Using Filters

Filters allow you to specify exactly which packets you have available for analysis. Simply stated, a filter is an expression that defines criteria for the inclusion or exclusion of packets. If there are packets you don’t want to see, you can write a filter that gets rid of them. If there are packets you want to see exclusively, you can write a filter that shows only those packets.

Wireshark offers two main types of filters:

  • Capture filters are specified when packets are being captured and will capture only those packets that are specified for inclusion/exclusion in the given expression.

  • Display filters are applied to an existing set of captured packets in order to hide unwanted packets or show desired packets based on the specified ...

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