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Windows Forensics Cookbook
Windows Forensics Cookbook

Windows Forensics Cookbook: Over 60 practical recipes to acquire memory data and analyze systems with the latest Windows forensic tools

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Profile Icon de Courcier Profile Icon Oleg Skulkin
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$19.99 per month
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5 (2 Ratings)
Paperback Aug 2017 274 pages 1st Edition
eBook
$27.98 $39.99
Paperback
$48.99
Subscription
Free Trial
Renews at $19.99p/m
Arrow left icon
Profile Icon de Courcier Profile Icon Oleg Skulkin
Arrow right icon
$19.99 per month
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5 (2 Ratings)
Paperback Aug 2017 274 pages 1st Edition
eBook
$27.98 $39.99
Paperback
$48.99
Subscription
Free Trial
Renews at $19.99p/m
eBook
$27.98 $39.99
Paperback
$48.99
Subscription
Free Trial
Renews at $19.99p/m

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Table of content icon View table of contents Preview book icon Preview Book

Windows Forensics Cookbook

Windows Memory Acquisition and Analysis

In this chapter, we will cover the following recipes:

  • Windows memory acquisition with Belkasoft RAM Capturer
  • Windows memory acquisition with DumpIt
  • Windows memory image analysis with Belkasoft Evidence Center
  • Windows memory image analysis with Volatility
  • Variations in Windows versions

Introduction

Memory analysis is a relatively new, but increasingly relevant field. A memory image can be acquired in the same way as a physical image, but by using different tools, some of which will be discussed in this section.

The image can be stored as one of the many formats, depending on the tool used to acquire the image. Once an investigator has the image, they can then analyse the data within it.

One of the main challenges associated with memory forensics is data preservation. Although your only option in a given investigation may be to power down a system and then image the data therein, in reality this ends up having an impact on other potential data sources that might be important later on. It is vital, therefore, to have a thorough understanding of the scene you are investigating and the specific needs of the case before you decide which method to choose. Any time...

Windows memory acquisition with Belkasoft RAM Capturer

Belkasoft RAM Capturer is a free tool any digital forensic examiner should have in their kit. It's tiny, easy to use, and has the ability to acquire memory from Windows systems, including Windows 10, even if they are protected by an active anti-debugging or anti-dumping system.

Getting ready

You have two options for downloading the tool. If you are a Belkasoft customer and have a Belkasoft Evidence Center license, go to your customer portal, where you can find a Belkasoft RAM Capturer download link in the FREE PRODUCTS section. If you are not a customer, just go to the DOWNLOAD section on the Belkasoft website, choose the product you want to download - in our case...

Windows memory acquisition with DumpIt

DumpIt is a free memory imaging tool from Comae Memory Toolkit. It's a fusion of Win32dd and Win64dd in one executable. It's extremely easy to use: even a non-technical person can use it in emergency situations. DumpIt supports all modern Windows versions, from XP to 10, both 32 and 64-bit. Also, the tool has a very important feature: it displays the Directory Table Base and the address of the debugging data structures during the acquisition process.

Getting ready

To get your free copy of DumpIt, go to Comae Technologies' website and click on GET TOOLS. After you provide some information, including your first name, last name, company name, email address, phone number and...

Windows memory image analysis with Belkasoft Evidence Center

In the previous recipes, we successfully created two memory forensic images, one with Belkasoft Live RAM Capturer, and the other with DumpIt. Now it's time to perform analysis. Let's start from the first image and use Belkasoft Evidence Center for analysis.

Belkasoft Evidence Center is a powerful digital forensics tool, capable of parsing data not only from memory images, but also from images of computer drives and mobile devices. From a memory dump, it can extract valuable artifacts such as remnants of communications via social networks, messengers, chat rooms, webmail systems, data from cloud services, web-browsing artifacts, and so on.

Getting ready

...

Windows memory image analysis with Volatility

The Volatility Framework is an open source collection of tools written in Python for the extraction of digital artifacts from memory images. This time, we will use the second memory image, obtained earlier with DumpIt, as a data source to show you how to use this tool set for memory forensics.

Getting ready

The Volatility Framework is an open source toolkit, so it's cross-platform, which means that you can use any operating system family you want - Windows, Linux, or mac OS. Of course, you can build these tools from source, but there are also so-called standalone executables for all the operating systems mentioned. As this cookbook is about forensic examination of Windows...

Variations in Windows versions

As you already know from the first chapter, nowadays we have a number of different Windows versions widely used both by private persons and businesses. Of course, this has an impact on Windows operating system forensic examinations, including Windows memory forensics.

Getting ready

Knowing the Windows version and its type is very important, both in the acquisition and analysis stages. There are a few ways to collect this information. We will cover some in this recipe.

How to do it...

The easiest way to find out which version a computer is...

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Key benefits

  • Prepare and perform investigations using powerful tools for Windows,
  • Collect and validate evidence from suspects and computers and uncover clues that are otherwise difficult
  • Packed with powerful recipes to perform highly effective field investigations

Description

Windows Forensics Cookbook provides recipes to overcome forensic challenges and helps you carry out effective investigations easily on a Windows platform. You will begin with a refresher on digital forensics and evidence acquisition, which will help you to understand the challenges faced while acquiring evidence from Windows systems. Next you will learn to acquire Windows memory data and analyze Windows systems with modern forensic tools. We also cover some more in-depth elements of forensic analysis, such as how to analyze data from Windows system artifacts, parse data from the most commonly-used web browsers and email services, and effectively report on digital forensic investigations. You will see how Windows 10 is different from previous versions and how you can overcome the specific challenges it brings. Finally, you will learn to troubleshoot issues that arise while performing digital forensic investigations. By the end of the book, you will be able to carry out forensics investigations efficiently.

Who is this book for?

If you are a forensic analyst or incident response professional who wants to perform computer forensics investigations for the Windows platform and expand your took kit, then this book is for you.

What you will learn

  • Understand the challenges of acquiring evidence from Windows systems and overcome them
  • Acquire and analyze Windows memory and drive data with modern forensic tools.
  • Extract and analyze data from Windows file systems, shadow copies and the registry
  • Understand the main Windows system artifacts and learn how to parse data from them using forensic tools
  • See a forensic analysis of common web browsers, mailboxes, and instant messenger services
  • Discover how Windows 10 differs from previous versions and how to overcome the specific challenges it presents
  • Create a graphical timeline and visualize data, which can then be incorporated into the final report
  • Troubleshoot issues that arise while performing Windows forensics

Product Details

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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Aug 04, 2017
Length: 274 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781784390495
Vendor :
Microsoft
Category :
Concepts :
Tools :

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Product Details

Publication date : Aug 04, 2017
Length: 274 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781784390495
Vendor :
Microsoft
Category :
Concepts :
Tools :

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Table of Contents

12 Chapters
Digital Forensics and Evidence Acquisition Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Windows Memory Acquisition and Analysis Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Windows Drive Acquisition Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Windows File System Analysis Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Windows Shadow Copies Analysis Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Windows Registry Analysis Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Main Windows Operating System Artifacts Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Web Browser Forensics Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Email and Instant Messaging Forensics Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Windows 10 Forensics Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Data Visualization Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Troubleshooting in Windows Forensic Analysis Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
(2 Ratings)
5 star 100%
4 star 0%
3 star 0%
2 star 0%
1 star 0%
Andrew R. Singleton Jun 25, 2023
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
This book will quickly guide you on how to do forensics on each piece of windows. Both open source and commercial software examples are provided.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Semper_PatsFan Sep 20, 2018
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Great book for entry level professionals.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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