Black Hat Python

Chapter 3. The Network: Raw Sockets and Sniffing

Network sniffers allow you to see packets entering and exiting a target machine. As a result, they have many practical uses before and after exploitation. In some cases, you’ll be able to use Wireshark (http://wireshark.org/) to monitor traffic, or use a Pythonic solution like Scapy (which we’ll explore in the next chapter). Nevertheless, there’s an advantage to knowing how to throw together a quick sniffer to view and decode network traffic. Writing a tool like this will also give you a deep appreciation for the mature tools that can painlessly take care of the finer points with little effort on your part. You will also likely pick up some new Python techniques and perhaps a better understanding ...