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If you’ve ever had a slow internet connection – not just a slow download, but one that you can’t understand why – then you know how hard it is to find the cause. The provider says, “Everything is working”. You restart the router – to no avail. And the sites still open one after another.
This is where Wireshark can come in handy.
It’s not magic. It’s just a program that shows you what’s really going on in your network. And it does it in great detail.
Wireshark is a network protocol analyzer. In essence, it is the software that posts the traffic between the network and displays to you the packet data flowing in or out of your computer or network.
It is, in the simplest terms, Internet traffic surveillance: with whom, who is chatting with whom, when, how, on what protocol and with what effect.
But important: Wireshark doesn’t block or fix anything. It only observes. It’s like a surveillance camera for your Internet.
Network admins to figure out where the glitch is
Security professionals to track suspicious activity
Developers and testers to understand how their applications communicate over the network
IT students who need to understand network protocols
And just tech-enthusiasts who are curious about how things work
Lots of things. Here are the main things:
Capture packets in real time
Filter traffic by protocols, IP, ports, keywords
Show how DNS, HTTP, TCP and other protocols work
Diagnose packet loss and latency problems
Monitor channel utilization – who is consuming how much traffic
Find strange connections – for example, if a program is accessing a suspicious server.
And best of all, it can all be saved, revisited and analyzed later.
The interface of Wireshark is not super-friendly, but it is logical. The main thing is to learn how to use filters.
You want to see only DNS queries? Put dns in the filter.
Only traffic on port 443 (HTTPS)? Type tcp.port == 443.
Filtering capabilities are one of the main features of the program. It’s like a database search: without it – a mess, with it – a clear picture.
Wireshark itself is safe. But there are some nuances:
Don’t run it as administrator unnecessarily
Don’t sniff other people’s networks – that’s already illegal
Don’t expect it to show you the contents of encrypted traffic (e.g. HTTPS)
Wireshark is a surveillance tool, not a hacking tool. It won’t show you passwords if they’re transmitted over HTTPS. And it won’t give you access to someone else’s traffic if you’re not connected to that network.
If you just want to speed up the internet, Wireshark won’t help. It doesn’t fix anything.
It’s for those who want to understand, not just click the “fix” button.
If you are an IT student, working with servers, testing security, or just want to understand how a network works, this is a very useful tool. But you’ll have to learn.
Yes, and here are some of them:
tcpdump – console version. Fast, but without visual interface
Tshark is like Wireshark, but in command line
Fiddler, SmartSniff, SolarWinds – other tools, more often for web debugging or monitoring
But still Wireshark is the gold standard in the world of network traffic analysis.
First of all download Wireshark for free from our website.
Wireshark works on:
Windows
macOS
Linux
Installation is straightforward. On Windows, it is important to install Npcap, the driver that allows you to capture traffic.
On Linux, you may need root privileges. On macOS it’s also easy, but the system may require permissions.
Look at this thing. A network isn’t magic. It’s just a bunch of protocols that communicate with each other. But until you see exactly what they’re doing, you’re left in the dark.
Wireshark removes that shroud. It reveals the packets that are being sent over the network, which packets are being passed using what protocols, the errors that are being made and who is using the traffic.
It learns you how to think as network engineer. Not guessing, but looking.
Wireshark is not a “fix the internet” button.
It becomes complicated at the start but it tells the truth. It doesn’t hide anything. And if you’re willing to learn a little – it will give you access to things that were previously invisible.
You won’t run it every day. But when you do, you’ll be glad you have it.
Yes — Wireshark is 100% free and open source. You can download it safely from our website. It’s one of the most trusted network protocol analyzers used worldwide.
Sometimes, yes — but only if the traffic is unencrypted (like old HTTP or FTP). If the data goes over HTTPS or uses TLS encryption, Wireshark will only capture the packets, but you won’t see the actual content, like passwords or messages. This is a common question when people first start learning about deep packet inspection.
Yes, Wireshark works perfectly on Windows 11. Just make sure to install Npcap during setup — it’s the packet capture driver that Wireshark needs to monitor network interfaces on Windows systems.
Totally. Wireshark doesn’t make any changes to your system or network — it only watches what’s already happening. Just don’t use it to sniff traffic on networks you don’t own or manage. As a packet sniffing tool, it’s great for learning and diagnosing, as long as it’s used responsibly.
Wireshark gives you a full visual interface, while tcpdump and Tshark run in the command line. If you want clickable packets, protocol breakdowns, and easier navigation, Wireshark is the better choice. It’s ideal for anyone doing real-time network monitoring or who needs to filter traffic and troubleshoot with clarity.
