By default the Plunder Bug’s USB-C tap port will act in an active, bidirectional manner. This means that in addition to receiving a mirror of the traffic flowing between the two RJ45 Ethernet ports, it will also act as an additional Ethernet port on the target LAN.

This is useful for simultaneously performing active network scans (such as with nmap) while passively sniffing packets. To switch between passive (muted) and the default active (unmuted) modes, use the Plunder Bug mute script specific to your operating system.