Re: packet sniffing help needed.

[Dale Fay <dalef () merit edu>]

>   I know its all a bit Hollywood, but i am really curious to see what
> information i am transmitting (non https) - and what those warnings
> really mean, are they of the McDonald$ coffee "caution contents is
> hot" type thing? which i have to say is how i view them.  I understand
> how proxies cache and transmit data - are the warnings just about
> them?

  The warnings are about the possibility of a sniffer sharing the same
network path as the traffic. Ethernet and wireless are the most common
networks that can be exploited because they work by broadcast. Most
ethernet switches now isolate traffic so that sniffing is more
difficult. If you want to sniff the traffic from your own box
you will need to put it on a wireless or ethernet LAN or install
 software to capture packets from the network interface.
  For someone to steal information transmitted by your web browser,
they would have to have control of a sniffing machine on the network
between you and the website. The more likely scenario is for them to
install something on your machine to capture key strokes.


              Dale