Investigating Windows systems with Linux
Window Kit
© Max, Fotolia
A forensics expert explains how to extract interesting details from a confiscated Windows hard disk using standard Linux tools.
Criminals, intruders, and corporate saboteurs leave data behind on the hard disks of any computers they visit. Many of these computers are Windows systems, but you don't need Windows to extract valuable forensic information from a Windows hard disk. In this article, I will describe some simple techniques for getting forensic data from a Windows disk using Linux.
Before starting any forensic analysis, it is important to create a copy of the storage medium you will be investigating, either as a 1:1 copy or as an image or collection of images. You can copy the medium as a raw image (with dd) or use a format such as Expert Witness Format (EWF).
EWF is a proprietary format developed by Guidance Software [1] that is also supported by the X-Ways [2] commercial forensic tool. EWF images are compressed and thus are far smaller than raw images.
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