But the devices are programmed to discard all the data that’s not directed towards it.Ī packet sniffer intercepts all the data through a particular network when connected to it. How does a network sniffer work?Ī packet sniffer connected to any network intercepts all data flowing through it.Īny device connected to a Local Area Network gets exposed to all its traffic. Passive sniffing: Inflight data is snooped on in passive sniffing.Īctive sniffing is prone to unethical usage. The two types of network sniffing are active and passive sniffing.Īctive sniffing: Active sniffing takes place by directly interacting with the target devices by sending packets and getting responses. Packet analyzer, packet sniffer network analyzer, network probe, etc are some other names used for a network sniffer. It is also known as packet sniffing, network analyzer, packet analyzer, snoop, network probe. The tool can either be a self-contained software program or hardware with the necessary firmware or software. This information could be used by network administrators to optimize the network. A network sniffer could check for abnormal usage by individual nodes. Network sniffers is a tool that is used to monitor the real-time data flow across a network.

Packet sniffing tool