LinuxTutorialsUbuntu

How To Install Wireshark on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

Install Wireshark on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install and configure Wireshark on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. For those of you who didn’t know, Wireshark is a free and open-source packet analyzer. It is used for network troubleshooting, monitoring, analysis, software, and communications protocol development. Wireshark offers a graphical interface to view and analyze network results so it’s easy to use. It can capture network traffic to specific devices and network interfaces and can save the captured traffic to various formats for analysis and troubleshoot of network-related problems.

This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation Wireshark network analyzer on a Ubuntu 16.04 (Xenial Xerus) server.

Prerequisites

  • A server running one of the following operating systems: LUbuntu 16.04 (Xenial Xerus).
  • It’s recommended that you use a fresh OS install to prevent any potential issues.
  • A non-root sudo user or access to the root user. We recommend acting as a non-root sudo user, however, as you can harm your system if you’re not careful when acting as the root.

Install Wireshark on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

Step 1. First, make sure that all your system packages are up-to-date by running the following apt-get commands in the terminal.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Step 2. Installing Wireshark.

Run the commands below in the terminal to install Wireshark:

apt-get install wireshark

During the installation, it will require to confirm security about allowing non-superuser to execute Wireshark. Just confirm YES if you want to. If you check on NO, you must run Wireshark with sudo. Later, if you want to change this:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure wireshark-common

Step 3. Start Capturing Packet.

Once installed, a new group named Wireshark will be created when installing Wireshark. You can verify this by looking at the end of /etc/group file:

tail /etc/group

Running Wireshark as root is insecure. To run Wireshark as a normal user you have to add yourself to the Wireshark group:

sudo gpasswd -a <YourUserName> wireshark

Wireshark will be the user’s secondary group. To temporarily set Wireshark as the user’s primary group, run the following command:

newgrp wireshark

Finally, Start the Wireshark program from the terminal:

wireshark

Note: If you want to start Wireshark in the application menu, you have to log out of the current session and log back in.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Wireshark. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing the Wireshark network analyzer on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS  (Xenial Xerus) system. For additional help or useful information, we recommend you check the official Wireshark website.

VPS Manage Service Offer
If you don’t have time to do all of this stuff, or if this is not your area of expertise, we offer a service to do “VPS Manage Service Offer”, starting from $10 (Paypal payment). Please contact us to get the best deal!

r00t

r00t is a seasoned Linux system administrator with a wealth of experience in the field. Known for his contributions to idroot.us, r00t has authored numerous tutorials and guides, helping users navigate the complexities of Linux systems. His expertise spans across various Linux distributions, including Ubuntu, CentOS, and Debian. r00t's work is characterized by his ability to simplify complex concepts, making Linux more accessible to users of all skill levels. His dedication to the Linux community and his commitment to sharing knowledge makes him a respected figure in the field.
Back to top button