Review of tools and their features

It can be seen that traffic sniffing tools are indispensable in mobile testing, providing the ability to quickly and competently approach the study of network interactions carried out by applications. Such tools, as already indicated, include Fiddler, HTTP Catcher, Charles Proxy, Burp Suite, Packet Capture, Reqable and Proxyman, each of which has its own set of characteristics and features that should be taken into account in the process of their use.

The combination of the convenience of a particular tool, its compliance with your needs and the appropriate pricing policy, is what forms the idea of ​​the ideal tool or group of tools for you. The financial aspect of using sniffers varies from completely free solutions to paid products offering advanced functionality and technical support. It is also worth mentioning the difference in availability – the presence of mobile or desktop versions, scalability and adaptability of sniffing tools to the requirements of a particular project are different for different tools. In addition, the correct use of sniffers in combination with testing methods can lead to an increase in the overall level of security and stabilization of the performance of a mobile application.

The information reviewed is an analysis of tools with the purpose of telling about new and old tools intended for testing. Let's consider in more detail how and why traffic sniffers are used in mobile testing, as well as some advanced methods of their application.

Why are sniffers needed in mobile testing?

Traffic sniffers play an important role in mobile testing, giving testers the ability to dive deeper into the network processes of an application. These tools not only help analyze and diagnose network problems, but also provide a high level of data security by identifying hidden threats and vulnerabilities. Let's take a closer look at how and why traffic sniffers are used in mobile testing, as well as some advanced methods for their use.

Network traffic analysis

One of the main functions of traffic sniffers is to analyze network traffic. Sniffers allow testers to see what data is being transferred between a mobile application and a server, including request headers, request bodies, and responses. This makes it possible to check:

• Protocol compliance: Ensures that the application uses the correct protocols to transfer data, such as HTTPS instead of HTTP, to ensure a secure connection.

• Request Headers and Responses: Analyzing the information passed in headers helps you understand what data an app is disclosing about the user and device. It also helps you identify misuse or overuse of headers that may pose a security risk.

• Data Optimization: Analyzing your traffic helps you understand if you are transferring unnecessary data, which could slow down your application or increase the load on your network.

Detecting vulnerabilities

Traffic sniffers help find vulnerabilities in mobile applications related to improper data transmission or storage. This is especially important in environments where sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, or personal data may be transmitted or stored without proper encryption. Some advanced applications include:

• Detect weak encryption: Sniffers allow you to check whether strong encryption is used when transmitting data. If data is transmitted without encryption or using outdated algorithms, this poses a security risk.

• Injections and API attacks: Testers can use sniffers to simulate various types of attacks, such as SQL injections or API attacks. This allows them to identify vulnerabilities in the application code and structure.

• Behavior Analysis in the Event of a Data Leak: Sniffers help you understand what happens to your data when a leak occurs. For example, you can check how your application reacts to unauthorized access and what data might be compromised.

Diagnosing problems

Traffic sniffers are useful for diagnosing various issues in mobile applications. They allow testers to identify API errors, incorrect request routing, performance issues, and other technical problems. Advanced uses include:

• Network Performance Analysis: Sniffers help identify bottlenecks in network requests, such as latency or data transmission errors, allowing you to optimize application performance.

• Simulate network conditions: Sniffers like Charles Proxy allow you to simulate various network conditions, including slow connection speeds or high latency, to test how your application will perform in real-world conditions.

• Tracing Routing Problems: Sniffers help trace the route of requests and responses through various servers and network nodes, allowing you to identify problems with routing or network configuration.

Let's move on directly to the review of the tools.

1. Fiddler

Fiddler is one of the most popular tools for analyzing HTTP/HTTPS traffic. It supports many features useful for testing mobile applications, a classic solution with tutorials and a large community:

• Traffic interception and analysis: Fiddler allows you to intercept all HTTP/HTTPS requests and responses passing through the device on which the application is installed.

• Debugging: The tool provides the ability to edit requests and responses in real time, which is useful for identifying and fixing errors.

• SSL support: Fiddler can handle encrypted traffic, making it ideal for testing applications that use HTTPS.

• gRPC support: Fiddler can intercept and analyze traffic using the gRPC protocol, which is important for microservice architectures.

• Teamwork Features: Fiddler Everywhere includes collaboration tools, such as the ability to share and comment on captured sessions, making it easier to work in a team.

• Support for modern protocols: Fiddler supports HTTP/2 and WebSocket, which allows you to analyze the traffic of modern web applications.

• AutoResponder: This feature allows you to automatically respond to requests with predefined responses, which is useful for simulating different application scenarios.

Solution form: Fiddler is presented as a desktop application and supports integration with mobile devices to intercept their traffic.

Paid: Fiddler is available in a free version with basic features. However, for more advanced features, such as test automation and deep analysis, you may need Fiddler Everywhere, a paid subscription version.

2. HTTP Catcher

HTTP Catcher is a mobile app for iOS that allows you to intercept and analyze network traffic directly on your device. I like it and use it quite often due to a number of advantages:

• Intuitive Interface: HTTP Catcher has a simple and user-friendly interface that makes it easy to work with traffic even for beginners.

• HTTPS support: The application can intercept encrypted traffic, allowing you to check the security of data transmitted between the application and the server.

• Filtering and Searching: HTTP Catcher makes it easy to find the requests and responses you need with built-in filtering and searching features.

Solution form: HTTP Catcher is available as a mobile application for iOS.

Paid: HTTP Catcher is available in the App Store for free with basic features. However, to use all the features, such as advanced filtering and data export, you will need to purchase a subscription.

