems fast. Learn all about it—what it does, how to use it, and where to get it—in this article.

Also, we’ll explain what Wireshark can’t do and help you pick the right way to use it. Plus, we’ve got a handy video tutorial to help you get started quickly. So sit back, get your favorite drink, and begin exploring network analysis with Wireshark!

What is Wireshark? Why Do We Use It for Network Analysis?

Wireshark, once called Ethereal, helps you see and understand network data on a PC. So, it allows you to watch and save data (IP packets) as it moves through your local or Internet.

Wireshark is a valuable tool for solving network problems. It lets you monitor and study internet traffic by quickly grabbing data packets. It’s become super popular lately because it’s powerful, constantly improving, and free and open-source.

This program monitors and captures all types of internet messages. Whether you’re at home or work, it tracks them.

One of its best features is that it works with many PCs and is free to use. It also lets you see data packets and gives you WinPcap.

WinPcap is an essential tool for sending reports to Wireshark. It also watches Internet traffic as it happens. It works with many protocols and is easy to use. Plus, it lets you look at protocols in detail.

In short, it works really well on many modern PCs, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix, and BSD. That’s why it’s a must-have for network admins, security personnel, and developers.

What Does Wireshark Do?

The packet analysis program is a really flexible tool you can utilize for many things. For instance, let’s say you’re a system administrator, and the Internet is slow in your office’s design.

With this software, you can check the setup, find any areas that are jammed, and make a detailed report of what you see. This report can help you determine how to speed up the LAN and fix any problems causing slowdowns.

Let us list the usage areas;

1. We use it to fix mistakes in protocols and figure out how things work.
2. We use it to watch for and tell us about problems on our local network.
3. People practice it to improve their LAN and spot strange data patterns.
4. It doesn’t just grab data right away. People use it to look at saved data packages.
5. Network admins mostly use it to solve problems in the area where they work.
6. Programmers examine it to find and fix mistakes in software.
7. In the IT world, people who want to get better at Cyber Security use it.
8. We find and recognize DoS attacks with it.
9. We also utilize it to see how computer LAN operates.
10. With it, we can see how a computer gets an IP address in our area.

Where to Download?

To keep an eye on your network, you can get the Wireshark program from their website. So, it doesn’t matter if you’re a developer or not. In short, it has tools to help you make software.

What Is Wireshark Not?

Let’s briefly explain what it does not do;

1. It is NOT an IDS (Intrusion Detection System).
2. It does NOT prevent hacker attacks; it only detects them.
3. NO IMPACT on your local area.
4. The LAN monitoring utility does NOT send the packet.

Interface Selection

Your chosen interface is essential before proceeding with the adapter monitoring step with Wireshark. If you go to the Internet via Wi-Fi, you must select the Wi-Fi adapter from its interface.

If you use a virtualization platform like VMware or VirtualBox, choose the interface that connects to your virtual machine.

The VMware Network Adapter VMnet1 corresponds to the VMware card. As shown in the picture, double-click it to start listening to the device card you want.

You can instantly review traffic on your device. To apply a filter, click the Apply a display filter option, as in the image below.

Then, type ICMP in the filter field and press Enter. Open the CMD and ping to your default gateway. When you ping your modem from your computer, the software will instantly capture and report packages as follows.

Video

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Conclusion

In this article, we have examined the most powerful Wireshark program for analyzing IP packets on the network. With this packet analysis program, we can see the oddities in our LAN and find solutions.

In addition, the program is also available, and you can take the certification exams. In the following articles, we will analyze the usage of the program and the detailed filters and TCP/IP packets. Thanks for following us!

If you’re having trouble installing Wireshark on your PC, don’t worry. We’ve got a simple guide that can help you fix it step by step. Our guide works for Windows systems, and it has tips to solve any problems you might run into.