Capturing Network Traffic
Wireshark captures network packets as they travel across your network interface. ShowShark then analyses the captured data to provide entertainment network-specific insights. The more packets you capture, the more complete ShowShark’s analysis becomes, but on the flip side, larger captures require more processing time.
Future documentation will include more detailed ShowShark and entertainment-specific capture guidance, with examples and screenshots. In the meantime, the official Wireshark documentation is a great resource for learning effective capture workflows.
Very Quick Capture Steps
-
Choose the Interface - On opening Wireshark, select the interface where your entertainment traffic is flowing (Wi-Fi, Ethernet, etc.). See: Wireshark: Capture Interfaces
-
Start the Capture - Press the green “Start capturing” button and let the capture run for long enough to see a representative sample (often ~1 minute is plenty). See: Wireshark: Main Toolbar
-
Stop the Capture - Click the red square button to stop capturing.
-
Open Host Table - View discovered devices via Tools > ShowShark > Host Table. See: Host Table
-
Explore - Browse the packet list and packet details panes, and try different column layouts. You can also try display filters (including via ShowShark’s Filter Builder) to focus on specific traffic types. See: Wireshark: Packet List Pane, Wireshark: Packet Details Pane, and Wireshark: Display Filter Toolbar
-
Save Important Captures - Use File > Save As to keep capture files for later analysis.