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Wireshark

Wireshark

Overview

What is Wireshark?

Wireshark is a free and open source network troubleshooting tool.

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Learn from top reviewers

Excellent Network Analysing, Monitoring and Troubleshooting application

Rating: 10 out of 10
September 21, 2024
IncentivizedVetted ReviewVerified User
We use it mainly for interrogation, analysis, and monitoring of network packets. Additionally where there are issues we use it for troubleshooting and remediating these issues...
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Verified user
Professional
Wireshark3 years of experience

Nothing is better than Wireshark

Rating: 10 out of 10
June 11, 2024
IncentivizedVetted ReviewVerified User
I work as a VoIP specialist in contact centers. It regularly happens that I have to study SIP calls to identify faults on gateways during Trunk installation. Wireshark is requ...
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Verified user
Consultant
Wireshark15 years of experience

Boosting Network Performance and Reliability with Wireshark!

Rating: 8 out of 10
June 11, 2024
IncentivizedVetted ReviewVerified User
The scope of our use case spans across our entire organization, from troubleshooting specific issues to ensuring secure and efficient network communication. When issues arise,...
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Verified user
Employee
Wireshark5 years of experience

Must have tool to work in or with Networks!

Rating: 10 out of 10
November 2, 2022
IncentivizedVetted ReviewVerified User
Receiving the TCAP messages has been never easy. This opensource tool easily capture TCAP during the calls for me on different INAP services. We also easily evaluate messages ...
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Kaveen Eashwarage
Manager - Research & Development
Manager - Special Projects
Central Finance Co PLC
Wireshark2 years of experience

Great open-source tool with a powerful toolset

Rating: 10 out of 10
October 31, 2022
IncentivizedVetted ReviewVerified User
I have used Wireshark to investigate network issues and mostly find lost IPs on the network. The GUI is amazing as well as the command line's speed works wonders. I also used ...
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Swapnil Madiwale
Administrator - Information Technology
Technology Lead
V ARCHITECTURE PTY LTD
Wireshark1 year of experience
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Pricing

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Wireshark

Free

On Premise

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Demos

Local and Remote Sniffing with Wireshark

YouTube

Wireshark demo (simple http)

YouTube

Saving Files From Wireshark

YouTube

Brim Demo

YouTube

How to Use Wireshark's Follow TCP Stream Feature

YouTube

Wireshark SIP Capture

YouTube
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Product Details

What is Wireshark?

Wireshark is a free and open source network troubleshooting tool.

Wireshark Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise
Operating SystemsWindows, Linux, Mac
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

Wireshark is a free and open source network troubleshooting tool.

Wireshark starts at $0.

Reviewers rate Usability and Support Rating highest, with a score of 10.

The most common users of Wireshark are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews From Top Reviewers

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(1-4 of 4)

Simple Easy Open Source Packet Analyzer

Rating: 9 out of 10
Incentivized
July 27, 2021
AM
Arnab Mukherjee
ITSM and Project Management Consultant
Kyra Solutions, Inc. (Transportation/Trucking/Railroad, 201-500 employees)
Vetted Review
Verified User
Wireshark
10 years of experience
View profile
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Wireshark is a tool used by our Network Systems and Security Teams to analyze incoming and outgoing traffic to troubleshoot Network Issues. The tool gives end-users the option to filter traffic on specific ports and protocols and provides the ability to select a specific packet and view the entire N/W stream the packet belongs to.
Pros
  • Analyzing Network Traffic
  • Verify is Specific Ports/Traffic is being blocked by N/W device Firewall
  • Provided Life Capture and also save a Packet Capture for further analysis
Cons
  • Provide Dashboard/Graphs to display N/W Traffic
  • Trigger Notifications based on certain Traffic received
Likelihood to Recommend
Analyze Traffic across the Network. You can create your own filters with specific color codes to track the traffic of interest. The packet capture provides you all the details including the source, destination, protocol, ports and helps troubleshoot Network and Security related issues. This tool can also be used for Network and Security audits and Network Scans to monitor any rogue traffic.
Most Important Features
  • Analyzing Network Traffic
  • Easy to use and is used by multiple departments Network, Security and Application
Return on Investment
  • It is Easy to Use and Setup is very Easy
  • The data captured can be shared with different teams for further troubleshooting and working on a resolution to the issue.
  • Easy to Analyze the data, create own filters with easy to use expressions.
Alternatives Considered
Wireshark is widely used and is the most popular packet analyzer available. It is a great debugging tool and easy to implement and use. It is Open Source and has a variety of options to analyze your network traffic.
Other Software Used
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA), Splunk Enterprise

