Computer Forensics Chapter 5
What third party encryption tool creates a virtual encrypted volume, which is a file mounted as though it were a disk drive?
TrueCrypt
List two features NTFS has that FAT does not
Unicode characters security journaling
personal identity information (PII)
any information that can be used to create bank or credit carad accounts, such as name, home address, SSN, and driver's license number
Encrypting File Stystem
A public/private key encryption first used in Windows 2000 on NTFS-formatted disks.
American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII)
An 8-bit coding scheme that assigns numberic values to up to 256 characters, including letters, numerals, punctuation marks, control characters, and other symbols
Pagefile.sys
At startup, data and instruction code are moved in and out of this file to optimize te amount of physical RAM available during startup
The ReFS storage engine uses a __________ sort method for fast access to large data sets.
B+tree
Windows file that specifies the path installation and a variety of other startup options
Boot.ini
Someone who wants to hide data can create hidden partitions or voids- large unused gaps between partitions on a disk drive. Data that is hidden in partition gaps cannot be retrieved by forensics utilities.
False
List three items stored in the FAT database
File and directory name starting cluster numbers file attributes date and time stamps
device drivers
Files containing instructions for the OS for hardware devices, such as the keyboard, mouse and video card
EFS an encrypt which of the following
Files, folder and volumes
The mechanism that reads and writes data to a disk drive
Head
BootSect.dos
If a machine has multiple booting OSs, NTLDR reads BootSect.dos, which is a hidden file, to determine the adress of each OS
Info2 file
In Windows NT through Vista, the control file for the Recycle Bin
bootstrap process
Information contained in ROM that a computer accesses during startup; this information tells the computer how to access the OS and hard drive
Device drivers contain what kind of information?
Instructions for the OS on how to interface with hardware devices
What's a virtual cluster number?
It represents the assigned clusters of files that are nonresident in the MFT. If a file has become fragmented, it can have two or more VCNs. The first VCN for a nonresident file is listed as 0
What does MTF stand for?
Master File Table
Device driver allowing OS to communicate with SCSI/ATA drives that aren't related to BIOS
NTBootdd.sys
16-bit program that identifies hardware components during startup and sends that information to NTLDR
NTDetect.com
Master File Table (MFT)
NTFS uses this database to store and link to files
In Windows 7 and later, how much data from RAM is loaded into RAM slack on a disk drive?
No data from RAM is copied to RAM slack on a disk drive
Which of the ofllowing Windows 8 files contains user-specific information?
Ntuser.dat
Areal densit refers to which of the following?
Number of bits per square inch of a disk platter
The _____ registry file contains installed programs' settings and associated usernames and passwords?.
Software.dat
An image of a suspect drive can be loaded on a virtual machine?
TRUE
In NTFS, files smaller than 512 bytes are stored in the MFT.
TRUE
Why was EFI boot firmwar developed?
To provide better protection against malware than BIOS does
Concentric circles on a disk platter where data is stored
Tracks
Drive slack is composed of the unused space in a cluster between the end of an active file's content and the end of the cluster.
True
In FAT32, a 123 KB file uses how many sectors?
246
How many sectors are typically in a cluster on a disk drive?
4 or more
Sectors typically contain how many bytes?
512
NTDetect.com
A 16-bit program that identifies hardware components during startup and sends the information to Ntldr.
Boot.ini
A file that specifies the windows path installation and a variety of other startup options
Clusters in Windows always begin numbering at what number?
2
The ______ metadata record in the MFT keeps track of previous transactions to assist in recovery after a system failure in an NTFS volume?.
$LogFile
What hexadecimal code below identifies an NTFS file system in the partition table?
07
A Master Boot Record (MBR) partition table marks the first partition starting at what offset?
0x1BE
What are the functions of a data run's field components in an MFT record?
Data runs have three components 1. declares how many bytes are required in the attribute field to store the number of bytes needed for the second and third components 2. sotres the number of clusters assigned to the data run 3. component contains the starting cluster address value (the LCN or the VCN)
Zone bit recording is how manufacturers ensure that the outer tracks store as much data as possible.
FALSE
Each MFT record starts with a header identifying it as a resident or nonresident attribute.
False
logical cluster numbers (LCNs)
the numbers sequentially assigned to each cluster when an NTFS disk parition is created and formated
What happens when you copy an encrypted file form an EFS-enabled NTFS disk to an non-EFS disk or folder
The file is unencrypted automatically.
NT File System (NTFS)
The file system Microsoft created to replace FAT
Hal.dll
The hardware Abstraction layer dynamic link library allows the OS kernel to communicate with hardware
Ntoskrnl.exe
The kernel for the Windows NT family of OSs
File Alocation Table (FAT)
The original microsoft file structure database
Most manufacturers use _______ in order to deal with the fact that a platter's inner tracks have a smaller circumference than the outer tracks.
