Let Wireshark sniff the network for a bit, and then stop the sniff using Ctrl+E / Cmd+E. Select the relevant network interface, and then hit Enter, or click the button Start. Here we can see that Wi-Fi 3 has got traffic going through it, as the line is high. Which one is relevant? If you’re not sure at this point, you can look at the Traffic column, and see which interfaces currently have traffic. Here we can see a list of interfaces, and I happen to have quite a few. So, again, I’ve used Ctrl+K (or Cmd+K) and got this screen: The Capture Options window in Wireshark (Source: Brief) I encourage you to use keyboard shortcuts and get comfortable with them right from the start, as they'll allow you to save time and work more efficiently.

Alternatively, you can click the Capture Options icon. Notice that you can reach this window in other ways. For that, you can hit Ctrl+K (PC) or Cmd+K (Mac) to get the Capture Options window. Launch Wireshark, and start by sniffing some data. Start by downloading Wireshark from its official website:įollow the instructions on the installer and you should be good to go. In order to understand what exactly is being sent, you may use Wireshark to see the data transmitted over the wire. For example, imagine that you were implementing a chat program between two clients, and something was not working. It might be helpful for debugging problems in your network, for instance – if you can’t connect from one computer to another, and want to understand what’s going on. Wireshark is an open-source and free tool, and is widely used to analyze network traffic. Wireshark is also a packer analyzer that displays lots of meaningful data about the frames that it sees. A sniffer could just display a stream of bits - ones and zeroes, that the network card sees. A sniffer shows us the data that passes through our network card.īut Wireshark does more than that. We use it to examine what’s going on inside a network cable, or in the air if we are dealing with a wireless network. You can think of a sniffer as a measuring device. Wireshark is a sniffer, as well as a packet analyzer. Be sure to check my previous post about the five layers model if you need a refresher. This post relies on basic knowledge of computer networks. In this post, you will learn about the single most important and useful tool in Computer Networks – Wireshark.

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