With this, you must have understood why Wireshark is so popular. Moreover, this application is not only available on Windows and macOS, but Linux as well. Although Linux allows you to easily install different applications, one could still face issues while installing Wireshark. If that’s the case with you, allow us to save the day. This will give you a complete guide for installing and using Wireshark on Ubuntu Linux. However, before we begin, there’s one thing you should note. Although we’re using Ubuntu 19.04 LTS for this tutorial, Wireshark supports all LTS versions of Ubuntu that have not gone obsolete. So, without further ado, let’s get started!
Step 1: Installing Wireshark. Method 1: Using Ubuntu Universe Repository. Method 2: Using Wireshark PPA. Step 2: Using Wireshark.
Step 1: Installing Wireshark.
In case you have some experience using Linux, installing Wireshark on your Ubuntu system should be a piece of cake. Just make sure that you don’t miss any step in this installation guide and you’d be good to go. Now, there are two methods that allow the installation of Wireshark on Ubuntu Linux. Each has its own advantages and downfalls, so you should go for the one you deem most appropriate.
Method 1: Using Ubuntu Universe Repository.
There’s no doubt that Wireshark fully supports Ubuntu Linux. This could be seen as the application is available to be installed from the Universe repository of Ubuntu. With this method, you will easily be able to install Wireshark. With that being said, it is often the case that a slightly older version of this application would get installed on your system. Accordingly, you should only go for this method if getting the latest version of Wireshark is not your priority. With that out of the way, let’s have a look at the steps: You can rest assured that you won’t be having any issues with this method. However, if you want to get your hands on the latest version of Wireshark, the second method would be a much better choice.
Method 2: Using Wireshark PPA.
All thanks to the official Wireshark PPA, we can easily install the latest version of this application. Apart from that, in case you don’t know about PPAs, allow us to give you a brief introduction. Short for ‘Personal Package Archive’, PPA assists Linux users and application developers with distributing software by allowing them to create their own repositories. Put more simply, you can get your hands on the latest version of the software, which you can’t find on the official Ubuntu repositories. So, if you want to install Wireshark through its PPA, follow these steps:
If you follow our instructions carefully, you need not worry about coming across any issues. However, if you still do, Wireshark itself has provided detailed instructions on how to install it on your Linux system. Some users have also reported that they come across the “couldn’t run /usr/bin/dumpcap in child process: Permission Denied” while running Wireshark. A simple fix to this problem is to execute the following command and opt for ‘YES’: Then, reboot your PC after running the following:
Using Wireshark.
Now that you have installed Wireshark on your Linux system, there’s no stopping you from making the most out of it. With that being said, if you have no prior experience with this software, you could run into some trouble. Considering this, we’ll also guide you with getting started with Wireshark in this tutorial. More specifically, you’ll be learning about how to start the application and use it to capture packets. If we have you interested, let’s see the steps:
Network engineers shouldn’t shy away from using Ubuntu. As a matter of fact, as you might have seen in our article, this Linux-based distribution makes installing Wireshark relatively easy. Plus, if you’re just a beginner, you might have gotten a better idea of how Wireshark really works as well. Lastly, comment down a 👍 if you successfully installed Wireshark on your Ubuntu system. If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂
