Updated May 30, 2023
Introduction to Wireshark
Wireshark is the leading global network traffic analyzer and an important resource for all safety professionals or system administrators. You can track network traffic in real time by using this free program; it is also the best way to troubleshoot issues within your network. Wireshark can support popular troubleshooting issues including dropped packages, latent problems, and malicious network activities. This helps you to track the network traffic and offers tools to search and drill down to the root cause of the problem.
Administrators use this to detect malfunctioning network devices that drop packets, latency problems caused by machines moving traffic halfway around the world, and the deletion of or even hacking of data. It is a powerful tool that requires strong networking knowledge. It involves knowing the TCP / IP stack and how packet headers can be read and interpreted for most modern businesses. For instance, routing, forwarding, and DHCP function.
How to Use?
You have to know what is normal to detect what is abnormal, and it provides simple statistical resources. While Wireshark is a network protocol analyzer and not an intrusion detection device (IDS), eliminating malicious traffic once the Red Flag is raised may still prove extremely helpful. It can also be used for TLS-encrypted traffic capture and analysis.
The browsers store symmetric session keys, and the administrator can load the session keys into Wireshark using the correct browser setting and inspect unscanned web traffic. Wireshark comes with interactive tools for statistical analysis. It promotes identifying general patterns and sharing less-technical management results.
What does Wireshark do?
Wireshark intercepts the traffic and makes it readable by humans. This helps you to quickly recognize what traffic your network crosses, how often, how often, how many latencies there are between specific hops, etc.
Although Wireshark supports over two thousand network protocols, many of which are arcane, odd, or outdated, modern security professionals can find the most immediate utility in analyzing IP packets. Most of your network’s packets are typically TCP, UDP, and ICMP. Considering the high traffic volume that crosses a typical commercial network, Wireshark’s instruments are beneficial to assist you in filtering this traffic. Filters are only used to capture traffic forms you are interested in, and filters are used to zoom in on the traffic you want to inspect. The network Protocol Analyzer provides search tools that allow you to locate what you are searching for quickly, including regular expressions and color highlighting.
Wireshark for Linux
Depending on the Linux distribution, the installation of Wireshark on Linux can be a little different. Please double-check the commands if you do not run one of the following distros.
Ubuntu
- Sudo apt-get install Wireshark
- sudodpkg-reconfigure Wireshark-common
- sudoadduser $USER Wireshark
Those commands download, update, and add user privileges to Wireshark to execute the kit.
Features of Wireshark
Data are retrieved from the wire or the data files already obtained from the network link. Users can access captured data networks using GUI or other models. Users can use command line switches to programmable edit and transform the captured files into the edit cap framework. Tracking Voice over Internet calls across the network can also be possible with monitored traffic.
1. Packet Monitor
The packets within the network are visually represented in his section. Color codes are available for each packet type.
Packets with the following details are displayed.
- Destination Address
- Contents of the packet in text
- If applicable destination Port
2. Import from a capture file
This method helps import dump packets from a capture file for further study. Wireshark supports several formats.
Some of which are:
- Windows-based network users Catching Sniffer and Sniffer Pro
- HP-UX’s nettle
- Cisco Safe Intrusion Detection Program IPLog format
- TamosoftCommView captures
3. Export to a capture file
Wireshark helps you save the tests as a capture file to work on later.
The formats are supported:
- Visual Networks Visual UpTime traffic (*.*).
- Novell LANalyzer
4. Wireshark Capture Filters
Capture filters restrict the packets that the filter collects. In other words, It does not save the packets if the filter matches not.
Some examples of capture filters are as follows:
- Host IP address: This filter limits traffic capture to and from the IP address.
- DST host IP address: Packets for capture sent to the host specified.
- Port no 53 and not arp: All bar DNS and ARP data capture.
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