Snort, an open source intrusion detection and prevention system (IDS/IPS), capable of real-time traffic analysis and packet logging, is regarded as the gold standard in IDS and IPS. The new version, Snort 3, is a major upgrade to the Snort IDS/IPS, featuring a new design and enhanced detection functionality, resulting in higher efficacy and improved performance, scalability, usability, and extensibility. Snort 3 is the latest version of Snort, with the current version at the time of writing being Snort v3.3.3. This book will help you understand the fundamentals of packet inspection in Snort and familiarize you with the various components of Snort. The chapters take you through the installation and configuration of Snort, focusing on helping you fine-tune your installation to optimize Snort performance. You’ll get to grips with creating and modifying Snort rules, fine-tuning specific modules, deploying and configuring, as well as troubleshooting Snort. The examples in this book enable network administrators to understand the real-world application of Snort, while familiarizing them with the functionality and configuration aspects. By the end of this book, you’ll be well-equipped to leverage Snort to improve the security posture of even the largest and most complex networks.