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Wireshark, a widely utilized network traffic analysis tool, has proven to be invaluable for various user experiences and use cases. Cyber …
Starting at $0
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What is Wireshark?
Wireshark is a free and open source network troubleshooting tool.
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Pricing
Wireshark
Free
On Premise
Entry-level set up fee?
- No setup fee
Offerings
- Free Trial
- Free/Freemium Version
- Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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
Product Details
- About
- Tech Details
- FAQs
What is Wireshark?
Wireshark is a free and open source network troubleshooting tool.
Wireshark Technical Details
| Deployment Types | On-premise |
|---|---|
| Operating Systems | Windows, Linux, Mac |
| Mobile Application | No |
Frequently Asked Questions
Wireshark is a free and open source network troubleshooting tool.
Wireshark starts at $0.
Reviewers rate Support Rating highest, with a score of 10.
The most common users of Wireshark are from Enterprises (1,001+ employees).
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Reviews and Ratings
(135)
Community Insights
TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!
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Wireshark, a widely utilized network traffic analysis tool, has proven to be invaluable for various user experiences and use cases. Cyber security professionals rely on Wireshark for research and investigation, allowing them to check network traffic from applications and ensure there are no abnormalities. The software's versatility is demonstrated by its utilization in setting up Capture the Flag challenges, making it an engaging tool for recruiting purposes. Additionally, Wireshark is essential for monitoring network traffic and troubleshooting network-related issues, saving time and effort in problem-solving. It enables system administrators and network administrators to dissect network packets in detail, extract relevant network information, and quickly identify and resolve network problems. The software's free and open-source nature provides cost savings without compromising functionality, making it a preferred choice for users. Its graphical interface makes network packet analysis less cumbersome compared to command-line alternatives. Moreover, Wireshark aids in in-depth analysis of TCAP messages, debugging of network data exchange issues, investigating network issues and locating lost IPs on the network, troubleshooting site-to-site VPN tunnels, identifying unusual activity in network traffic, tracking specific users' data for detection of client/server connectivity issues, aiding in networking and security education with real-time lab environments, capturing and analyzing network traffic for automation purposes, verifying protocol usage, troubleshooting firewall ruleset tests, monitoring traffic patterns, locating desired information within the network using powerful filters, identifying handshake issue algorithm compatibility problems with database servers and clients, diagnosing issues with VOIP phone systems causing dropped calls due to packet loss, capturing network traffic for system information management purposes, addressing ping scan DOS attacks on external locations and severe broadcast storms caused by corrupted NIC drivers on the main network. The versatility of Wireshark extends to various organizations where it is used for network design, testing, operation as well as helping technicians analyze network traffic effectively during troubleshooting at client sites.
Affordable Price: Many users appreciate the low cost of Wireshark, as it provides powerful network analysis capabilities without the need for expensive software. Several reviewers have stated that Wireshark offers a good value for its price.
Packet Analysis Capabilities: The ability to capture, log, and analyze packet data is highly valued by users. Many reviewers have mentioned that this feature allows for detailed troubleshooting and monitoring of network traffic in their feedback on Wireshark.
Real-time Network Visibility: Users find the real-time network data visibility provided by Wireshark to be invaluable. Several customers have mentioned that this feature enables them to monitor network activity promptly and identify any issues or anomalies with ease.
Confusing User Interface: Some users have found the user interface of Wireshark to be confusing, suggesting that it can be improved to make it more user-friendly and intuitive.
Steep Learning Curve: The software has a steep learning curve, with new users finding it overwhelming to see all the columns and colors. This can make it challenging for them to navigate and understand the software.
Lack of User-Friendliness: While acknowledging that Wireshark is not primarily designed for those who are not comfortable with this type of software, some users still mention the lack of a more user-friendly interface. They suggest enhancing the UI/UX to make it more intuitive and easier to use.
Users of Wireshark have made several recommendations based on their experience with the software. The most common recommendations include utilizing the free version, seeking help and documentation online, and exploring all features and capabilities.
