Windows Forensic Analysis Toolkit, Third Edition: Advanced Analysis Techniques for Windows 7

Amazon Exclusive: A Letter from Harlan Carvey, author of Windows Forensic Analysis Toolkit, 3rd Edition
Harlan Carvey

Dear Amazon Readers,

I am not an expert. I really, enthusiastically enjoy performing digital forensic analysis of Windows systems and will get up early (for me…"early" is a relative term) to work on an examination. I enjoy not just finding new things in my analysis, but finding new combinations of things, looking for those hidden patterns to jump out of the data. I enjoy writing code to parse the binary contents of a file so that I can then see how the various teeth of the operating system and application gears mesh together, and in seeing what primary, secondary, and tertiary artifacts are left by various events that occur on a system.

When I first started writing books, I did so because I could not find something that would fit what I saw as my needs. Sure, there were books available that covered some aspects of digital forensic analysis of Windows systems, but there wasn't anything available that really went into depth on analyzing Windows as a system of interconnected components. There were books that covered some of the really obvious indications of an intrusion or malware infection, but how often are our examinations really about finding the obvious artifacts? I knew I couldn't be the only one looking for something like this, and writing a book not only provided a reference for myself and others, but the act of writing required me to polish and hone my thoughts. I hope you enjoy the finished product, and that it leads you beyond the obvious.

I hope you find my attempt to contribute to the digital forensics analysis community to be useful and thought-provoking. Thank you.

--Harlan Carvey