BackTrack 4: Assuring Security by Penetration Testing

Network sniffers

Network sniffer is a software program or hardware device which is capable of monitoring network data. It is usually used to examine network traffic by copying the data without altering the contents. With network sniffer you can see what information is available in your network.

Previously, network sniffers were used by network engineers to help them solve network problems, but it can also be used for malicious purposes. If your network data is not encrypted and your network uses hub to connect all of the computers, then it is very easy to capture your network traffic, such as your username and password, your e-mail content, and so on. Fortunately, things become a little bit complex if your network is using switch, but your data ...