Windows Forensics

Windows Forensic Analysis DVD Toolkit, 2nd Edition, is a completely updated and expanded version of Harlan Carvey's best-selling forensics book on incident response and investigating cybercrime on Windows systems. With this book, you will learn how to analyze data during live and post-mortem investigations. New to this edition is Forensic Analysis on a Budget, which collects freely available tools that are essential for small labs, state (or below) law enforcement, and educational organizations. The book also includes new pedagogical elements, Lessons from the Field, Case Studies, and War Stories that present real-life experiences by an expert in the trenches, making the material real and showing the why behind the how. The companion DVD contains significant, and unique, materials (movies, spreadsheet, code, etc.) not available anyplace else because they were created by the author. This book will appeal to digital forensic investigators, IT security professionals, engineers, and system administrators as well as students and consultants. Best-Selling Windows Digital Forensic book completely updated in this 2nd Edition Learn how to Analyze Data During Live and Post-Mortem Investigations DVD Includes Custom Tools, Updated Code, Movies, and Spreadsheets!

Windows Forensics is the most comprehensive and up-to-date resource for those wishing to leverage the power of Linux and free software in order to quickly and efficiently perform forensics on Windows systems. It is also a great asset for anyone that would like to better understand Windows internals. Windows Forensics will guide you step by step through the process of investigating a computer running Windows. Whatever the reason for performing forensics on a Windows system, be it incident response, a criminal investigation, suspected data ex-filtration, or data recovery, this book will tell you what you need to know in order to perform the vast majority of investigations. All of the tools discussed in this book are free and most are also open source. Dr. Philip Polstra shows how to leverage numerous tools such as Python, shell scripting, and MySQL to quickly, easily, and accurately analyze Windows systems. While readers will have a strong grasp of Python and shell scripting by the time they complete this book, no prior knowledge of either of these scripting languages is assumed. Windows Forensics begins by showing you how to determine if there was an incident with minimally invasive techniques. Once it appears likely that an incident has occurred, Dr. Polstra shows you how to collect data from a live system before shutting it down for the creation of filesystem images. Windows Forensics contains extensive coverage of Windows FAT and NTFS filesystems. A large collection of Python and shell scripts for creating, mounting, and analyzing filesystem images are presented in this book. The treasure trove of data found in the Windows Registry and other artifacts are discussed in detail. Dr. Polstra introduces readers to the exciting new field of memory analysis using the Volatility framework. Discussion of malware analysis rounds out the book. Book Highlights 554 pages in large, easy-to-read 8.5 x 11 inch format Over 11,000 lines of Python scripts with explanations Over 500 lines of shell and command scripts with explanations A 96 page chapter covering the FAT filesystem in detail A 164 page chapter on NTFS filesystems Multiple scenarios described in detail with images available from the book website All scripts and other support files are available from the book website

Windows Registry Forensics provides the background of the Windows Registry to help develop an understanding of the binary structure of Registry hive files. Approaches to live response and analysis are included, and tools and techniques for postmortem analysis are discussed at length. Tools and techniques are presented that take the student and analyst beyond the current use of viewers and into real analysis of data contained in the Registry, demonstrating the forensic value of the Registry. Named a 2011 Best Digital Forensics Book by InfoSec Reviews, this book is packed with real-world examples using freely available open source tools. It also includes case studies and a CD containing code and author-created tools discussed in the book. This book will appeal to computer forensic and incident response professionals, including federal government and commercial/private sector contractors, consultants, etc. Named a 2011 Best Digital Forensics Book by InfoSec Reviews Packed with real-world examples using freely available open source tools Deep explanation and understanding of the Windows Registry – the most difficult part of Windows to analyze forensically Includes a CD containing code and author-created tools discussed in the book

The evidence is in--to solve Windows crime, you need Windows tools An arcane pursuit a decade ago, forensic science today is a household term. And while the computer forensic analyst may not lead as exciting a life as TV's CSIs do, he or she relies just as heavily on scientific principles and just as surely solves crime. Whether you are contemplating a career in this growing field or are already an analyst in a Unix/Linux environment, this book prepares you to combat computer crime in the Windows world. Here are the tools to help you recover sabotaged files, track down the source of threatening e-mails, investigate industrial espionage, and expose computer criminals. * Identify evidence of fraud, electronic theft, and employee Internet abuse * Investigate crime related to instant messaging, Lotus Notes(r), and increasingly popular browsers such as Firefox(r) * Learn what it takes to become a computer forensics analyst * Take advantage of sample forms and layouts as well as case studies * Protect the integrity of evidence * Compile a forensic response toolkit * Assess and analyze damage from computer crime and process the crime scene * Develop a structure for effectively conducting investigations * Discover how to locate evidence in the Windows Registry

