HOT TIP: (Removing) Ads in Wireshark

My evening was derailed when I received an email from someone asking about the ads that now appear in Wireshark. They asked how to get rid of them - saying that they couldn't find the "settings dialog" mentioned in the update.

What?!

I had to hop online and run the update and... yup. Ads.

A text came in less than 15 minutes later asking about "these ads in Wireshark - does it phone home across the network to update ads?"

Quick answers:

Yes - you can disable the ads. Phew!

No - the ads are not fed across the network. Phew!

Step-by-Step Tips

If you don't want those ads on the Welcome page, watch this 5-minute video going over:

• the code (Welcome page and sidebar)

• the customization (disable some or all those sidebar items)

• the concern (where the ads are fed from)

Extra tip: This video may be the first time you have heard of the recent_common configuration file. Spend some time perusing the contents. Remember that Wireshark writes to this file each time it is closed.

I hope this helps those of you who want to remove the ads from Wireshark.

Enjoy!