We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Networking

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What are Network Sniffers?

By Rolando Braza
Updated: May 16, 2024
Views: 7,398
Share

A network sniffer is a powerful utility software primarily used to monitor network traffic in real time by capturing packets of data coming in and out of a computer connected to a network. The pieces of data collected are analyzed to identify and resolve network problems, manage network traffic and detect hackers who also use network sniffers to go about their malicious activities in a network. The activities of hackers include the cracking of users' coded names or identification numbers and passwords in order to facilitate computer fraud such as the transfer of funds from one account to another and other illegal transactions.

Network sniffers come in two basic types — portable and distributed. Portable sniffers are standalone systems that can be set up in a personal computer, and distributed sniffers are systems installed by large organizations with an extensive network that is managed and controlled through a network operation center. Network sniffers work by switching the network interface card (NIC) to promiscuous mode so that the NIC will not ignore all of the data that comes in frames. The NIC will instead pass all of the data it receives to the kernel, which is the heart of a computer’s operating system and the link between applications and all data processing done in the hardware level. Only a superuser or administrator is allowed to switch the NIC to promiscuous mode for network security purposes.

Network sniffers have the purpose of enhancing the performance of a computer network. The proliferation of hackers who use network sniffers for their personal ill intentions and even organized computer crimes, however, has given network sniffers a bad reputation and more reason for network administrators to think about network security. Network sniffers, nevertheless, still are necessary to maintain the efficiency of a network, and the only recourse is to combat hackers by shielding the network from unauthorized sniffing and other malicious manipulations.

Network administrators can protect their network environment from the wrongdoing of network spies or hackers by using anti-sniffing software. These programs will scan the network regularly to check which of the NIC cards are running in promiscuous mode. Another security option is to adapt to a switched network environment so that the packets of data that travel within the network are delivered only to the computer of the intended user.

A more reliable form of network security is data encryption. The pieces of data in a packet are converted into a non-readable form, except for the address of the source and destination of the data, to make sure that the packet of data goes to the correct recipient. Reading the data will require decryption on the receiving end. The data that the hacker will see, therefore, is limited to the addresses of the sender and the recipient.

Share
EasyTechJunkie is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Discussion Comments
Share
https://www.easytechjunkie.com/what-are-network-sniffers.htm
Copy this link
EasyTechJunkie, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

EasyTechJunkie, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.