All versions of Wireshark and the source code are fully open source and can be downloaded for free. The source code is also available for those who want to modify Wireshark to run within a unique environment. Wireshark was initially written to run on Solaris and Linux, but now runs on virtually all operating systems including Windows and macOS. Top metrics for multicloud managementĮven without that ability, Wireshark is able to sniff out most packets flowing through a network, no matter the OS, the networking protocol, encryption method or file format. However, doing this normally requires superuser permissions and may be restricted on some networks. The tool allows users to put network interface controllers (NICs) into promiscuous mode to observe most traffic, even unicast traffic, which is not sent to a controller’s MAC address. Wireshark is primarily used to capture packets of data moving through a network. Wireshark can be deployed for a variety of purposes including sniffing out security issues, troubleshooting network performance problems, traffic optimization, or as part of the application development and testing process. Wireshark is a popular, free and open-source packet capture tool that enables network and security administrators to take a “deep dive” analysis into traffic moving through a network.

What is wireshark