Every packet carries its program name and process id, on Windows and Linux. Filter by program, see bytes per program.
Comparison
Defendingo vs Wireshark
Wireshark is the expert's microscope for network protocols, and we respect it deeply. Defendingo is the guard dog that is already running: every packet named by the program that sent it, 90 days of history, plain words when something looks wrong, and an AI assistant that can ask it questions. Here is how the two compare, honestly, and how they work together.
Why developers add Defendingo
Every packet, named by its program
Wireshark captures what passes an interface. Defendingo also knows which program sent each packet, live, on Windows and Linux, and filters by it: app == chrome.exe.
Ask your AI
A built-in MCP server lets Claude, Cursor or VS Code ask "which program talks to unknown servers?" and get a real answer from your own records.
Already running, 90 days deep
You don't start a capture after something odd happens. Defendingo's guard has been recording every connection all along, searchable for three months.
One-click TLS keys
Run with TLS keys starts one program with its session keys logged, for that program only, and decrypts its traffic in Follow stream. The keys travel inside the recording, so Wireshark decrypts it too.
Plain words and warnings
"updater.exe is unsigned, runs from Downloads and talks to a Telegram bot." Defendingo explains and warns; a packet list leaves the judgement to you.
Super light, no driver
About 16 MB for the always-on guard, capture only while the page is open, and no Npcap to install. Works with Wireshark: pcapng files go both ways.
Side by side
Feature by feature
Both tools are read-only and both open the same .pcapng files. The differences are about what each one is for.
FeatureDefendingoWireshark
Which program sent each packet
Yes, live
Not by default
Wireshark captures at the interface and shows addresses and ports; which process they belong to is not part of the capture.
Always-on history
90 days
The guard records every connection as it happens and keeps it searchable for three months, on your own computer.
No
Wireshark captures when you start it and shows what happened from then on.
Plain-language explanations and warnings
Yes
Who owns each server, which category it is in, and warnings with reasons: unsigned programs, risky folders, places malware likes, suspicious ports.
No
Wireshark shows protocols and fields precisely and leaves the interpretation to the analyst.
AI assistant integration
Built-in MCP server
Nine read-only tools for Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code and any MCP client. Setup.
None built in
Wireshark has a rich command-line companion, tshark, which scripts and assistants can drive by hand.
Protocol dissection
The everyday set
Ethernet, ARP, IPv4/IPv6, ICMP, TCP, UDP, DNS, DHCP, NTP, HTTP/1, HTTP/2 frames, WebSocket, TLS with JA3/JA4, QUIC, SSH, SMB2, RDP, MQTT, Redis, PostgreSQL, MySQL. Full list.
Thousands of protocols
The deepest dissection available anywhere, with plugins, custom dissectors and decades of community work.
Display filters
Wireshark-style
ip.addr == 10.0.0.5 and tcp.port == 443, contains, matches, in {}, plus program fields such as app and pid. Reference.
The original
The full display filter language over every dissected field, with regular expressions, functions and macros.
TLS decryption
Yes, one click per program
Run with TLS keys starts one program with SSLKEYLOGFILE set for it alone. TLS 1.3 and modern TLS 1.2 decrypt in Follow stream.
Yes, with a key log
Point Wireshark at an SSLKEYLOGFILE you set up yourself, or open a file that carries its keys. Supports more cipher suites and older protocol versions.
Follow stream, conversations, endpoints, expert info, IO graph
Yes
Plus a Programs view: packets, bytes and connections per program.
Yes
With many more statistics windows, VoIP analysis, flow graphs and export options.
Capture driver on Windows
None needed
Uses the capture built into Windows and the kernel's network events, with the installed guard's rights.
Npcap
Wireshark installs the Npcap driver to capture on Windows.
Footprint
About 16 MB, always on
Capture only while the Packets page is open; dissection on demand.
A full desktop suite
Started when needed; memory grows with the size of the capture.
