How to Convert PCAP to CSV

Did you know that the average total cost of a data breach stands at a staggering $4.35 million? According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach 2022 Report, about 83% of organizations have had more than one data breach.  

Data is the lifeblood of all modern organizations. To protect their data from intrusions and avoid breaches, organizations need to invest their time and efforts into promoting a security-focused culture, educating their staff members, backing up and encrypting data, using robust cybersecurity software, and more.

Capturing IP packets and reviewing + analyzing them is the golden standard of traffic analysis. Network administrators should frequently analyze PCAP files to identify security threats.

Post data breaches or cybersecurity incidents, network administrators can analyze PCAP files to discover forensic clues. However, if your company hasn’t invested much in cybersecurity technology, then you may face a hard time thoroughly analyzing your PCAP files.

Without a reliable software in your arsenal that allows you to narrow down your search, chances are that you may miss out on any potential threats or evidence.

Dedicated Software vs. CSV Conversion

There are plenty of tools out there that open your PCAP Log files. Solutions like Wireshark offer a visual approach, and there is a long tail of command line tools. You can go ahead and raise a ticket stating that you need your company to invest in ‘X’ software – so that you can effectively analyze your PCAP files. But that may take forever.

So, what’s the best solution?

A good and effective alternative is converting your PCAP files into CSV, which you can then analyze with any text editor or familiar spreadsheet programs such as Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, etc.

We use our own platform – Gigasheet – to convert PCAP files into CSV. And that’s not all!

Gigasheet allows us to narrow down our search and explore even the largest of datasets by applying filters, grouping data by columns, tapping into the pivot mode, and more.

Throughout this blog post, we’ll show you how to convert PCAP files into CSV. Let’s dive in!

Side note: Did you know Gigasheet can convert JSON to a CSV, flattening the data automatically?

How to Convert Your PCAP Files to CSV with Gigasheet

To convert your PCAP files to CSV, the first step is to log in to Gigasheet. If you haven’t already signed up, click HERE to do so. Our Community plan doesn’t cost a dime – so you can go ahead and try Gigasheet before switching to the Professional or Enterprise plan.

Once signed up and logged in, you’ll be taken to the Gigasheet dashboard – where you can upload new files and access your already-existing projects.

To upload your PCAP file to Gigasheet, click on “+ NEW” in the left panel – as displayed in the screenshot below. As you click on “+ NEW,” you’ll see the following options:

• File Upload
• Data Connectors

You can connect Gigasheet with different sources like public URLs, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Amazon S3,  and numerous other cloud drives or data sources.  Today, we want to convert our PCAP file to CSV – so we’ll be uploading it manually using the “File Upload” option.

Gigasheet File Upload

Now, you’ll get a pop-up – through which you can upload your file to Gigasheet. You’ll have three options:

• Drop your file into the popup.
• Browse your computer to find the file and upload it to Gigasheet.
• Import your file from Google Drive, DropBox, OneDrive, Box, or using a link.

We have a sample PCAP file we fetched from Wireshark that we are demonstrating in this blog post.

In no time, your file will be uploaded to and processed by Gigasheet. Gigasheet processed this file in no more than five seconds (depends on the file size and the content inside it.)

You can access the file from the Dashboard as soon as it’s processed.

PCAP File Uploaded

Upon clicking on it, here’s how your PCAP file will look like inside Gigasheet:

Analyzing PCAP Files in Gigasheet

You can apply filters using the “Filter” option in the top navigation bar and also group your data by columns. From the right panel, you can remove columns by unchecking them and also use the pivot mode. You can also use Gigasheet’s search functionality to look up something that’ll aid your search.

Now, to convert this PCAP file into CSV, we’ll export it.

To export your PCAP file as CSV, click on “File” in the top navigation bar. You’ll see the following options:

• Save As
• Share
• Export

Click on “Export.”

Convert PCAP to CSV

As soon as you click on “Export,” your download will be started automatically.

Congratulations! You have successfully exported your PCAP file as CSV. Wohoo!

If you’re subscribed to our Free Community plan, then you won’t be able to export all rows while converting PCAP to CSV. However, if you have filtered the data to only the rows you need, you may be under the export limit.

To export the full dataset, you’d have to subscribe to a Professional or Enterprise plan.
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Convert Your PCAP to CSV in No Time, with Gigasheet

With Gigasheet, you can convert your PCAP files to CSV in no time. At the same time, you can apply different filters or group your data by column and perform numerous calculations to narrow down your search. You can run powerful queries without code.

At Gigasheet, we’ve always prioritized user experience over anything else. We’ve always wanted to make sure that our users find it easy to perform complex calculations and run powerful queries with ease.

Excited to try Gigasheet?

Sign up today for free!