Monitor the network traffic of a specific APP on Windows 

To monitor the network traffic of a specific app on Windows using Wireshark, follow these steps:

1. Install Wireshark (if not already installed)

• Download and install Wireshark from wireshark.org.
• Make sure to also install Npcap during the installation, which is required for network capture.

2. Identify the App’s Process ID (PID)

To filter traffic from a specific app, first identify the app’s PID (Process ID):

• Open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc or right-clicking the taskbar and selecting Task Manager.
• Go to the Details tab, find the app, and note the PID.

Alternatively:

• Use the netstat command in Command Prompt to list processes with network connections:

  netstat -ano | findstr :<Port Number>
  

  • Replace <Port Number> with the specific port number if you know it.

3. Open Wireshark and Select Network Interface

• Launch Wireshark and select the network interface connected to the internet (usually Wi-Fi or Ethernet).
• Start capturing traffic by double-clicking the interface.

4. Apply a Filter to Capture Traffic of the Specific App

Now, you can filter traffic based on the PID of the app.

• In the Wireshark Display Filter bar, use the following filter format:

  tcp.port == <port_number>
  

  Replace <port_number> with the port used by the application.

Or if you don’t know the port:

• Use the Capture Filter for IPs if you know the IP range of the traffic expected, or
• To track down which traffic belongs to your app dynamically, you might need to manually inspect connections, then fine-tune your filter.

5. Analyze the Captured Packets

• Once you’ve filtered the packets to your application, analyze details like source and destination IPs, protocols, and data flow.
• Stop the capture when you have enough data to review.

Additional Tips

• Use the Process Monitor (ProcMon): ProcMon can help to track which ports are opened by specific processes.
• Use Wireshark’s Protocol Hierarchy and Statistics: To understand traffic types used by the app.

  

  This should give you insights into your app’s network activity specifically.