Installing Npcap
The packet-capture driver that Port Finder and Packet Capture need, and nothing else does.
Npcap is a packet-capture driver from the Nmap project. Windows does not let an ordinary program see raw frames, so two features need it:
- Port Finder — LLDP and CDP frames are not visible to a normal socket.
- Packet Capture — for the obvious reason.
Nothing else does. Scanning, SSH, SFTP, serial, diagnostics, Wi-Fi analysis and the TFTP and DHCP servers all work without it.
Installing it
- Download it from npcap.com, the project’s own site. It is a kernel driver — get it from source, not a mirror.
- Run the installer as administrator.
- Leave the default options unless you have a reason. WinPcap API-compatible mode is fine to enable and is what older tools expect.
- Restart CySecTek afterwards so it picks the driver up.
If you already have Wireshark
You already have Npcap — Wireshark installs it. There is nothing more to do.
Checking it worked
Open Port Finder. If the driver is missing, the app says so rather than sitting there empty. If it is present you will see the adapters it is listening on. Hearing nothing after a minute or two is a different problem — see no LLDP or CDP received.