Network Traffic Analysis Made Easy Using Wireshark [2025 Guide]
Wireshark Basics for security and analysis. Wireshark is a powerful and widely-used network protocol analyzer that captures and displays data packets flowing through a network in real time. It allows cybersecurity professionals, system administrators, and developers to see what's happening at a micro level in their network. Originally developed as Ethereal, Wireshark supports hundreds of protocols and runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Its graphical interface makes it user-friendly, while also offering advanced features for filtering, coloring, and reconstructing TCP sessions. Wireshark captures raw packet data from network interfaces, which can then be analyzed for troubleshooting, performance tuning, or detecting malicious activity. What sets Wireshark apart is its deep packet inspection —it decodes protocol layers, giving insight into everything from HTTP headers to SSL handshakes. Whether you're monitoring DNS traffic, investigating suspicious packets, or debuggin...