Wireshark allows you to find packets not just by their packet number but also by searching inside packet content. This helps analysts and administrators quickly locate intrusion patterns, failure traces, or specific network events without manually inspecting every packet.

How to Search for Packets

You can search inside packets using:

Menu Navigation:

Edit → Find Packet

This opens a search tool that lets you look for specific data within the packets.

Two Key Factors in Packet Searching

1. Choosing the Input Type

Wireshark supports four types of search inputs:

Input Type	Description
Display Filter	Finds packets based on Wireshark filter expressions
Hex	Searches for raw hexadecimal values in packets
String	Finds specific words or phrases in packet data
Regex	Uses regular expressions for advanced pattern matching

2. Selecting the Correct Search Field

Wireshark allows you to search within different sections of a packet:

Search Field	Searches Inside
Packet List	The main packet summary table
Packet Details	Expanded protocol breakdown of the selected packet
Packet Bytes	The raw hexadecimal and ASCII data