Zone Bit Recording (ZBR)
ISO image
a bootable file that can be copied to CD or DVD
unicode
a character code representation that's replacing ASCII
cylinder
a column of tracks on two or more disk platters
NTBootdd.sys
a device driver that allows the OS to communicate with SCSI or ATA drives that aren't related to the BIOS
geometry
a disk drive's internal organization of platters, tracks, and sectors
virtual hard disk(VHD)
a file representing a system's hard drive that can be booted in a virtualization application and allows running a suspect's computer ina virutal environment
parition
a logical drive on a disk
recovery certificte
a method NTFS uses so that a netowrk administrator can recover encrypted files if the fies' user/creator loses the private key encryption code
head and cylinder skew
a method manufacturers used to minimize lag time
Resilient File System (ReFS)
a new file system developed for windows server 2012
one-time passphrase
a password used to access special accounts or programs requiring a high level of security, such as a decryption utility for an encryted drive
NT Loader (Ntldr)
a program located in the root folder of the system partition that loads the OS
sector
a section on a track, typically made up of 512 bytes
registry
a windows database containing inforamtion about hardware and software configurations, netowrk connections, user preferences, setup information and other critical information
wear-leveling
an internal firmware feature used in solid state drives that ensures even wear of rea/writes for all memory cells
tracks
concentric circles on a disk platter where data is stored
__________ describes a column of tracks on two or more disk platters.
cylinder
What does CHS stand for?
cylinders, heads, sectors
The ___________ command inserts a HEX E5 (0xE5) in a filename's first letter position in the associated directory entry.
delete
The _________ commands creates an alternate data stream.
echo text > myfile.txt:stream_name
The ______ command can be used to decrypt EFS files.
efsrecvr
Encrypting File System (EFS) uses a private key method to encrypt files, folders, or disk volumes (partitions).
false
FAT32 is used on older Microsoft OSs, such as MS-DOS 3.0 through 6.22, Windows 95 (first release), and Windows NT 3.3 and 4.0.
false
The GRUB executable is the default Windows Boot Manager program, which controls boot flow and allows booting multiple OS'.
false
The purpose of a CA's Digital Certificate is to provide a mechanism for recovering files encrypted with EFS if there's a problem with the user's original private key.
false
___________ is used to describe a disk's logical structure of platters, tracks, and sectors.
geometry
The _________ branches in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software consist of SAM, Security, Components, and System.
hive
attribute ID
in NTFS, and MFT record field containing metadata abut the file or folder and the file's data or links to the file's data
metadata
in NTFS, this term refers to inforamtion stored in the MFT
private key
in encryption, the key used to decrypt the file
public key
in encryption, the key used to encrypt a file
data runs
luster addresses where files are store on a drive's partition outside the MFT records
Master Boot Record (MBR)
on windows and DOS computers, this boot disk file contains infomration about partitions on a disk and their locations, size, and other imporatant items
UTF-8 (unicode transformation format)
one of three formats unicode uses to translate languages for digital representation
When using the File Allocation Table, the FAT database is typically written to the _________.
outermost track
unallocated disk space
partition disk space that isn't allocated to a file
cluster
storage allocation units composed of groups of sectors.
The MFT header field at offset 0x00 contains_________
the MFT record identifier FILE
physical addresses
the actual sectors in which files are located
head
the device that readsand writes data to a disk drive
High Performance File System (HPFS)
the file systme IBM uses for it OS/2 operating system
Partition Boot Sector
the first data set of an NTFS disk
zone bit recording (ZBR)
the method most manufacturers use to deal witha platter's inner tracks being shorter than the outer tracks
areal density
the number of bits per square inch of a disk platter
track density
the spavce betwen tracks on a dsk
RAM slack
the unused space between the end of the file and the end of the last sector used by the active file in the cluster
file slack
the unused space created when a file is saved
file system
the way files are stored on a disk
What does the Ntuser.dat file contain
this user-protected storage area contains the MRU files lsit and desktop configuration settings
Access Control List (ACL) information for all files and folders on the NTFS volume is stored in the $Secure metadata file.
true
The ReFS file system offers maximized data availability, improved data integrity, and scalability.
true
When data is deleted on a hard drive, only references to it are removed, which leaves the original data on unallocated disk space.
true
What is the space on a drive called when a file is deleted?
unallocated space free space
drive slack
unued space in a cluster between the end of an active file and the end of the cluster .
partition gap
unused space or void between the primary partition and the first logical partition
Virtual machnes have which of the following limitations when running on a host computer?
virutal machines are limited to the host computer's peripheral configurations, such as mouse, keyboard, CD/DVD drives, and other devices
alternate data streams
ways in which data can be appended to a file and potentially obscure evidentiary data
virtual cluster number (VCN)
when a large file is saved in NTFS, it's assigned a logical cluster number speifying a location on the partion
logical addresses
when files are saved, they are assigned to clusters, which the osnumbers sequentially starting at 2