Many users recommend using the free version of Wireshark as it is considered a great tool for networking systems and packet analysis. Users appreciate its stability and open-source nature.
To effectively use Wireshark, users advise seeking help and documentation online. They suggest following tutorials and reading the new user guide to understand how to navigate the software's features.
Users also recommend spending time exploring all the features and capabilities of Wireshark, although it may seem overwhelming at first. By doing so, users can fully utilize this powerful network sniffing tool, particularly on Linux systems.
Overall, users consider Wireshark an excellent network packet analyzer that caters to the needs of both network engineers and beginners in network engineering. However, some users caution obtaining security approval before using the software. While they acknowledge that Wireshark may provide more information than expected, they still regard it as a valuable tool for their networking needs.
Attribute Ratings
Reviews
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November 02, 2022
Must have tool to work in or with Networks!
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 through Wireshark now. And we keep track of packet data information exchange between different networks very conveniently. Wireshark helps us now to easily debug the network data exchange issues and fix them quickly.
- Possibility to analyze packets from various interfaces (LAN,Wifi,BT,USB).
- Ability to integrate with GNS3 easily.
- Its a free tool and available on all platforms.
- Provide comprehension analysis on communication protocols.
- Learning curve is a little steep.
- Encrypted network traffic read is a a struggle.
- User interface can be developed
October 31, 2022
Great open-source tool with a powerful toolset
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 Wireshark to capture packets to analyse if there were too many DNS requests going through to the local DNS server.
While saying that, I only used it primarily to get a deep understanding of our network.
While saying that, I only used it primarily to get a deep understanding of our network.
- Great UI & Command Line Tools
- Packet capture feature is very good
- It is open source which is the best thing in a tool like Wireshark
- A little bit of intrusion detection feature would help
- Other than that, I don't think it lacks anything
- Perfect little tool
We use Wireshark in our organization to troubleshoot network-related issues, such as when setting up a new site-to-site VPN tunnel and for some reason the connection is not being established. Wireshark would be used to actually gather and examine the packets to see determine why the connection is not being established and to resolve the issue based on the actual captured traffic.
- Captures network traffic
- Categorizes network traffic based on many different categories
- Offers numerous filtering options to reduce unnecessary clutter
- Perhaps Wireshark could offer more regular updates/upgrades.
October 29, 2022
WireShark
We have been using Wireshark for a few years, it allows us to take a deep view of out network and analyze what is being sent and received. We use it a lot when trying to trouble shoot connections that aren't acting how they are programmed to work. It also lets us troubleshoot our microwave network when our routers aren't working properly.
- Inspection of protocols
- Analysis of packets
- Live data
- More user friendly
- A more detailed explanation of certain packets
October 29, 2022
Exactly what we need for our business
We have a lot of clients and there are times when they run into certain network issues when trying to connect to certain apps. With Wireshark we're able to run a packet capture and get more info on what is going on during the communication process so we can pinpoint where the problem lies.
- Packet Capture
- Logging
- N/A
July 27, 2021
Simple Easy Open Source Packet Analyzer
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.
- 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
- Provide Dashboard/Graphs to display N/W Traffic
- Trigger Notifications based on certain Traffic received
July 27, 2021
Wireshark Is A Must Have for Network Admins
Wireshark allows us to capture traffic on our network and see if there is any unusual activity that we need to worry about. It also allows us to track specific users' data to find if there are issues relating to client/server connectivity.
- Capture Network Traffic - This really is the essential functionality of Wireshark as without consistent data capture there is nothing to analyze
- Filtering - We need to often filter for specific data that we are looking for.
- Live Capture as well as offline analysis - This gives us the flexibility to do what we need to do when we need to do it.
- A more user-friendly interface would be nice, but then again it is not really designed for those who are not quite comfortable with this type of software.
- Changes to functionality on updates - this can sometimes happen unexpectedly and can be an annoyance.
