Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users
Wireshark Logo

Wireshark pros and cons

Vendor: Wireshark
4.5 out of 5
795 followers
Post review

Pros & Cons summary

Buyer's Guide

Get pricing advice, tips, use cases and valuable features from real users of this product.
Get the report

Prominent pros & cons

PROS

Wireshark features tools like tshark for parsing large packet-capture files efficiently, facilitating the analysis of extensive data without opening them.
The software offers deep packet inspection and detailed analysis capabilities, which are crucial for network security troubleshooting and understanding network activities at a granular level.
It supports advanced filtering options, allowing users to segregate and examine network traffic effectively, which aids in targeted analysis and troubleshooting.
Wireshark is equipped with features for decrypting traffic and conducting thorough analyses, which are beneficial in forensic investigations and network monitoring.
The colorization of protocols in the interface helps in quickly identifying specific network activities and issues, enhancing the user's ability to diagnose and resolve network problems efficiently.

CONS

Wireshark's command line tools need more emphasis and ease of application is lacking.
The search function would benefit from live descriptions to ease usage and reduce the learning curve.
It struggles with handling big trace files efficiently without external tools.
Compatibility issues arise with different operating systems, notably between Windows and Linux.
Wireshark faces difficulties with decryption of encrypted packets and requires improved support for automation.
 

Wireshark Pros review quotes

SanjeevKumar19 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 27, 2023
It is a stable product. I would rate the stability a ten out of ten.
VP
Jul 26, 2023
The best part about Wireshark, in my opinion, is its ability to analyze packet capture files.
Kamal Kumar Verma - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 5, 2023
Wireshark helps us to understand network traffic.
Learn what your peers think about Wireshark. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Rajendra Thakur - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 25, 2022
The options that are required to get the details for the packet drops are good.
DeepakKumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 7, 2022
The product is simple to implement.
DonniUgalde - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 18, 2024
The GUI is easy to use.
SS
Oct 27, 2022
What's best about Wireshark is that it doesn't require installation. It supports cards and monitoring permissions and is sufficient for appending and capturing activities. You won't need to install other tools to use Wireshark, so this saves you time. You can capture packets at any time from your laptop through Wireshark.
Vijay Duggal - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 2, 2023
If you're dealing with troubleshooting network, voice issues, or network operations, having a tool like Wireshark to dive into packet details is important. The initial setup is straightforward. Anyone starting out or looking to deploy it on your personal PC or machine can do it easily.
Chad Nel - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 6, 2023
Wireshark has a lot of features. It's a powerful tool if you're familiar with it. You can see everything on the network with it.
Henry A. McKelvey - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 16, 2020
I use the filters very often, to determine what type of traffic I am looking for. The use of filter allows traffic to be segmented so that a value can be looked at individually apart from the other traffic.
 

Wireshark Cons review quotes

SanjeevKumar19 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 27, 2023
The initial setup depends upon the basics. You need to have a clear understanding of the basics.
VP
Jul 26, 2023
It is difficult to scale this solution.
Kamal Kumar Verma - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 5, 2023
The product has been using the same GUI for many years.
Learn what your peers think about Wireshark. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Rajendra Thakur - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 25, 2022
You need good network connectivity to download during the setup, otherwise, it might take a while.
DeepakKumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 7, 2022
This product needs to improve the UI.
DonniUgalde - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 18, 2024
I wish the filters were a little bit more prepopulated.
SS
Oct 27, 2022
Wireshark is similar to an OS defense tool, meaning that it runs on an OS such as Ubuntu and Fedora, but I'm unsure if it's compatible with Windows or if it's a straightforward process to run it on Windows. Right now, my team needs to run Wireshark from a dongle to use it, so it's an OS-dependable tool, and that's an area for improvement. I was unable to use Wireshark on Windows, and I couldn't capture it, as I'm unsure how to configure the wireless card into monitoring mode on Windows. The process was straightforward on Linux, but it wasn't the case on Windows OS. It seems Wireshark isn't compatible with all OS. For example, you can analyze the log, and you can analyze it on the Windows server, but you can't do a capture in Windows. Configuring Wireshark for Windows isn't as easy as configuring it for Linux.
Vijay Duggal - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 2, 2023
There is a disadvantage when it comes to sampling intervals. Additionally, I've heard from a colleague that Wireshark might be less effective in the voice domain.
Chad Nel - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 6, 2023
The average person would probably find Wireshark hard to use. When I first installed it, I was overwhelmed by all the data it was shooting out. It doesn't make sense until you start doing some research and figure out what everything means. It isn't the most user-friendly tool. It just provides so much information.
Henry A. McKelvey - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 16, 2020
The system could be improved upon by adding a better and more powerful data processing engine.