Sniffnet: Free, open-source network monitoring

Sniffnet is a free, open-source network monitoring tool to help you easily track your Internet traffic. What sets it apart is its strong focus on user experience. Unlike most network analyzers, Sniffnet is built to be easily usable by everyone, regardless of technical expertise.

“There are different features that make Sniffnet stand out. First, it’s very rare to see a GUI application entirely developed in Rust. From a usability standpoint, the tool is unique in its ease of use. Network analyzers are typically complex and intended for network administrators, but my app aims to be easily usable by beginners,” Giuliano Bellini, the creator of Sniffnet, told Help Net Security.

Sniffnet features

• Choose a network adapter on your PC to inspect.
• Select filters to apply to the observed traffic.
• View statistics about your Internet traffic.
• See real-time charts of traffic intensity.
• Monitor your network even when the application is minimized.
• Export comprehensive capture reports as PCAP files.
• Identify over 6000 upper layer services, protocols, Trojans, and worms.
• Discover the domain name and ASN of the hosts you’re exchanging traffic with.
• Identify connections within your local network.
• Find the geographical location of remote hosts.
• Save your favorite network hosts.
• Inspect each of your network connections in real-time.
• Set custom notifications for defined network events.
• Choose the style that suits you best, including custom themes support.

Sniffnet natively includes MMDB databases that provide insights about observed IP addresses. Specifically, the app includes the following databases: IP to country MMDB, and IP to ASN MMDB. The embedded databases are the free version of MaxMind GeoLite2 databases. However, you can also use your own MMDB files as well. This feature can be useful in various scenarios:

• You own the commercial version of these databases, which offers greater accuracy.
• You want to update the databases frequently without waiting for a new version of Sniffnet.
• You prefer to use a different database provider for your analysis.

Future plans and download

Some of the features coming in upcoming versions include malicious traffic detection, PCAP file import, firewall capabilities, an agent for remote host monitoring, and a web interface.

Sniffnet is available for free on GitHub. It’s available for Linux, Windows, and macOS.

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