- More powerful data processing would be welcomed
Wireshark is used at the IT department of our company and those with a lot of development and IT experience. It's being used to troubleshoot when software or script communication fails and troubleshoot network-related issues. It's also being used when we suspect there may be a security flaw and need to analyze packets for potential problems.
- Inspect Network Packets
- Troubleshoot Software Issues
- Solve Router and Switch Problems
- Not for the Novice User
- Trouble Reading Some Types Encrypted Traffic
- Interface Could Use an Update
July 27, 2021
Wireshark, a network engineer's secret weapon
Wireshark is used across all of our client sites for in-depth network troubleshooting. Out of all the tools we have at our disposal, the ability to install a managed switch inline with a problematic device and/or workstation allows our technicians to deep dive into the network traffic and locate the issue.
- Network Troubleshooting
- Packet Analysis
- Traffic Filtering
- GUI Interface
- Product Support
- Product Training
July 18, 2019
Wireshark the best friend for network engineers
Wireshark is being used widely in my organization especially in network engineering and operation teams. It's being used for multiple purposes in network design, testing, operation, and troubleshooting.
- Wireshark is easy to use, the user can customize the display layout of the packet based on the user's own interests to only highlight the network layers and parameters being cared about.
- There are plenty of integrated/embedded tools inside Wireshark can be used to perform deep analysis of the different type of network issues.
- Filter and search functionality are so powerful which can be helpful for network issue troubleshooting.
- It's better to integrate some APIs to the high-level users allowing them to design and program their own deep analysis functions to support the work.
- it's better to optimize the algorithm processor a little bit as I will normally have trouble to open a big size packet capture larger than 3GB, the computer will become very slow and take a very long time to open the file and perform any analysis.
July 02, 2019
Dissect your Network Packets with Wireshark!
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Wireshark is used in our organization for monitoring the network traffic and troubleshooting in case we are facing any network related issues. It is one the most used software which lets you dissect the network packet to the tiniest details and pull out any network related information. It is used by our department only and not by everyone across the organization. Our job requires making all the systems and communications across the systems to run smoothly. So we have a constant session running on all the systems via Wireshark and in case of any problem, we quickly dump all the network packets and filter its using amazing filter function of Wireshark and then find out the problem. Without software, it might take hours or even days to solve the problems.
- Light-weight software - Does not require high end specifications; also runs smoothly on Legacy systems
- Filter function - Lets you filter you packets from thousands to tens so as to find your target much easily
- Simultaneous capturing on all the network adapters - You can capture packets from all the Network Interface Cards (NIC's) at once.
- GUI of the software can improve a bit; like some more animations can be added to make it more user friendly
- Some more learning resources can be officially added; like filter query function is much advanced, but everyone does not know how to efficiently use it
- Themes can also be provided to users so that people who work on this software for hours can have a new experience by changing the colors of the software
September 25, 2018
Wireshark is free for those who like to snoop without limitations
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.
- 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.
- 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.
March 03, 2018
Wireshark - Perfect Tool for Network Admins
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.
- 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.
- Can be a little intimidating right out of the box.
March 31, 2017
Great Tool to Network Toubleshoot
Wireshark is used both in the network team and helpdesk team. It helps us to identify and troubleshoot network connectivity issues.
- It can help us to determine the network issue such as if it would be at the application level or network routing issue.
- It also can identify how the source and destination communicate.
- It can track the network traffic to determine the actually network flow.
- I find it's pretty easy to use and have been a fan of it.
November 04, 2016
Wireshark
Wireshark is being used across our organization to trouble shoot all network related issues. We are also using it to trouble shoot application speed issues between locations.
- Wireshark provides an immense amount of data. If the data is being sent you will be able to track it.
- Will flag some notable information if you don't know what you are looking for.
- Can analyze VoIP data as well.
- It can be difficult to parse and filter data without working with Wireshark for a while. The amount of data can be overwhelming for first time users.
- We have had difficulties getting it to run properly with MacOS