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Advanced Computer Forensics

Windows FTK Forensics Lab
Read the ENTIRE document before starting to be sure you have all the necessary tools and files required to complete the lab. You should further explore the tools used in this lab to ensure your familiarity with alternative investigation options.

Lab Setup for using RLES vCloud

This lab is designed to function on the RLES vCloud. The interface is available by navigating to https://rlesvcloud.rit.edu/cloud/org/NAT . You have created a vApp in your previous labs. Now, you will add the vApp template, 841_Win_Forensics_Updated , from the Public Catalogs, to the same vApp following the instruction of Add Virtual Machines to a vApp without a network required (see RLES vCloud User Guide).

FTK software including FTK 1.8, Registry Viewer and FTK Imager are install in the 841_Win_Forensics_Updated VM. The EnCase evidence file, WinLabEnCase, is located in the local E:\ drive in RLES VM. Please read FTK 1.80 User Manual, posted in RLES, for FTK details.

The 841_Win_Forensics_Updated VM login

Username: Administrator

Password: netsys

NOTE: If you are not able to open the VM, please reset the VM’s mac address (right click on the VM, choose property, then click on the Hardware tab, click on the drop down arrow of mace address to reset the mac address)

PART I: Familiar with FTK Imager

Bonus Exercise 1 (5 points): Assume that you have a write-protected USB device.

Image a USB device or a floppy disk to create an image in a DD format. (Note: You are not able to use the 841_Win_Forensics_Updated VM to perform this bonus exercise. You have to use your own computer for this exercise).

Provide a snapshot from FTK Imager.

Requires: a USB device or a floppy disk

Launch FTK Imager

Click File > Create Disk Image

Click Physical Drive and Next

Select the device and select Raw (dd) Image Type

Exercise 2: View images

Click File > Add Evidence Item

Select Image file and then click Next

Browse to your WinLabEnCase.E01 image and click Finish

View the image in the Evidence Tree view

Question 1: What is the VBR file used for? How to export this file? How to export a file Hash?

Exercise 3: Convert the WinLabEnCase image to a DD image

In the Evidence Tree view, select the WinLabEnCase image

Click File > Export Disk Image

In the Create Image dialog, click Add

Select the raw image type and name it as converted.

Exercise 4: Verify images

Select the Encase Image and click File > Verify Drive/Image

Add in the converted raw image to the FTK Imager and click File > Verify Drive/Image.

Question 2: What are the results of verification? Comparing both hashes, are they same or not?

PART II: Working with FTK 1.8x

All exercises and questions in this part are designed for FTK 1.8x.

NOTE: If you choose to use FTK 4 instead of FTK 1.8x, please follow PART III.

Objective: Based on the experience you have in the previous lab, you will utilize FTK to conduct an analysis of an incident. This project will help you tie all of the pieces and techniques together, so that you have a better understanding of the whole picture of forensics investigation.

Requires: FTK and a windows’ disk image provided by your instructor.

Descriptions: In this lab you will be given a scenario and a disk image to go along with it. You will use FTK to analyze the disk image, retrieve deleted files and terms that have been purposefully hidden, and then use FTK to create a report about this incident.

Scenario: ACME Industries develops custom software for the aviation industry. Its main competitors are companies Raytheon and Boeing and a few smaller contractors.

Pat Smith has worked for ACME Industries for 5 years. His supervisor has noted that after being past over several times for a promotion, Pat has become quite disgruntled. The company fears that Pat may be offering proprietary company information to a competitor in exchange for a job.

The first investigator has created an Encase image of Pat’s computer’s hard drive. Your job is to examine it and extract all pertinent information to the investigation. You are to make no assumptions of innocence or guilt, just to gather information.

Steps involved:

1) Locate the EnCase evidence file “WinLabEnCase.E01”

2) Create a new case and add the EnCase evidence file to FTK for investigation.

3) Analyze the image.

