Wireshark is a leading open-source network protocol analyzer widely used in cybersecurity for packet sniffing, troubleshooting, and security investigations. It features real-time packet capture, deep inspection of protocols, advanced filtering, and offline analysis, along with support for various interfaces and data export options. Wireshark aids network analysts in diagnosing issues, visualizing data, and is essential for ethical hacking training.

1. Wireshark Tool - Features & Benefits
Introduction
Wireshark is a leading network protocol analyser widely deployed for
packet sniffing in pentesting procedures. A staple among security
professionals, the wireshark tool is used for troubleshooting network
problems and investigating security incidents. This open-source tool also
comes handy to gather insights about new networks. The post below
offers a brief on the major aspects of the wireshark tool.
Key Features of Wireshark Tool

2. Some of the top wireshark features that make it a popular tool in
ethical hacking are:
• Compatibility across platforms:
It is one of the multi-platform cybersecurity tools that can run on
Windows, Linux, NetBSD, and others.
• Live capture:
The real-time capabilities in Wireshark enable the user to create a view
and scrutinise the network packets for traversing the network.
• Deep inspection:
The wireshark network analyzer analyses various network protocols
that offer a comprehensive overview of the contents of the package. It
also allows for deep inspection of various functionalities, thus providing
the user with a thorough understanding of network communications.
This further helps in the quick resolution and diagnosis of network
issues, when needed.
• Filtering:
Wireshark has an excellent filtering capability that helps users refine
the network traffic displayed based on certain defined protocols, ports,
and IP addresses. The approach of targeting streamlines the overall
analysis of complex traffic analysis, enabling users to focus on
pertinent data. This makes it more convenient to determine potential
flaws.
• Offline analysis:
Wireshark also allows offline analysis for the examination of network
traffic that has already been captured from the saved files (PCAPNG or
PCAP). This feature comes in handy to revisit all the network activities
and share networks captured for problem-solving and executing
collaborative investigation.
• Statistical and graphical analysis:
The tool offers diverse statistical and graphical tools that include
hierarchical statistics, flow graphs, and statistics of conversation. All
the instruments assist users in visualising various network activities
that enable easy detection of anomalies or discrepancies impacting
overall network performance.
• Colour coding:
This feature is useful in the identification of issues and recognition of
the patterns that are available in captured traffic. The tool also
employs color coding that visually distinguishes packets and their

3. status. All these features enhance the overall experience of the user
and also help in effective data analysis.
• Exporting of data:
Wireshark allows data export in a variety of file formats such as XMl,
plain text, and CSV to make sharing easier. The multiple file formats
help in reporting and easy analysis by the users.
• Easy customisation:
The tailored approach in Wireshark helps in the creation and
implementation of display filters, plugins, and dissectors. It also
ensures that Wireshark is relevant to use cases and can accommodate
network protocol landscape.
All these cutting-edge features make Wireshark an indispensable part
of cyber security courses online.
Interfaces Supported by Wireshark
Wireshark is intelligently designed to work with different interfaces. Easy
compatibility with multiple interfaces makes it easy to work with a wide
number of network analysers.
• Wireless interfaces:
Enable troubleshooting and monitoring issues across wireless networks
for gaining insights into overall Wi-Fi connections.
• Ethernet interfaces:
Wireshark supports Ethernet interfaces and also enables analysing and
capturing traffic across LAN.
• Loopback interfaces:
The Loopback interface in Wireshark assists users in analysing and
capturing traffic generated by the device. Thus, there is no
requirement for external network connectivity. The functions are also
used for debugging and testing the various applications that can
communicate over the network protocol.
• USB interfaces:
Wireshark is supported by USB interfaces that can diagnose and
analyse the network traffic. It helps with USB communications, for
instance, problems associated with data transfer.

4. • Remote interfaces:
Regarding remote interfaces, Wireshark is configured with the ability to
capture traffic from tools such as sshdump or rpcapd. These can
provide insightful information for optimisation of distributed networks.
• Virtual interfaces:
Virtual machines are a part of the virtual interfaces in Wireshark.
These interfaces help users in analysis of network traffic across
virtualized environments for troubleshooting network configurations.
How Does Wireshark Work?
The steps for capturing network packages in Wireshark are as follows:
• Step 1:
Start Wireshark and click the first option for capturing.
• Step 2:
There are various destinations and sources such as lengths, protocols,
and addresses where you can capture the protocols. Filters can be
applied in terms of protocol name to see the packets that are being
filtered.
• Step 3:
After the required packets are captured, you can stop the capturing by
clicking the red button and can again start if required.
Sign up with DataSpace Academy’s top cybersecurity certifications to
know more about working with Wireshark.
Benefits Of Using Wireshark
The wireshark in cyber security benefits the cybersecurity professional
in troubleshooting networks. The tool enables users to trace connections
and gather an overview of contents regarding suspected transactions
across networks. Wireshark further helps to identify bursts that are
prevalent in network traffic. Needless to say, Wireshark is an
indispensable part of the usability pro toolkit.

5. Popular Competitors of Wireshark
Some of the popular competitors of Wireshark in packet sniffing are as
follows:
• SmartSniff
• EtherApe
• Kismet
• Ettercap
• LiveAction
• Omnipeek
Conclusion
The robust features in Wireshark enable network analysts to effectively
examine and dissect PCAP files to acquire invaluable information about
the network traffic. The blog gives an overview of the features of
Wireshark and also interfaces that are supported by Wireshark.
DataSpace Academy extends hands-on training on tools like Wireshark so
that you can master your ethical hacking and pentesting career.