Wireshark - Perfect Tool for Network Admins

Rating: 10 out of 10
Incentivized
March 03, 2018
MF
Matthew Frederickson
Director of Information Technology
Council Rock School District (Education Management, 1001-5000 employees)
Vetted Review
Verified User
Wireshark
15 years of experience
View profile
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
We use Wireshark to troubleshoot network problems - both wired and wireless. It's not uncommon to get a ticket from a user stating that the network is "slow". Since that is always less then helpful, we usually (after basic troubleshooting steps) start a Wireshark capture closest tot he endpoint with the issue. Invariably, we are always able to find the issue - whether it's endpoint or switch related - or even if it's something downstream. We've managed to train some of the IT staff in how to do a capture - so even if they don't understand what they are looking at, they are familiar with grapping a pcap file for our review.
Pros
  • Displays data (network captures) in a logical, clear way that enables you to easily see what is happening on the wire.
  • Provides expert help and color codes packet types so it's easy to quickly pick out different types of traffic.
  • Separates the data into three panes so you can get an overview, packet details, and see string data.
Cons
  • Can be a little intimidating right out of the box.
Likelihood to Recommend
Wireshark is awesome for troubleshooting network issues. It gives you a direct view into what is happening on the wire. It takes the guesswork out of knowing what is happening on the wire - you can tell whether there are delays from web sites; file servers; voice issues. Yes - it is great for troubleshooting SIP traffic also.

It does not do massive file captures; it does not do a good job on massive packet capture files. If you are capturing traffic on a ten-gig or higher port, use tcpdump or some other mechanism to grab the data. Then use tshark (or one of the other included tools) to parse out what you need (time range, or specific type of traffic) to analyze inside wireshark.
Return on Investment
  • Saves money by allowing me to see what's going on and gives me the ability to fix the issues myself. Otherwise, I would need to hire a consultant.
  • You would not expect a carpenter to build a house without a hammer. He has other tools that he uses, but the hammer is an important one. Well, Wireshark is like that for anyone responsible for maintaining or managing a network. It's one tool - one very important tool.
Alternatives Considered
I'm not sure there are other products out there that can do all that Wireshark does for the price (free). Yes, there are commercial products that can do "more", but I haven't found the need to do anything "more" that I need to spend money on. It can generate reports; export data so you can generate your own graphs and reports; and allows you to perform baseline analysis on your network segments.
Other Software Used

