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Sniffers monitor and record raw data that passes through, over, or by a physical network interface.
Network sniffer is tool that can help you locate network problems by allowing you to capture and view the packet level data on your network.
- Uses of network Sniffers:
- Capturing packets
- Recording and analyzing traffic
- Decrypting packets and displaying in clear text
- Converting data to readable format
- Showing relevant information like IP protocol, host or server name and so on
- Catching password, which is the main reason for most illegal uses of sniffing tool
- Capturing special and private information of transactions like username, credit ID, account, and password.
They operate from a core part of a system’s networking stack, close to the hardware drivers that translate electrical impulses from a wired (or wireless) connection into packets.
For example, a sniffer might tell an Ethernet interface to dump all traffic it sees rather than just watch for traffic addressed to the device’s address.
Network interfaces are supposed to have a unique identifier tied to the device’s hardware.
This identifier is the Media Access Control (MAC) address assigned to every interface.
A device’s IP address may change depending on what network it’s connected to.
For example, a laptop might have IP address 10.0.1.12 on a home network, 10.10.33.19 at a coffee shop, and 192.168.17.33 at work.
Its MAC address remains the same across each network because the hardware hasn’t changed.
Devices use the MAC address to negotiate data link layer connections.
These are the connections that devices use to transfer higher-level protocols like TCP/IP. In order to join a network, a device broadcasts its MAC address, indicating that it wishes to communicate with someoneThey operate from a core part of a system’s networking stack, close to the hardware drivers that translate electrical impulses from a wired (or wireless) connection into packets.