Leverage the power of digital forensics for Windows systems About This Book Build your own lab environment to analyze forensic data and practice techniques. This book offers meticulous coverage with an example-driven approach and helps you build the key skills of performing forensics on Windows-based systems using digital artifacts. It uses specific open source and Linux-based tools so you can become proficient at analyzing forensic data and upgrade your existing knowledge. Who This Book Is For This book targets forensic analysts and professionals who would like to develop skills in digital forensic analysis for the Windows platform. You will acquire proficiency, knowledge, and core skills to undertake forensic analysis of digital data. Prior experience of information security and forensic analysis would be helpful. You will gain knowledge and an understanding of performing forensic analysis with tools especially built for the Windows platform. What You Will Learn Perform live analysis on victim or suspect Windows systems locally or remotely Understand the different natures and acquisition techniques of volatile and non-volatile data. Create a timeline of all the system actions to restore the history of an incident. Recover and analyze data from FAT and NTFS file systems. Make use of various tools to perform registry analysis. Track a system user's browser and e-mail activities to prove or refute some hypotheses. Get to know how to dump and analyze computer memory. In Detail Over the last few years, the wave of the cybercrime has risen rapidly. We have witnessed many major attacks on the governmental, military, financial, and media sectors. Tracking all these attacks and crimes requires a deep understanding of operating system operations, how to extract evident data from digital evidence, and the best usage of the digital forensic tools and techniques. Regardless of your level of experience in the field of information security in general, this book will fully introduce you to digital forensics. It will provide you with the knowledge needed to assemble different types of evidence effectively, and walk you through the various stages of the analysis process. We start by discussing the principles of the digital forensics process and move on to show you the approaches that are used to conduct analysis. We will then study various tools to perform live analysis, and go through different techniques to analyze volatile and non-volatile data. Style and approach This is a step-by-step guide that delivers knowledge about different Windows artifacts. Each topic is explained sequentially, including artifact analysis using different tools and techniques. These techniques make use of the evidence extracted from infected machines, and are accompanied by real-life examples.

An authoritative guide to investigating high-technologycrimes Internet crime is seemingly ever on the rise, making the needfor a comprehensive resource on how to investigate these crimeseven more dire. This professional-level book--aimed at lawenforcement personnel, prosecutors, and corporateinvestigators--provides you with the training you need in order toacquire the sophisticated skills and software solutions to stay onestep ahead of computer criminals. Specifies the techniques needed to investigate, analyze, anddocument a criminal act on a Windows computer or network Places a special emphasis on how to thoroughly investigatecriminal activity and now just perform the initial response Walks you through ways to present technically complicatedmaterial in simple terms that will hold up in court Features content fully updated for Windows Server 2008 R2 andWindows 7 Covers the emerging field of Windows Mobile forensics Also included is a classroom support package to ensure academicadoption, Mastering Windows Network Forensics and Investigation,2nd Edition offers help for investigating high-technologycrimes.

Memory forensics provides cutting edge technology to help investigate digital attacks Memory forensics is the art of analyzing computer memory (RAM) to solve digital crimes. As a follow-up to the best seller Malware Analyst's Cookbook, experts in the fields of malware, security, and digital forensics bring you a step-by-step guide to memory forensics—now the most sought after skill in the digital forensics and incident response fields. Beginning with introductory concepts and moving toward the advanced, The Art of Memory Forensics: Detecting Malware and Threats in Windows, Linux, and Mac Memory is based on a five day training course that the authors have presented to hundreds of students. It is the only book on the market that focuses exclusively on memory forensics and how to deploy such techniques properly. Discover memory forensics techniques: How volatile memory analysis improves digital investigations Proper investigative steps for detecting stealth malware and advanced threats How to use free, open source tools for conducting thorough memory forensics Ways to acquire memory from suspect systems in a forensically sound manner The next era of malware and security breaches are more sophisticated and targeted, and the volatile memory of a computer is often overlooked or destroyed as part of the incident response process. The Art of Memory Forensics explains the latest technological innovations in digital forensics to help bridge this gap. It covers the most popular and recently released versions of Windows, Linux, and Mac, including both the 32 and 64-bit editions.

Harlan Carvey has updated Windows Forensic Analysis Toolkit, now in its fourth edition, to cover Windows 8 systems. The primary focus of this edition is on analyzing Windows 8 systems and processes using free and open-source tools. The book covers live response, file analysis, malware detection, timeline, and much more. Harlan Carvey presents real-life experiences from the trenches, making the material realistic and showing the why behind the how. The companion and toolkit materials are hosted online. This material consists of electronic printable checklists, cheat sheets, free custom tools, and walk-through demos. This edition complements Windows Forensic Analysis Toolkit, Second Edition, which focuses primarily on XP, and Windows Forensic Analysis Toolkit, Third Edition, which focuses primarily on Windows 7. This new fourth edition provides expanded coverage of many topics beyond Windows 8 as well, including new cradle-to-grave case examples, USB device analysis, hacking and intrusion cases, and "how would I do this" from Harlan's personal case files and questions he has received from readers. The fourth edition also includes an all-new chapter on reporting. Complete coverage and examples of Windows 8 systems Contains lessons from the field, case studies, and war stories Companion online toolkit material, including electronic printable checklists, cheat sheets, custom tools, and walk-throughs