Why do you need an HTTP Viewer or Sniffer?

All web applications make extensive use of the HTTP protocol (or HTTPS for secure sites). Even simple web pages require the use of multiple HTTP requests to download HTML, graphics and javascript. The ability to view the HTTP interaction between the browser and web site is crucial to these areas of web development:

• Trouble shooting
• Performance tuning
• Verifying that a site is secure and does not expose sensitive information

How can HttpWatch help?

HttpWatch integrates with Internet Explorer and records detailed information about HTTP as you access a web site or application. If you access a site that uses secure HTTPS connections, HttpWatch automatically displays the decrypted form of the network traffic.

Screen shot of HttpWatch

Conventional network monitoring tools just display low level data captured from the network. In contrast, HttpWatch has been optimized for displaying HTTP traffic and allows you  to quickly see the values of headers, cookies, query strings and more... 

 

HttpWatch also supports non-interactive examination of HTTP data. When log files are saved, a complete record of the HTTP  traffic is saved in a compact file. You can even examine log files that your customers and suppliers have recorded using the free Basic Edition.

 

To find out more about HttpWatch and its features please go to the features page.

 

Why HttpWatch?

Seven reasons to use HttpWatch rather than other HTTP monitoring tools:

1. Easy to Use - start logging after just a couple of mouse clicks in Internet Explorer. No other proxies, debuggers or network sniffers have to be configured
2. Productive - quickly see cookies, headers, POST data and query strings without having to manually decode raw HTTP packets
3. Robust - reliably log thousands of HTTP transactions for hours or days while tracking down intermittent problems
4. Accurate - HttpWatch has minimal impact on the normal interaction of Internet Explorer with a web site. No extra network hops are added, allowing you to measure real world HTTP performance
5. Flexible - HttpWatch only requires client-side installation and will work with any server side technology that renders HTTP pages in Internet Explorer. No special server-side permissions or configurations are required - ideal for use against production servers on the Internet or Intranet
6. Comprehensive - works with HTTP compression, redirection, SSL encryption & NTLM authentication. A complete automation interface provides access to recorded data and allows HttpWatch to be controlled from most popular programming languages.
7. Professional Support -  updates and bug fixes are provided free of charge on our website and technical support is available by email, phone or fax.

Uses of HttpWatch

HttpWatch is used in a wide variety of companies and industries for tasks such as:

• Testing a web application to ensure that it is correctly issuing cookies or setting headers that control page expiration
• Finding out how other sites work and how they implement certain features
• Checking the information that Internet Explorer is supplying when you visit a site
• Verifying that a secure web site is not issuing sensitive data in cookies or headers
• Tuning the performance of a web site by measuring download times, caching or the number of network round trips
• Learning about how HTTP works (useful for programming and web design classes)
• Allowing webmasters to fine tune the caching of images and other content
• Performing regression testing on production servers to verify performance and correct behavior