Wireshark Fundamentals
Wireshark Fundamentals — Complete Beginner Overview
Wireshark is the most widely used network protocol analyzer in cybersecurity, networking, and troubleshooting. It captures real-time traffic from your network and helps you understand what’s happening at the packet level.
1. What Is Wireshark?
Wireshark is a tool used to:
Capture network packets
Analyze protocols
Troubleshoot connectivity issues
Detect anomalies or suspicious traffic
Learn how networking works inside the OSI model
It’s commonly used by:
Network Engineers
Cybersecurity Analysts
SOC Teams
Penetration Testers
Students learning networking
2. How Wireshark Works
Wireshark captures packets using a feature called promiscuous mode, allowing your network interface to listen to all traffic it can access.
Captured packets are then decoded into readable formats such as:
Ethernet
IP
TCP/UDP
HTTP, DNS, DHCP
TLS, ARP, ICMP
3. Key Features
Real-time packet capture
Deep inspection of hundreds of protocols
Color-coded packet display
Powerful filters (display + capture)
Packet-by-packet breakdown
Decryption support (E.g., WPA2 Wi-Fi)
Export results & generate reports
4. Understanding the Interface
When you open Wireshark, you typically see:
1. Interface List
Choose which network interface to capture on:
Ethernet
Wi-Fi
Virtual adapters
Bluetooth (optional)
2. Packet List Pane
Each row is one packet with timestamp, source, destination, protocol, and info.
3. Packet Details Pane
Shows detailed OSI layers:
Frame
Ethernet
IP
TCP/UDP
Application protocol
4. Packet Bytes Pane
Shows raw hexadecimal + ASCII view.