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nDPI

Beyond JA3/JA4: Introducing nDPI Traffic Fingerprint
Traffic fingerprinting is a hot topic and we have discussed it several times both in this blog and at conferences. There are various fingerprints techniques and probably most of you know JA3/JA4. Let me do a short recap on the subject in nDPI we support several de-facto fingerprint such a JA4 and additional nDPI-native such as the OS (Operating System) fingerprint. In our research we have realized that in cybersecurity using a single fingerprint (e.g. JA4) leads to too many false positives making it a “nice to have” rather than …
nProbe

Best Practices for nProbe and ntopng Deployment
We often receive inquiries about the best practices for deploying nProbe and ntopng. This post will try to shed some light on this subject. The first thing to know is how many flows/second in total the nProbe instances will deliver to ntopng.  nProbe Flow CollectionEach nProbe instance can collect a high number of flows (in the 50/100k flows/sec range depending on hardware and flow types), but we typically suggest loading balance flows across multiple instances. Ideally, each nProbe instance should handle no more than 25k flow/sec. As ntop licenses are …
ntop

HowTo Monitor+nDPI Traffic on Mikrotik Devices Using TZSP
Mikrotik devices are very popular in the ntop community. The simplest way to monitor traffic of these devices is using flows as described in this blog post. However sometimes flows might not be the best choice for various reasons including the inability to perform DPI on the captured traffic.  For full visibility you can use a different option offered by Mikrotik devices. Under Tools -> Packet Sniffer  you can export packets over the TZSP protocol (it is a sort of remote span protocol): just specify the IP of the remote …
ntopng

ntopng and nDPI Technical Webinars
One of the feedbacks we have collected at the PacketFest conference is to schedule periodic webinars about popular ntop tools we develop. For this reason, we have decided to start with ntopng and nDPI: Below you can find the video of the webinars that took plance on May 27th and June 10th.     Enjoy ! …
ntop

PacketFest 2025 was an absolute blast!
PacketFest 2025 has been a great success. About 110 people, coming from more than 10 (European and overseas) countries, met in Zürich and attended the conference organized by ntop with support from Switch, AnyWeb, and Leutert NetServices. It was a three-day event where the ntop and Wireshark communities met to discuss network traffic visibility and cybersecurity. It was a great pleasure to have on stage many packet experts including Gerald Combs (Wireshark creator), Kelley Misata (president of OISF), and Thomas Graf (IETF chair), this in addition to the ntop core …
nDPI

Introducing nDPI 4.14: Added QoE (Quality of Experience) and New Protocols, Several Fixes
We’re excited to announce the release of nDPI 4.14, a maintenance release that also includes some cool new protocol dissectors and fixes. As you know, maintaining a DPI library is no easy task, and this release is no exception. We’ve worked hard to enhance existing dissectors, making them more robust and efficient. We’ve also cleaned up some outdated code and improved flow risks. We’ll be sharing more details about the plans for the next nDPI release at PacketFest. This might be the last release of the 4.x series, so we’re …
Cybersecurity

Using Network Fingerprints Beyond Cybersecurity
Last week ntop has been invited to give a talk at neacademy in Napoli, Italy. The topic was network fingerprints and nDPI. Network fingerprints such as JA4 have been made popular by cybersecurity that uses them to spot (with limited false positives) malware and use them to find traffic pattern similarities. During the talk, we explained that it’s possible to improve fingerprint reliability by combining some of them, in addition to use fingerprints for various other activities beyond cybersecurity including (but not limited to) traffic classification and micro-segmentation. This was …
nProbe

AI-Driven Networks: A ML Solution for 5G Networks based on nProbe
In this contributed post the Universidade de Aveiro, Instituto de Telecomunicações, Portugal, explains how nProbe has be successfully used in 5G networks.   Introduction As networks evolve to meet the demands of modern connectivity, the need for intelligent traffic monitoring and anomaly detection becomes increasingly critical. In the context of 5G networks, where high-speed data transfer and low latency are paramount, Machine Learning (ML)-based solutions provide a robust mechanism for detecting anomalies and ensuring network reliability. Our project leverages nProbe, a high-performance NetFlow/IPFIX probe, to extract a comprehensive set of …
ntop

Introducing Network Quality Measurement (QoE) in ntop Tools
Quality of Experience (QoE) measures how satisfied users are with a network service based on their subjective perception. Unlike Quality of Service (QoS), which focuses on technical metrics (e.g., latency, jitter, packet loss), QoE evaluates the actual end-user experience—such as video streaming smoothness, call clarity, or web browsing responsiveness. QoE is important from various points of view including: User Satisfaction: Even if network metrics appear good, poor QoE leads to frustration (e.g., buffering videos or choppy VoIP calls). Business Impact: Bad QoE can result in lost customers, reduced productivity, or …
ntop

Announcing ntop Professional Training at ntop Conference (PacketFest) and June 2025
PacketFest will talk place in Zurich, Switzerland, on May 8-9 and it will be the event where the ntop and wireshark communities meet. On May 7th we organize for the ntop community an in-presence training session where we will show the latest news about ntop tools and teach how to master them. The training is free for PacketFest attendees, and you need to register on the conference website where you can also see the complete training program. For those interested on a remote training, this is to announce that we …
ntopng

HowTo Use Host Policy to Detect Misbehaving Hosts
ntopng has several ways to spot unusual traffic patterns, like: Checking if a device is behaving strangely. Sending alerts when a threshold is reached. Looking for changes in traffic metrics (like how much traffic is coming from a particular host). Seeing if host services change. To make these checks even better, ntopng added a new flow behavioral check called “Host Policy.” The idea is simple: there are some special devices on a network, like routers, switches, printers, and other non-general-purpose devices, that shouldn’t send traffic to the Internet. Except for …
nDPI

When Traffic Obfuscation Falls Short: nDPI vs NordWhisper NordVPN
In recent years, numerous virtual private networks (VPNs) have been introduced to the market. Some of these VPNs are standalone applications, while others are integrated into web browsers or other network applications. All of these VPNs promise users a private browsing experience by preventing users from being tracked and observed, particularly on public hotspots. Popular countermeasures detect these VPNs (often based on WireGuard or OpenVPN) and prevent their use to circumvent network policies. To enhance the detection and blocking of VPNs, companies have implemented various traffic obfuscation techniques to render …

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