Wireshark 4.6.8 for Windows

Wireshark 4.6.8 is a free and open-source network traffic analyzer for Windows, created by Gerald Combs and developed by the Wireshark team. It captures the packets travelling through your network connection and lets you inspect them in detail, and you can download Wireshark from the official website.

Overview

Wireshark began in 1998 and has become a go-to packet analyzer for network administrators, security professionals, developers and students. It records the traffic that passes through a network interface and decodes it into readable form, so you can see what an application actually sends, why a connection is slow or where a handshake fails. Because it shows exactly what happens on the wire, it is equally useful for troubleshooting a printer that will not respond and for learning how the internet works in a networking course. It is also classed as penetration testing software, since security testers use it to analyse traffic during authorised assessments. The same power calls for responsibility: capturing other people's traffic without permission can be illegal, so use Wireshark on networks you own or are authorised to examine.

Key facts

System requirements

Wireshark supports Windows versions that are still within Microsoft's extended support, which currently includes Windows 11, 10, Server 2022, Server 2019 and Server 2016. It needs the Universal C Runtime, which comes with Windows 10. The resources required depend on the size of the capture: a busy network can produce hundreds of megabytes of data in a short time, so a fast processor and plenty of memory and disk space help, according to the Wireshark user guide.

Installation

1. Download the 64-bit installer from the official download directory or wireshark.org.
2. Run it and accept the packet capture driver the installer offers; without it, live capture is not possible.
3. Start Wireshark, pick the network interface you use and begin a capture.
4. Apply a display filter to focus on the traffic you are interested in.

Release notes are published at wireshark.org, and the source code is on GitLab.

Tips

• Capture only as long as necessary; files grow quickly.
• Save captures with descriptive names and delete sensitive ones afterwards.
• Remember that captures can contain passwords, cookies and personal data.

Pros and cons

• Pro: detailed view of network traffic.
• Pro: free and open source.
• Pro: excellent documentation.
• Con: steep learning curve.
• Con: large captures need powerful hardware.

Alternatives

Our listings include Fiddler Classic for web traffic debugging, Advanced IP Scanner for finding devices on a network, and WinMTR for tracing connection problems.