The Bottom Line
- Detailed look at one of the best packet sniffing tools available
- Easy to read and comprehend
- Great investment for anyone using Ethereal
- Some graphics and details are already out of date
Description
- Ethereal is the cream of the crop in packet sniffers and this book will show you how to use it
- Ethereal is almost constantly being updated which makes some of the information outdated
- Exceptional detail on Ethereal functionality and how to write filters to help you analyze the data
- If you want to get the most out of this free software, this may be the best money you spend
- Explains how to use Ethereal with other products such as Snort, Microsoft Network Monitor and more
- Discusses use of other products in the suite like MergeCap, EditCap and Tethereal
Guide Review - Book Review: Ethereal Packet Sniffing
The opening chapter provides a very good overview of network analysis for those who are new to the whole concept. It answers questions like "What Is Network Analysis and Sniffing?" and "How Does It Work?".
One of the nice things about this book is that it is completely dedicated to this one product. So, rather than hitting the highlights of various applications and glossing over features and functionality this book provides entire chapters devoted to installing and using Ethereal's basic functionality and then goes on to cover advanced concepts in great detail.
Chapter 7 explains how to integrate Ethereal with other products and using Ethereal to analyze data from applications such as Snort, Snoop, Microsoft Network Monitor and more. Because Ethereal is open source anyone with an idea and some extra time is welcome to contribute to the project by developing Ethereal further. Chpater 9 is dedicated to illustrating what you need to know as a developer to help improve Ethereal.
The book comes with a CD which contains Ethereal among other things, but CD's are quickly outdated and you are better off downloading the current Ethereal from the site. Regardless, this book is a must have for anyone running Ethereal and is well worth the money.
