This paper presents forensic analysis of anti‐forensic file‐wiping tools on the Windows platform. The goal is to identify and extract the evidence of the tools used to wipe files and the files wiped by them on the Windows operating system. To achieve this goal, we analyzed the changes made by these tools to metadata structures of Windows file systems during file wiping. We also analyzed Registry keys and .lnk files to collect the evidence. Our experiments used four file‐wiping tools (SecureDelete v1.0, Secure Eraser v5.2, PC Shredder v1.1, and Blank and Secure v5.88) to wipe files on three Windows file systems (FAT32, exFAT and NTFS). The results suggest that FAT32 and exFAT file system directory structures and $MFT entries of NTFS file system can confirm the use of wiping tools, identify these tools and provide the remnants of the wiped files. Also, $LogFile and $UsnJrnl files of NTFS file system, and Windows Registry keys provide detailed evidence of wiping tools used and the files wiped by them. We also found that the contents of resident and non‐resident alternate data streams, $LogFile and $UsnJrnl files, and Windows Registry keys are not wiped by these tools. Finally, this study makes many recommendations, highlights the limitations of the work and points out the future scope.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.