3. Charles Proxy

Charles Proxy is another popular traffic analysis tool that supports mobile devices:

• HTTPS support: Charles Proxy allows you to intercept and decrypt HTTPS traffic, making it a great tool for security analysis.

• Simulate network conditions: Charles Proxy allows you to simulate various network conditions such as slow connection speeds, high latency, or packet loss. This helps you test how your application will perform in real-world conditions where the connection is not always perfect and identify potential performance issues.

• Intuitive Interface: Charles Proxy provides easy-to-use tools for analyzing and editing traffic, making it an excellent choice for mobile testing.

• Session Recording and Replay: Charles Proxy allows you to record traffic sessions and replay them later, which is useful for regression testing and analyzing past activity in an application.

Solution form: Charles Proxy is available as a desktop application with support for mobile device integration via a proxy server.

Paid: Charles Proxy is a paid tool with a one-time license. There is no free version, but a trial version with limited features is available.

4. Burp Suite

Burp Suite is a comprehensive web application security testing solution that also supports mobile traffic analysis:

• Traffic Interception: Burp Suite can intercept and analyze HTTP/HTTPS requests and responses, making it useful for finding vulnerabilities in mobile applications.

• Automated Security Tests: The tool offers a number of built-in scanners and automated tests that help identify vulnerabilities and bugs in applications.

• Mobile Integration: Burp Suite can be configured to work with mobile devices, allowing it to be used for mobile application security analysis.

Solution form: Burp Suite is available as a desktop application with the ability to customize it for use with mobile devices.

Paid: Burp Suite offers a free version (Community Edition) with limited features. The paid version (Professional) provides a full set of tools and automation, but is available by subscription.

5. Packet Capture

Packet Capture is a mobile application for Android that allows you to intercept and analyze network traffic directly on your device:

• Works without root access: One of the key advantages of Packet Capture is that it does not require root access to work, making it accessible to a wide range of users.

• SSL support: The application uses its own certificate to decrypt SSL traffic, which allows you to analyze secure connections.

• Easy Interface: Simple and user-friendly interface makes the application suitable for quick analysis and diagnosis of network problems on Android devices.

• Packet Export: Ability to export captured data in .pcap format for further analysis in other tools such as Wireshark.

Solution form: Packet Capture is available as a mobile application for Android.

Paid: Packet Capture is available for free on the Google Play Store. However, the app is ad-supported and some features may be limited without a subscription.

6. Reqable

Reqable is a powerful network traffic interception and analysis tool available on both Android and iOS platforms. It is designed specifically for mobile devices, making the testing process convenient and efficient directly on the device.

Key features of Reqable:

• HTTP/HTTPS Traffic Interception and Analysis: Reqable makes it easy to intercept and examine network requests and responses, which helps in identifying and troubleshooting connectivity and security issues.

• User-friendly interface: The intuitive interface makes it easy to navigate and work with captured data, allowing you to quickly find and analyze the information you need.

• Editing Requests: The tool provides the ability to modify and retry network requests, which is useful for testing different scenarios and detecting potential vulnerabilities.

• SSL Certificate Support: Reqable is capable of handling encrypted traffic, providing full access to data for detailed analysis.

• Export and import data: The ability to export captured data in various formats allows for further analysis using other tools or sharing results with the team.

Solution form: Reqable is available as a mobile app for Android and iOS.

Fees: Reqable offers both a free version with basic features and a paid subscription that unlocks advanced features and removes restrictions on the amount of traffic intercepted.

7. Proxyman

Proxyman is a modern and powerful tool for intercepting and analyzing network traffic, designed for developers and testers working with mobile applications. This tool is especially popular among those who are looking for a simple but effective solution for working with HTTP/HTTPS traffic on different platforms.

Proxyman's main features:

• Traffic interception and analysis: Proxyman allows you to intercept and analyze HTTP/HTTPS requests and responses passing through the network. It provides detailed information about each request, including headers, parameters, and the request body.

• HTTPS support: Proxyman easily handles interception and decryption of HTTPS traffic thanks to built-in support for SSL pinning, allowing testers to analyze encrypted data.

• Editing Requests and Responses: Users can edit and repeat requests, which is useful for testing different scenarios and identifying vulnerabilities.

• Cross-platform: Proxyman supports both mobile devices (iOS and Android) and desktop platforms (macOS and Windows). This makes it a universal tool for testing applications on various devices.

• Ease of integration: Proxyman easily integrates with mobile devices via a proxy server, allowing you to quickly set up traffic interception without complex configurations.

Solution form: Proxyman is available as a desktop application for macOS and Windows with support for mobile devices (iOS and Android) via a proxy server.

Fee: Proxyman offers a free trial version with limited functionality. The full version is available by subscription or one-time purchase, which unlocks all features and removes usage restrictions.

Links to tools:

Fiddler: https://www.telerik.com/download/fiddler-everywhere
HTTP Catcher: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/http-catcher/id1445874902
Charles Proxy: https://www.charlesproxy.com/
Burp Suite: https://portswigger.net/burp
Packet Capture: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.greyshirts.sslcapture
Reqable in Google Play Store or App Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.reqable.android And https://apps.apple.com/us/app/reqable/id6473166828
Proxyman: https://proxyman.io/ And https://apps.apple.com/us/app/proxyman-network-debug-tool/id1551292695

Instead of a conclusion.

Traffic sniffer tools are critical in the context of mobile testing, as they provide the ability to analyze network traffic, identify various vulnerabilities, and ensure proper security of mobile applications. The choice of a specific tool depends on the user's needs and available budget, as different solutions offer a wide range of features, pricing models, and forms of implementation – be it mobile or desktop applications. I hope that the article will help you find a tool that is convenient for you.