If you remove WinPCap, applications dependent on it – like WireShark – will fail to perform. WinPCap is listed as a separate program in Add/Remove Programs or Programs and Features. This information is then used by different programs to dig out different information. Thus, it helps in providing information to different programs about outgoing and incoming data packets. To access the low-level layers, WinPcap bypasses these and other layers and digs out data packets moving in the lower network level. WinPcap operates at network level - bypassing all other upper layers We generally work at the application level and it is the topmost level in both protocols – TCP and OSI. models used in a network scenario, for data communication, have a different set of layers. With the help of this driver, it bypasses all network protocols and accesses the low-level network layers.įor your information, TCP/IP or ISO OSI, etc. It includes kernel-level packet filtering, a network statistics engine, and a driver. It is a tool to capture network packets without the interference of any protocols. WinPcap is always installed as a separate program. Certain other tools that I’ve used – like URL Snooper – too employ WinPcap to sniff on packets traveling through the network.

If it is not already installed, Wireshark prompts and installs it for you. Wireshark is based on WinPcap as it requires the latter to be installed on your computer. Wireshark Network Analyzer is one such free tool and this review of Wireshark, in plain language, tells you what all it offers.

There are certain tools that help network admins to capture and analyze network data so that they could figure out what is going on. Network administrators can perform better if they have relevant information at their fingertips.

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