Builds on: Advanced Electronic Evidence (Part 1): Collection, Imaging and Recovery
Computers: Artefacts, Timestamps and Timelines
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A computer keeps a diary that its user never sees: which programs ran, which files were opened, which drives were plugged in, and when. The hard part is knowing what each entry really means.
Focus: what the traces show, what a time stamp does and does not prove, how to build a timeline, and how to test "it was not me". This unit is general knowledge. It is not legal advice.
Learning objectives
- Name the main kinds of trace a computer keeps about its use.
- Explain what a file's time stamps mean, and four ways they mislead.
- Build a simple timeline from several sources, in one time zone.
- Separate "this user account" from "this person".
- Test a claim that malware or a remote user was responsible.
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