How To Install libwiretap8 on Ubuntu 18.04

In this tutorial we learn how to install libwiretap8 on Ubuntu 18.04. libwiretap8 is network packet capture library – shared library

Introduction

In this tutorial we learn how to install libwiretap8 on Ubuntu 18.04.

What is libwiretap8

libwiretap8 is:

Wiretap, part of the Wireshark project, is a library that allows one to read and write several packet capture file formats.

Supported formats are:

  • Libpcap
  • Sniffer
  • LANalyzer
  • Network Monitor
  • “snoop”
  • “iptrace”
  • Sniffer Basic (NetXRay)/Windows Sniffer Pro
  • RADCOM WAN/LAN Analyzers
  • Lucent/Ascend access products
  • HP-UX nettl
  • Toshiba ISDN Router
  • ISDN4BSD “i4btrace” utility
  • Cisco Secure Intrusion Detection System iplogging facility
  • pppd logs (pppdump-format files)
  • VMS TCPTRACE
  • DBS Etherwatch (text format)
  • Catapult DCT2000 (.out files)

Wiretap’s shortcomings are: no filter capability and no support for packet capture.

There are three methods to install libwiretap8 on Ubuntu 18.04. We can use apt-get, apt and aptitude. In the following sections we will describe each method. You can choose one of them.

Install libwiretap8 Using apt-get

Update apt database with apt-get using the following command.

sudo apt-get update

After updating apt database, We can install libwiretap8 using apt-get by running the following command:

sudo apt-get -y install libwiretap8

Install libwiretap8 Using apt

Update apt database with apt using the following command.

sudo apt update

After updating apt database, We can install libwiretap8 using apt by running the following command:

sudo apt -y install libwiretap8

Install libwiretap8 Using aptitude

If you want to follow this method, you might need to install aptitude first since aptitude is usually not installed by default on Ubuntu. Update apt database with aptitude using the following command.

sudo aptitude update

After updating apt database, We can install libwiretap8 using aptitude by running the following command:

sudo aptitude -y install libwiretap8

How To Uninstall libwiretap8 on Ubuntu 18.04

To uninstall only the libwiretap8 package we can use the following command:

sudo apt-get remove libwiretap8

Uninstall libwiretap8 And Its Dependencies

To uninstall libwiretap8 and its dependencies that are no longer needed by Ubuntu 18.04, we can use the command below:

sudo apt-get -y autoremove libwiretap8

Remove libwiretap8 Configurations and Data

To remove libwiretap8 configuration and data from Ubuntu 18.04 we can use the following command:

sudo apt-get -y purge libwiretap8

Remove libwiretap8 configuration, data, and all of its dependencies

We can use the following command to remove libwiretap8 configurations, data and all of its dependencies, we can use the following command:

sudo apt-get -y autoremove --purge libwiretap8

References

Summary

In this tutorial we learn how to install libwiretap8 package on Ubuntu 18.04 using different package management tools: apt, apt-get and aptitude.