In this recipe, we will examine the process of sniffing network traffic. Sniffing network traffic involves intercepting network packets, analyzing them, and then decoding the traffic (if necessary), and displaying the information contained within the packet. Sniffing traffic is particularly useful in gathering information from a target as depending on the websites visited, you will be able to see URLs visited, usernames, passwords, and other details that you can use against them.
We will use Ettercap for this recipe, but you could also use Wireshark. For demonstration purposes, Ettercap is a lot easier to understand and apply sniffing principles. Once an understanding of the sniffing process is established, Wireshark can be utilized to provide a more detailed analysis.