Protocol analyzers are often used by companies to keep track of network use by employees and are also a part of many reputable antivirus software packages. Outward-facing sniffers scan incoming network traffic for specific elements of malicious code, helping to prevent computer virus infections and limit the spread of malware. It's worth noting, however, that these analyzers can also be used for malicious purposes.
If a user is convinced to download malware-laden email attachments or infected files from a website, it's possible for an unauthorized packet sniffer to be installed on a corporate network. It's then possible for hackers to attempt packet injection or man-in-the-middle attacks, along with compromising any data that was not encrypted before being sent. Proper use of packet sniffers can help clean up network traffic and limit malware infections; to protect against malicious use, however, intelligent security software is required.
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A myriad of filters can be applied to accomplish this; you just need to know the right commands. Most sysadmins use commands to segment the data, then copy it to a file exported to a third-party tool for analysis. The rudimentary nature of tcpdump combined with its complex commands and highly technical language leads to a rather steep learning curve.
Nevertheless, tcpdump is a powerful tool for identifying the cause of network issues once it has been mastered. This simply means it was cloned to allow for Windows packet capture. Like tcpdump, WinDump is a command-line tool, and its output can be saved to a file for deeper analysis by a third-party tool.
WinDump is used in much the same way as tcpdump in nearly every aspect. In fact, the command-line options are the same, and the results tend to be pretty much identical. Along with the striking similarities between the two, there are a few distinct differences.
For WinDump to run, the WinPcap library the Windows version of the libpcap library used by tcpdump must be installed. Like tcpdump and WinDump, Wireshark has been around for a few decades and helped set the standard for network protocol analysis.
To this day, Wireshark remains a volunteer-run organization backed by several significant sponsorships. The Wireshark packet sniffing tool is known for both its data capture and its analysis capabilities. You can apply filters to limit the scope of data Wireshark collects, or simply let it collect all traffic passing through your selected network. Importantly, it can only collect data on a server with a desktop installed. One filter feature that distinguishes Wireshark from the pack is its ability to follow a stream of data.
Unlike other tools and browser functions, Fiddler captures both browser traffic and any HTTP traffic on the desktop, including traffic from non-web applications. This is key due to the sheer volume of desktop applications using HTTP to connect to web services. While tools like tcpdump and Wireshark can capture this type of traffic, they can only do so at the packet level.
To analyze this information with tcpdump or Wireshark would require the reconstruction of those packets into HTTP streams, a time-consuming endeavor. Fiddler makes web sniffing easy and can help discover cookies, certificates, and payload data coming in or out of applications. You can even use the tool for performance testing to improve the end-user experience.
Fiddler is a free tool designed for Windows. NETRESEC NetworkMiner is an open-source network forensic analysis tool NFAT that can be leveraged as a network sniffer and packet capture tool to detect operating systems, sessions, hostnames, open ports, and so on, without putting any of its own traffic on the network. Like Wireshark, NetworkMiner can follow a specified TCP stream and reconstruct files sent over the network, giving you access to an entire conversation.
Simply use tcpdump to capture the packets of your choosing and import the files into NetworkMiner for analysis. NetworkMiner was designed for Windows, but it can be run on any operating system with a Mono framework. Capsa, developed by Colasoft, is a Windows packet capture tool boasting free, standard, and enterprise editions. The free version is designed for Ethernet sniffing and can monitor 10 IP addresses and approximately protocols.
While the free version is fairly limited in scope, it offers some graphical analysis of the network traffic it captures and can even be used to set alerts. Capsa Standard is designed with small and budget-strapped teams in mind. It helps sysadmins troubleshoot network problems by monitoring traffic transmitted over a local host and a local network. Capsa Standard provides advanced network protocol analysis of more than 1, protocols and network applications and can monitor 50 IP addresses.
You can also view real-time data as well as perform historical analysis to help stop a performance problem in its tracks and prevent recurring issues from disrupting the end-user experience.
The most robust of the bunch is Capsa Enterprise, which, despite its name, is suited for small and large businesses alike. Capsa Enterprise performs network monitoring, troubleshooting, and analysis for both wired and wireless networks, making it a comprehensive option for identifying and diagnosing network issues.
It can monitor an unlimited number of IP addresses and identify and analyze 1, protocols and sub-protocols, including VoIP, as well as network applications based on the protocol analysis. But what truly makes the Enterprise edition stand out is its user-friendly dashboard and the extensive statistics it provides for each host and its accompanying traffic.
While packet sniffing products abound, finding the best fit for your company comes down to your own skill level and needs.
My preferred packet sniffing software is Network Performance Monitor. This comprehensive tool offers in-depth network sniffing capabilities as well as a myriad of other features to help you quickly and efficiently identify the cause of bottlenecks, downtime, and more, all at a reasonable price point. Your company relies on hundreds of printers, computers, phones, software, and more to operate successfully on a day-to-day basis.
Managing the health, inventory, and contractual agreements associated with each of these devices is no easy task. Packet sniffing may be useful in increasing network security.
When monitoring traffic for clear-text usernames and passwords, for example, you could notice possible security issues before any hacker. In addition, monitoring remote traffic can help ensure that all traffic is properly encrypted and not being sent out onto the open internet without encryption.
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Customer Login. Search Search. IT Explained: Packet Sniffing. Back to index. Content 1. What is packet sniffing? How does packet sniffing work? What kind of information does packet sniffing gather? When should I consider using packet sniffing? There are two main types of packet sniffers: Hardware Packet Sniffers A hardware packet sniffer is designed to be plugged into a network and to examine it. A hardware packet sniffer is particularly useful when attempting to see traffic of a specific network segment.
By plugging directly into the physical network at the appropriate location, a hardware packet sniffer can ensure that no packets are lost due to filtering, routing, or other deliberate or inadvertent causes. A hardware packet sniffer either stores the collected packets or forwards them on to a collector that logs the data collected by the hardware packet sniffer for further analysis.
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