Wireshark Tutorial:

Your Complete Guide to Network Traffic Analysis for Beginners in 2025

Introduction: Why Network Traffic Analysis Matters in 2025

Network traffic analysis reveals the hidden flow of your data.

Network traffic analysis is more essential than ever for professionals, students, and anyone curious about how digital communication works. Whether troubleshooting a slow internet connection, hunting down security threats, or simply learning about network protocols, understanding what moves through the wires is foundational. Wireshark stands out as the world’s most popular free tool for this purpose.

Wireshark lets you see inside the invisible world of network packets, revealing everything from web browsing data to suspicious activity. This guide welcomes beginners, showing how to download, set up, and use Wireshark for everyday network traffic analysis in 2025.

Table of Contents

What is Wireshark? An Introduction for First-Timers

Wireshark is an open-source network protocol analyzer. It captures packets—tiny data segments—moving across your network, decodes them, and helps you interpret what’s happening beneath the surface. Originally designed for experts, Wireshark now offers a welcoming interface for newcomers and seasoned analysts alike.

With Wireshark, you can:

Diagnose network issues.
Analyze performance bottlenecks.
Spot abnormal or malicious traffic.
Learn protocols like TCP, UDP, HTTP, DNS, and many others.
Gain hands-on skills for IT roles, cybersecurity, and research.

Wireshark gives you a window into raw network packets.

Installing Wireshark: Step-by-Step Setup for Beginners

Downloading Wireshark

Visit the official Wireshark website and choose your operating system—Windows, macOS, or Linux. Always download from the official source to ensure you get the latest, safest version.

Windows

Download “Windows x64 Installer” from the website.
Run the installer, following the on-screen prompts.
During installation, accept the “Npcap” packet capture driver (required for packet sniffing).

macOS

Download the .dmg installer or use Homebrew: brew install --cask wireshark.
Follow installation prompts, and grant permissions for network access.

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

Open a terminal and run:

text

sudo apt update

sudo apt install wireshark

sudo usermod -aG wireshark $USER

Log out and back in to access network interfaces for packet capture.

Initial Setup Tips

Launch the application and choose a compatible capture interface (usually Ethernet or Wi-Fi).
Configure basic preferences—theme, font size, and capture buffer size—for best performance.

Wireshark installation takes just a few clicks.

Exploring the Wireshark Interface

When you launch Wireshark, you’ll see:

Interface List: Shows available network devices (Ethernet, Wi-Fi, VPN adapters).
Packet List: The top pane, displaying live-captured packets with columns like Number, Time, Source, Destination, Protocol, Length, Info.
Packet Details: The middle pane breaks each packet down into protocol layers (Ethernet, IP, TCP/UDP, Application).
Packet Bytes: The bottom pane, showing raw data in both hexadecimal and ASCII.
Filter Bar: Where you enter filters to view specific traffic.

These panes work together to make sense of vast amounts of data. Try clicking on any row—details instantly update below.

Wireshark organizes complex network data into an easy workflow.

Getting Started: Capturing Packets in Wireshark

Starting Your First Packet Capture

Select the desired network interface (the one actively sending/receiving packets).
Click the blue “shark fin” button to begin capturing.
Run internet activities—browse, download, send emails—to generate live network packets.

Wireshark captures everything passing through the network interface. You can watch the packet list start populating in real time.

Stopping and Saving a Capture

Click the red square “Stop” button to halt packet collection.
Save your session with File > Save As. Wireshark’s .pcapng format preserves all packet data and lets you share sessions for troubleshooting or experimentation.

Packet capture files are essential for learning and collaboration.

Start and stop packet capture with a single click.

Understanding Packets: The Language of Your Network

Packets are the basic units of network data. Each packet contains source/destination addresses, protocol info, and the payload (the actual content, from webpage requests to video streams).

Key Columns in Packet List

Column	Description
No.	Sequential number for each packet
Time	Time since capture start
Source	Where the packet originated (IP/MAC)
Destination	Where the packet is headed
Protocol	Type (TCP, UDP, HTTP, DNS, etc.)
Length	Size of the packet
Info	Brief summary or action

By clicking any packet, you can expand to see:

Ethernet/IP headers: Layer 2/3 details.
Transport Layer: TCP or UDP info (ports, sequence/ACK numbers).
Application Layer: HTTP requests, DNS queries, etc.
Raw Data: Byte-by-byte payload viewing.

Dive deep from packet headers all the way to application data.

Wireshark Filters Explained: Filtering Traffic

Wireshark’s filters help you navigate overwhelming traffic and zero in on what matters. There are two main types:

1. Capture Filters

These are set before you begin capturing. They limit the data Wireshark collects, useful for targeting particular addresses, protocols, or ports.

Example:
Capture only HTTP traffic:

text

tcp port 80

2. Display Filters

Apply after the capture is finished to show only selected packets in the interface.