Show the activities such as recovering deleted files; finding information that have been purposefully hidden; analyzing MAC time, signatures and Hash sets; searching keywords; gathering pertinent information from compound files such as outlook express .dbx files and registry files; examining IE history file, searching recycled files though the hidden Recycled folder and printer’s spool files located in WINDOWS\system32\spool\PRINTERS etc.

4) Generate a report

Note: All information in your report needs to be verified and repeatable in order to be admissible in court.

DETAILED PROCEDURES THAT MAY HELP YOU TO GO THROUGH THE FTK SOFTWARE

Exercise 1: Starting a New Case
Click File > “New Case” to begin a new case.

Name the case “FTK Case 1”

Enter your name as the examiner.

Enter your information as the forensic Examiner Information

Question 3: What information is required to create a new case using the FTK New Case Wizard?

In the Case Log Options window, leave all options marked. Try to understand each of the options.

In the Processes to Perform window, leave all options marked. Try to understand each of the options.

In both the Refine Case Default and the Refine Index Default windows, leave all options marked. Try to understand each of the options.

Add an Image to the exist case
In the Add Evidence to the Case window click “Add Evidence”, choose “Acquired Image of Drive”

Question 4: What are the types of evidence that can be added to a case in FTK?

Select the “WinLabEnCase.E01” file.

Set the Time Zone

When you acquire a computer as evidence it is important to make note of the computer’s time and time zone, especially if you need to correlate evidence from different time zones (never assume the time or time zone on a computer is correct.)

To set the time zone in FTK, in the Local Evidence Time Zone Selection window, choose your local time zone.

Exercise 2: Working with FTK

Click the OVERVIEW tab; note the numbers for each type of file.

Question 5: How to make the number of the Checked Items to go up? How to make the number of Flagged Thumbnails to go up?

File Signatures
A file type (JPEG, Word Document, MP3 file) can be determined by the file’s extension and by a header that precedes the data in the file. If a file’s extension has been changed, then the only way to determine its type is by looking at its header.

Question 6: Click on Bad Extension from Overview tab. Do you find any signature mismatch? What are they?

Data Carved Files:

Question 7: Check the number of Data Carved Files, what is the number?

Click on Tools > Data Carving…

Select only GIF Files to perform date carving.

Highlight all the files in the filelist and add them to the case.

Question 8: Check the number of Data Carved Files from Overview, how many files added to the case by data carving?

Question 9: What are those files found by performing data carving process? Why is this process so important?

Explore Tab

Check mark List all descendants.

Question 10: What is the file system of this Image?

Question 11: Right-click a folder and select File Properties, What information do you get?

Question 12: Select a file, and right-click on that file and select File Properties, What information do you get?

Question 13: Select Documents and Settings\psmith\Recent, what kind of files contain in this folder? Select each file in this folder, what kind of information do you get from the up-right window?

Question 14: Select Documents and Settings\psmith\Local Settings\History\History.IE5\index.dat, what kind of files contain in this file? Select each file, what kind of information do you get from the up-right window?

Question 15: Select Documents and Settings\psmith\Favorites, what are psmith’s favorite links?

Question 16: Looking into the Recycled folder, which files are currently in the recycler? Select the INFO2 file from the Recycled folder, what information do you get from that file?

Question 17: Looking into WINDOWS\System32\spool folder, what information can you get from this folder?

Windows Registry
Locate ntuser.dat from the Documents and Settings\psmith folder

Export the ntuse.dat; then launch the AccessData Registry Viewer to include this file in the Registry Viewer. (You may also right click the file and choose View in Registry Viewer

In the Registry Viewer, explore the list.

Action 18: List any interesting results

Graphics Tab
The Graphics Tab allows you to quickly see all the pictures in the case.

Check mark List all descendants.

You will now see all of the pictures contained on all of the devices in the case.