Watch one program and its helpers
Run with Defendingo
Right-click a program to start it and see everything it and its helpers do online, with a summary when it closes.
No
A capture shows the whole interface; narrowing to a program means filtering by ports you have to know.
Capture files
.pcap and .pcapng, both ways
Records .pcapng with the program name as a comment on every packet and TLS keys inside. Opens Wireshark captures for analysis.
.pcap, .pcapng and many more
Reads and writes dozens of capture formats and shows Defendingo's program comments.
Command line
defendingo
Connections, history, warnings and packets as text or JSON with stable fields. Reference.
tshark, dumpcap, editcap
A complete command-line toolkit for capture, analysis and file surgery.
Systems
Windows and Linux
Windows 11 and 10, Ubuntu, Debian, Mint, Fedora, Arch and other 64-bit Linux. Mac in early access.
Windows, Mac, Linux and more
Available for every major desktop system.
When to use which
The daily driver and the microscope
Reach for Defendingo when you want to know
Which app is using the internet right now, what a downloaded program does before you trust it, which servers a game contacted during a match, whether anything on your PC talked to a place malware likes this month, what your own app really sends over TLS while you develop it, or when you simply want to ask an assistant "is my computer okay?". It is already running, it names the program behind every packet and connection, and it explains what it sees.
Reach for Wireshark when you need to know
Exactly why a protocol handshake fails, what an industrial, VoIP or proprietary protocol is doing field by field, how a capture from a router, a server or a colleague's machine looks, or anything that needs the deepest dissection, custom dissectors and the full statistics toolkit. It is the standard that protocol engineers, network teams and security researchers rely on, and it reads Defendingo's recordings, program names included.
The best setup is both: Defendingo watching all day and recording when you ask, Wireshark open on the recording when a question needs the microscope. Read how the hand-off works in Packets and Developer mode.
Questions
Defendingo and Wireshark, answered
Is Defendingo a Wireshark alternative?
For everyday use, yes. Defendingo shows every packet live with the name of the program that sent it, keeps 90 days of connection history, explains in plain words what deserves a look, and its Developer mode adds dissection, display filters, pcapng recording, follow stream and TLS decryption. For deep protocol analysis across thousands of protocols, Wireshark remains the expert tool, and Defendingo exports pcapng files that open in it with the program names as packet comments.
Can Defendingo open Wireshark files?
Yes. In Developer mode, Open a capture file loads .pcap and .pcapng files (Ethernet, raw IP, Linux cooked or loopback frames) for read-only analysis with the detail pane, display filters, conversations, endpoints, protocol hierarchy, expert info and follow stream. Defendingo's own recordings open in Wireshark too.
Does Defendingo need Npcap?
No. On Windows, Defendingo uses the packet capture built into Windows itself, plus the kernel's network events to name each packet's program. On Linux it uses the kernel's packet socket. No Npcap, WinPcap or other capture driver is installed.
Can I see which program sent a packet?
Yes. Every packet on the Packets page carries the name and process id of the program that sent or received it, live, and you can filter by program with one click or with app == chrome.exe. Recordings keep the program name as a comment on every packet, so Wireshark shows it as well.
Can Defendingo decrypt HTTPS like Wireshark?
Both decrypt TLS the same standard way: with session keys the program writes to an SSLKEYLOGFILE. Defendingo adds a one-click Run with TLS keys that starts one program with that variable set for that program only, decrypts TLS 1.3 and modern TLS 1.2 in Follow stream, and embeds the keys in its recordings so Wireshark decrypts them too. Neither tool can read a connection whose program keeps its keys to itself; that is how TLS is meant to work.
Is Defendingo lighter than Wireshark?
Yes. Defendingo's always-on guard uses about 16 MB of memory and a fraction of one percent of the processor, and it captures packets only while the Packets page is open. Wireshark is a full desktop analysis suite that you start when you need it.
See which app sent every packet
Set up in a minute on Windows or Linux. Keep Wireshark; Defendingo works with it.