NetworkMiner vs X-Ways Imager
NetworkMiner
netresec.comX-Ways Imager
x-ways.netSide by side
| Figure | NetworkMiner | X-Ways Imager |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | 6.17 CHF/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 3 | 2 |
| Spec score · Digital Forensics Software | 8.3 (#6) | 7.0 (#27) |
| Headquarters | Örsundsbro, Sweden | Bünde, Germany |
| Purpose | NetworkMiner extracts artifacts such as files, images, emails and passwords from captured network traffic in PCAP files and can sniff live network traffic. | X-Ways Imager is a forensic disk imaging tool and a stripped-down version of X-Ways Forensics focused on imaging functionality. |
Plans
NetworkMiner
- Free EditionFree
- Single User License$1,300, paid once
- Corporate License$6,500, paid once
X-Ways Imager
- X-Ways Imager non-perpetual license74 CHF a year
- X-Ways Imager perpetual license157 CHF, paid once
In their own words
NetworkMiner
NetworkMiner analyzes captured network traffic and can sniff live traffic, extracting artifacts such as files, images, emails, and passwords from PCAP files. It also builds a host inventory from IP address information for passive asset discovery and communication overviews. The free edition supports live sniffing and PCAP and ETL parsing on Windows and Linux, but not PcapNG parsing. Professional accepts PcapNG, Pcap-over-IP, and PacketCache data in addition to PCAP, ETL, and live sniffing, and exports results to CSV, JSON-LD, and XML. Its protocol features include file extraction across listed protocols, while VoIP support includes audio extraction from unencrypted calls. Professional also provides OSINT lookups for hashes, IP addresses, domains, and URLs. NetworkMiner does not decrypt HTTPS or other TLS-encrypted sessions. Extracted data stays on the end-user device rather than in the cloud. The source code is GPLv2 free and open source. Netresec warns that opening PCAPs can automatically extract malware and recommends Linux or Windows Sandbox to reduce self-infection risk.
X-Ways Imager
X-Ways Imager has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.