Common display filters:

Only show packets from a specific IP: ip.addr == 192.168.1.10
Only TCP packets: tcp
Show traffic to a web server: http.request
Exclude DNS packets: !dns
Show packets bigger than 1kb: frame.len > 1000

Filters make it possible to find security anomalies (like scanning tools), malicious traffic (such as suspicious domains), or troubleshoot errors quickly.

Tips:

Combine filters: ip.addr == 192.168.1.10 && tcp
Use the filter field’s autocomplete as a guide.

Filters help you zoom in on key network events and problems.

Practical Use Cases for Beginners

Network Troubleshooting

Wireshark shines for diagnosing slow or unreachable network connections. Use filters to monitor error packets, retransmissions, and latency. You can instantly spot dropped packets, protocol mismatches, or path delays between devices.

Security Analysis

Beginners use Wireshark to spot unauthorized devices, detect suspicious connections, and analyze attack attempts. For instance:

Look for brute-force login attempts through repeated failed TCP handshakes.
Catch malware traffic by monitoring unusual DNS requests or external IP destinations.
Investigate phishing attempts by following HTTP streams with sensitive payloads.

Learning Protocols

Wireshark is a playground for learning how TCP establishes connections (SYN, ACK), how DNS resolves websites, or how SSL/TLS encrypts data. Scroll through protocol layers to see the mechanics in action.

Wireshark is invaluable for troubleshooting and learning security basics.

Following Streams: Analyze Complete Conversations

Packets are often just fragments of a bigger conversation. Wireshark’s stream-following features allow you to reconstruct sessions, from entire downloads to chat logs over TCP.

Steps:

Right-click on a packet.
Select “Follow TCP Stream” or “Follow UDP Stream.”
See a complete readable transcript of the data exchange.

This is especially helpful for inspecting web requests, email logins, and file transfers.

See every step in a session with stream analysis.

Saving and Exporting Your Work

The ability to save and export your captures is vital for sharing results, collaborating, or continuing analysis later.

Save as .pcapng for maximum detail and compatibility.
Export selected packets (File > Export Specified Packets) to focus your analysis.
Use “File > Export Packet Dissections” for reports in CSV or TXT format—handy for research or incident documentation.

Double-clicking old capture files reopens them directly in Wireshark, preserving filters and views.

Easily save or share investigations using Wireshark’s export options.

Decoding Common Protocols in Wireshark

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)

Tracks connections, handshakes, retransmissions, and orderly delivery. Use filters like:

tcp.flags.syn == 1 to show SYN packets (handshakes).
tcp.analysis.retransmission for retransmitted packets.

UDP (User Datagram Protocol)

Focuses on direct, fast delivery—usually for apps like DNS and streaming.

HTTP and HTTPS

Monitor web activity. See request/response headers for HTTP; HTTPS traffic is encrypted and mainly shows only connection metadata.

DNS

Tracks domain queries and responses.

Filter: dns

ICMP

Used for ping and traceroute.

Filter: icmp

Each protocol has built-in decoding, so you can see payloads, headers, and important flags.

Wireshark assembles every protocol from the ground up.

Essential Wireshark Shortcuts and Commands

Efficiency matters as you grow familiar with Wireshark. The following shortcuts are particularly helpful:

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+E	Start/Stop packet capture
Ctrl+S	Save capture file
Ctrl+O	Open capture file
Ctrl+F	Search/filter packets
↓ / ↑	Navigate through packet list
Enter	Expand/collapse tree item
Backspace	Move up in protocol tree

Try exploring the Wireshark menu for more customizations. Practice with simple filters and commands—the more you use them, the easier troubleshooting becomes.

Shortcuts make packet analysis faster and more intuitive.

Tips for Effective Packet Analysis

Start Small: Filter by protocol, address, or port to build confidence.
Use Coloring Rules: Wireshark automatically highlights error packets, handshakes, and more for rapid analysis.
Bookmark Filters: Save commonly used filters for repeated troubleshooting.
Decode Application Traffic: Follow streams to tie network events to real use cases.
Validate with External Logs: Pair Wireshark findings with router logs or firewalls for comprehensive results.
Network Safety: Only capture on networks you’re authorized to inspect. Respect privacy and local laws.

Best practices and ethical use maximize Wireshark’s value.

Conclusion: Becoming a Network Detective with Wireshark

Wireshark is much more than a technical tool—it’s an interactive playground for learning, security, and hands-on troubleshooting. As outlined, there’s no mystery too deep: from novice packet inspection to advanced protocol analysis, Wireshark gives every user the power to understand their network.

Start with the basics, leverage filters, try out streams and exports, and remember to practice often. Over time, you’ll be able to spot performance issues, decode security threats, and master protocols in any environment. Every successful network detective uses Wireshark as a central tool—now, so can you.

Wireshark turns network mysteries into valuable insights.

UCyberSecurity