Monitoring, simulating, creating HTTP packets

Question

I did some HTTP monitoring with WireShark. Are there more tools like this that allow you to create your own HTTP messsages? Telnet comes to mind

Could be handy to get see how hacker-proof your site is...

Answer 1

Charlse HTTP proxy tool is my favorite. You can manually create HTTP request or edit existing HTTP request. http://www.charlesproxy.com/

The completely free tool is Fiddler which has similar functionalities http://www.fiddlertool.com/fiddler/

Charlse runs on different operating systems, it is on top of java VM. Fiddler runs on windows dot net.

Answer 2

I've found Tamper Data quite useful Firefox plugin to fiddle with HTTP headers and parameters. This is very useful if/when you want to hack your (or someone elses :) ) site.

-Kai

Answer 3

For the Mac I like HTTP Client.

http://ditchnet.org/httpclient/

Woot!

Answer 4

I've always had good luck with Netcat. A very simply command line utility that allows you to send anything you want over TCP/IP. HTTP itself is quite simple, so you can just hand craft it. Example usage:

nc www.mywebsite.com 80
GET / HTTP/1.0
(hit return twice)

Answer 5

If you need a more powefull application then look at WebScarab. Runs on java and packed full of features mainly to monitor but is more of an advanced security tool.

WebScarab is designed to be a tool for anyone who needs to expose the workings of an HTTP(S) based application, whether to allow the developer to debug otherwise difficult problems, or to allow a security specialist to identify vulnerabilities in the way that the application has been designed or implemented.

Available here