For different reasons we will discuss later, some computer users may be interested in having software that allows them to analyze all the details related to the data packets exchanged between their computer and the network or server. Well, in this case, the best thing to do is to have a tool that has been specially developed for this purpose, and SmartSniff is one of the complete ones available.

The truth is that, as we said before, there are many reasons why someone might look for this type of application, some of them related to the existence of spyware inside your computer, but also at the time of knowing why a program that requires Internet does not work, etc. SmartSniff is then postulated as one of the good alternatives we have at our disposal to take advantage of in these cases.

SmartSniff is a service created by NirSoft, a company of specialists in all tools responsible for analyzing our system's operation. In its particular case, we could say that we are in the presence of a utility with several objectives, ranging from trying to detect the presence of potentially malicious software on our computer to understanding the problems of different processes we carry out.

However, in the same way, you have to consider that SmartSniff can be a time bomb in a user's hands without the necessary knowledge because it is powerful software that allows you to make profound changes on your computer. If you limit yourself to personal and essential use, we can say that it is an application that will solve many of your problems.

SmartSniff will then analyze all the data that has been transferred by your computer, although using it may require some assistance, so we will tell you a little about the procedure to take advantage of it. First, to use SmartSniff on your PC, you will need to install WinPCap on your system, an application that allows access to the connection between network layers in Windows environments.

To be clear, if you use SmartSniff without downloading WinPCap, you can only see the incoming traffic with this first application. However, here, we are interested in analyzing the TCP packets thoroughly. That is done, you have to download SmartSniff, which comes in a ZIP archive, and you can run it from there since it does not require installation.

Once SmartSniff is open, you have to go to the Options menu of the application, and you will see several interim menus appear, among which you have to go toDisplay Protocols , from where you can see all the information about the packages TCP, UDP or ICMP. We recommend that when the program asks you which contents you want to see, you should only check the TCP because the others will be useless and disturb your view.

Finally, one of the main advantages of SmartSniff over other similar applications is that it will allow you to export all the reports you obtain quickly and easily in the format you prefer. Some available formats, considering that they all tend to be text-based, are XML, HTML, and TXT.

As for SmartSniff's user interface, we must say that it is a well-designed interface, which is not very aesthetically developed but offers an exciting functionality based on only the essential elements. Thus, in its main window, you will see all the time the most critical information you have to take into account about the TCP, packages, and the most relevant available functions.

If we have to analyze the main strengths of SmartSniff, we will have to talk about it being a comprehensive program when we want to know all the data of the TCP packets on our computer. Even when you are not a specialist in the subject, you will get the necessary information to use later as you want, and you can also export it to send it to a friend who knows the subject.

The worst thing about SmartSniff has to do, on the other hand, first of all with the fact that we are in the presence of a tool that we will not be able to take advantage of unless we know the subject and that it is somewhat dangerous if we do not know how to use it. Apart from that, you should also know that it requires the WinPCap program to be able to take full advantage of it since its functions are minimal without it.

Our conclusion about SmartSniff is that it is a good utility that should be considered by all users who want to get first-hand information about all TCP packets on their computers. Undoubtedly, there is no shortage of complete applications in this field, and this is one of the ones that best interprets the needs we may have.