Wireshark is free for those who like to snoop without limitations

Rating: 10 out of 10
Incentivized
September 25, 2018
KH
Kenneth Hess
Senior Systems Analyst
CymSTAR, LLC (Defense & Space, 201-500 employees)
Vetted Review
Verified User
Wireshark
12 years of experience
View profile
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
We/I use Wireshark to capture and to analyze both wireless and wired network traffic. It is an absolutely required tool for any system administrator or network administrator. Our entire IT department uses it. Wireshark is both free and open source software, which, for what it does, saves us a lot of money. This graphical tool is easy to use and makes network packet analysis far less painful than if we had to rely just on the command line. Using Wireshark, we can analyze network traffic for further analysis ourselves or we can capture it and send it as a pcap file to a security consultant for further investigation. It is an essential part of our administrative toolbox.
Pros
  • Wireshark is easy to use and to collect network traffic with.
  • Wireshark color codes network packets based on which type of packet has been captured. This makes the analysis much quicker.
  • Wireshark has a lot of different filters that can be applied either during capture or during analysis to filter out uninteresting packets from the feed.
  • You can download and use a standalone (not installed) version to run on USB thumb drives or other external media in case you want to analyze a potentially compromised system in place.
Cons
  • Wireshark requires elevated privileges, which can either be bad or good depending on your perspective.
  • It has the standard disadvantage of capturing packets that might not reflect actual network traffic because the data is captured locally. Not a flaw of Wireshark, specifically, but of any locally run sniffing software.
  • It can be confusing for new users to see all the columns and colors. You can do a lot of customization but it takes some effort.
Likelihood to Recommend
Wireshark is best suited to capturing and analyzing network traffic data. It is not an intrusion detection system (IDS), or a honeypot, or any real-time security tool. Offline analysis is where Wireshark shines. Take a capture using it or some other tool and load it into Wireshark for extensive analysis. Wireshark is great for forensic analysis of network traffic. You can find malformed packets, attack signatures, suspicious traffic, etc. Nothing gets by Wireshark.
Return on Investment
  • Wireshark continues to have a positive effect/impact on our business because we don't necessarily have to hire an outside consultant to read our captures.
  • Wireshark, being free of charge, allows us to use a very advanced tool at no cost.
  • All packet analysis tools are non-trivial to learn and to use. Wireshark is perhaps the simplest of all that I've seen. It is mostly intuitive and well-designed.
Alternatives Considered
I've looked at several over the years but Wireshark's no cost and advanced capabilities make it an easy choice for me. Wireshark's biggest advantage is its cost, which I've mentioned several times. It's significant in budget terms. I can't justify paying $1,000 for software that I can get for free. If I need something more advanced, I'd just pay a consultant, but they're likely to use Wireshark, so I'm not sure what I'd be paying for in the long run except a second opinion or another pair of eyes on the data.
Other Software Used
Code42 (formerly CrashPlan), Dropbox, Adobe Photoshop
Easy Tasks
  • Wireshark is quick to use. Open it, and click Capture->Start to begin capturing packets.
  • Wireshark can load/ingest data from other sources such as tcpdump, so offline analysis is easy.
  • There are a lot of filters built into it, which are handy because you will capture thousands of packets very quickly. You'll need to use these filters.
Difficult Tasks
  • I haven't found anything that's really difficult or cumbersome, but capturing wireless data can be challenging if your wireless network doesn't have some wireless connectivity.
Usability
10
I give Wireshark a 10 for usability because it is very usable. Just about anyone can capture packets within a few seconds of opening the program. The analysis is a science but as far as just using Wireshark; it's very easy.

Must have in any security professional's toolbox

Rating: 10 out of 10
Incentivized
July 27, 2021
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Wireshark is one of those tools that should be in every cyber security professional's toolbox. We use Wireshark for research and investigation. When reviewing a new software we will check the network traffic coming from applications to make sure that nothing strange is coming from or to the application.

We also set up various Capture the Flag challenges for recruiting purposes and use Wireshark to set up those challenges.
Pros
  • Network traffic inspection
  • Packet inspection
  • API testing/troubleshooting
Cons
  • Filters can be difficult to remember and formulate. A simple filter set or filter builder would be helpful.
Likelihood to Recommend
I don't know of any other tool that works as well as Wireshark for packet capture an inspection. It's extremely easy to get up and running, and even with little to no knowledge of how to use the tool, you can be looking at all the traffic coming off a network interface.
Most Important Features
  • Being able to see the network traffic happening on a device and from an application.
  • Being able to inspect the contents of packets.
Return on Investment
  • We have a great tool to provide confidence in our application purchases.
  • We are able to inspect how our code is working when it is making network requests.
Alternatives Considered
[Wireshark] is just the go-to application. It's the tool that is taught with in school and at trade conferences. We have not had a need to even look at other tools. It's free, it had a ton of functionality, and it just works without complaint.
Other Software Used
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