Question 19: If a file’s extension has been changed to a non-graphics file type (such as changing jpg to txt), will it be displayed in the Gallery view? Provide one example to support your statement. Does EnCase work in the same way?

Bookmarking
Bookmarks allow you to mark folders, files, or parts of a file for later reference and for inclusion in reports.

Highlight (or checkmark) three graphics in the file list; right click the graphics and select Create Bookmark.
In the Create New Bookmark menu, name the bookmark Highlighted Graphics. Then select All highlighted items (or Checked Graphics) and click OK. Go to the Bookmark Tab to verify the bookmark.

Flag five graphics to green by clicking on the red circles. Go to the Overview tab and select the Flagged Thumbnails container to verify that the graphics you just flagged are included.

Export and Copy Special

Export these five graphics to your desktop.

Use Copy Special to copy a list of the dates and times associated with the exported files to the clipboard. Then paste this data into Microsoft Excel.

Question 20: What is the major difference between Export a file and Copy Special a file?

Keywords and Searching
Searching evidence for information pertaining to a case can be one of the most crucial steps in the examination. FTK support two kind of search, indexed and live searches. An indexed search uses the index file to find a search term while a live search involves an item-by-item comparison with a search term. The index file could be generated during the creation of a case or be indexed later.

Question 21: What is the advantage to use indexed search vs. the live search?

Click the Search > Indexed Search tab. In the Search Term box, type some keywords, for example “Job”; then click Add.

Click View Cumulative Results if you add multiple keywords or click “view item results”

Expand the search results.

Select one file and find the instances of “Job” in the file.

Create a bookmark to keep a couple of important files in the bookmark called Search Bookmark.

Examining the Options and Import feature in the indexed Search

Question 22: What are these two features used for?

In the Search tab, select Live Search

Click Regular Expression and click the arrow to view the available regular expressions

Choose Edit Expressions to view the default regular expressions.

Select US Phone Number and Search.

Question 23: Do you find any files containing US Phone numbers? List two files that in the result list.

Email
Email processing is one of the most important steps in forensics investigation. FTK supports powerful email feature to help you process emails.

Question 24: Read the manual and find out what kind of email formats do FTK support?

Click on the E-Mail tab

Navigate to Deleted items.dbx, Inbox.dbx and Sent Items.dbx, check for each message and bookmark some important messages to support your final report.

Question 25: Did anything happen? Do you find any important information? If so, what kind of information you got?

Case Report
After performing a thorough forensic investigation, it is critical that you are able to publish and present your findings. FTK has a sophisticated report wizard that allows you to assemble and publish case information. The final report generated by the FTK wizard is in HTML format.

Click File > Report Wizard

Fill in the Case information which will appear on the Case Information page of the report.

Create a report to include the following:

a) all bookmarks and export all bookmarked files

b) Export full-size graphics and link them to the thumbnails

c) Include the Date and Time file Properties for the Bookmarked Files

d) Include only graphics flagged green in the Graphics View

e) Group 6 thumbnail per row

f) Include Bad Extension files in the report and export the files to the report along with its data and time property

g) Add one or more of your own file to the report that support your statement

h) Create a custom graphic for the report.

Action 26: Include two screenshots of this report in your submission.

PART III: Working with FTK 4 (Bonus)

FTK 4 is install on the Windows 7 w/FTK 7 EnCase VM that is used in your EnCase lab. Please read FTK 4 User Manual, posted in RLES, for FTK details.

FTK 4 on Windows 7 w/FTK 7 EnCase login:

Username: Student

Password: student

Bonus question 1: (10 points): Follow the procedure defined in PART II and answer all appropriate questions from PART II using FTK 4. If a question from RART II does not work in FTK 4, please leave “N/A” in your answer.

Be aware that FTK imager and Registry Viewer are not installed on the Windows 7 w/FTK 7 EnCase VM.

Bonus question 2: (10 points): What new FTK4 features did you use to investigate this case (Include detailed steps and screenshots to support your answer)?