Your source for the most up-to-date terms, definitions, and acronyms for and about internet service providers.
Search for an ISP term
sniffer
Last modified: Thursday, July 29, 2004
A program and/or device that monitors data traveling over a network. Sniffers can be used both for legitimate network management functions and for stealing information off a network. Unauthorized sniffers can be extremely dangerous to a network's security because they are virtually impossible to detect and can be inserted almost anywhere. This makes them a favorite weapon in the hacker's arsenal.
On TCP/IP networks, where they sniff packets, they're often called packet sniffers.
eSecurity Planet A resource for daily information on e-security targeted to IT managers. The site provides users with information from a variety of sources, including experts at security product and services firms, and the consultants who follow the security industry.
