Packet Sniffing: A Network Attack Strategy and its Detection

In previous years computer networking has been growing in size, intricacy and numbers of users increasing day by day. Data Communication and network has leaded a new path to business and daily affairs. Now, they are mostly dependent upon computer networks and internetwork. All the data are sent in the form of packet from one hope to another in a network. Packets are the base of all data sent on the internet, even though they are used insecurely. Interfering with live packets and the procedure involved in altering the packets moving in the network are becoming easier. Currently the exploits that are used by the attackers are easily accessible even by neophyte attackers. There is variety of packet scanning techniques for sniffing. The purpose here is to explain the nature of packets and expose the vulnerabilities that attackers exploit. This paper also includes protective measures against packet manipulation and sniffing, and detection of sniffers on a network.