A common question regarding Wireshark packet analysis is “Can I find a text string in a packet capture?”
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The answer is that it depends on where the text string is (like header vs. packet content) and if the packets contain encrypted data.
Usecase #1:
If you are looking for something like “password” in the contents of packets, and the user was on an HTTPS connection, then you will not find this string. However, if they are using HTTP or some other clear text protocol, then you will be able to find a string in the packet contents.
Usecase #2:
If you are looking for a string in the packet headers, it will depend on whether the header was inside or outside a VPN tunnel. Most packet headers outside such a tunnel are always searchable and not encrypted. Anything in the tunnel will be and therefore not searchable.
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