Telerik Fiddlerfor Windows

Fiddler, from Telerik, is a web debugging proxy that tracks HTTP, and HTTPS traffic from your computer, and the Internet. It is a free tool and boasts features such as performance testing, web session manipulation, and security testing.

A great free solution

Fiddler has an option for performance testing built-in. The beauty of this feature is that it lets you see the ‘total page weight’.

Fiddler is a powerful, and customizable tool for web developers. You can choose to use many languages. Using FiddlerScript and powerful extensions can be done with any .NET language.

The web session manipulation tool is useful to developers. This feature allows you to pause session processing as you like, and make any amendments. You can even come up with your own HTTP requests, and test them through the software.

Moving on to security testing, Fiddler has this covered too. You can decrypt HTTPS traffic using a technique known as ‘man in the middle’. This means you can decrypt everything if you need to, or focus on a specific session.

Another feature of Fiddler is the traffic recorder. It enables you to see and review all traffic moving between your computer and the Internet. If your application supports proxy, this will always work for you. The program is as diverse as you will ever need it to be.

Where can you run this program?

Available for Windows as a download from the developer website. There are also beta versions available for Mac OS, and Linux.

Is there a better alternative?

No, there isn’t a better alternative to Fiddler. Wireshark and Firebug are potential alternatives. These two do not compare when it comes to functionality and usability.

Our take

If you are a professional web developer or an amateur, this software has everything you need. It covers you for testing, security, and analysis. You will be lucky to find a better free alternative to Fiddler.

Should you download it?

Yes, you should download it. The support is expensive, but the program itself is free. It comes with a wash of online help from other users. Don’t miss out on this one. It has everything you need, and more.