Wireshark

Wireshark



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5 stars

Editor's Rating

5(4)

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network protocol analyzer Wireshark is a network protocol analyzer that enables you to capture and examine data from a live network or from a capture file on disk. You can interactively browse the capture data and view summary and detail information for each packet. Wireshark has several powerful features, including a rich display filter language and the ability to view the reconstructed stream of a TCP session. The program,can read capture files from tcpdump (libpcap), NAI Sniffer (compressed and uncompressed), Sniffer Pro, NetXray, snoop, Shomiti Surveyor, AIX s iptrace, Microsoft Network Monitor, Novell s LANalyzer, RADCOM s WAN/LAN Analyzer, HP-UX nettl, ISDN4BSD, Cisco Secure IDS iplog, the pppd log (pppdump-format), and the AG Group s/Wildpacket Etherpeek. Wireshark can also read traces made from Lucent/Ascend WAN routers and Toshiba ISDN routers. Any of these files can be compressed with gzip and Wireshark will decompress them on the fly. Copyright Snapfiles.com

Product Details

Publisher Wireshark Foundation Price Free
Version 4.6.0  history Last updated Oct 09, 2025
File Size 36.2 Mb Requirements None

User Reviews

5 stars50% 2
4 stars50% 2
3 stars0% 0
2 stars0% 0
1 star0% 0
Based on 4 reviews

Latest user reviews:

Great packet capture 5 stars by gimpguy Oct 20, 2011 (Read all my 1159 reviews)
First of all, this is not something that can just be used and looked at, you have to learn how to interpret the capture, use the filters, basically, if you don't know much about packets or how connections work, information travels, you will have to do a lot of reading to use something like this correctly. I've been using it for some time, although I don't always have a use for it but thought I'd review it anyway as I was very happy to have a 64 bit version now. Security wise, this has had many fixes from past versions and is much safer even though with PROPER use, it's not really unsafe anyway. As they will tell you, don't run in admin mode, try to use a secondary capture machine or something that isn't critical to your use. Capturing internet traffic, especially on a public connection, or with your main system is simply asking for trouble. This is especially useful if you feel you have some goings on with your network, be it connection issues or maybe some communications that shouldn't be happening. It can also be used, as I did, for monitoring what was happening on my network, not due to issues with the network itself. It's a powerful tool and I've enjoyed over time, using this to monitor and keep packet results, seeing what is going in and out of my network. I do btw use a side system for this so I am not compromised. It's my test box, or the "punching bag" as I like to call it. And no, it's not Ethereal anymore. Besides, Wireshark sounds better. show Review details
Keeps getting better and better 5 stars by busybusy Oct 16, 2011 (Read all my 267 reviews)
This tool just keeps getting better and better. It works great with a slight learning curve but the documentation will help you out there. The capabilities and functionality are top notch! Kudos to the programmer! n Two-Thumbs Up! Get it, use it, Rate it! show Review details
Perfect but intended for private networks 4 stars by gusimio Apr 12, 2008 (Read all my 31 reviews)
Do not use this (or any other tool) to monitor your network adapter that is connected to a "public" network or you will create a security breach that will leave your PC open to attack by malicious probes because it records all incoming probe/traffic messages (to a temp file), essentially bypassing the protection of your firewall. In my case, I almost became infected with the Win32.Slammer virus/trojan when I simply went to terminate the program after running it for about two hours; however, my Avast AV detected and blocked the infection (thank goodness). In summary, this program does it's job perfectly and my rating will reflect the program's functionality accordingly but, again, do not use it to monitor your incoming traffic from the internet. show Review details
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