Summary

In this chapter, we learned about various artifacts that provide evidence of execution in Windows systems. We discussed NTUSER.DAT, which is a registry hive containing information about user activity, including the execution of programs and the use of various applications. We also examined the UserAssist key, which provides information about program execution, and the BAM service, which monitors the activity of background applications. Finally, we explored Shimcache, which contains metadata about executed files.

Each of these artifacts provides valuable evidence of program execution on a Windows system, and forensic analysts can use this evidence to reconstruct a timeline of activity and identify potentially malicious behavior. By analyzing these artifacts, analysts can determine what programs were executed, when they were executed, and by whom. This information can be used to investigate incidents, identify attackers, and support legal proceedings. Forensic analysts need...