X-Ways Forensics Practitioner's Guide

by Brett Shavers, Eric Zimmerman

The X-Ways Forensics Practitioner's Guide is more than a manual-it's a complete reference guide to the full use of one of the most powerful forensic applications available, software that is used by a wide array of law enforcement agencies and private forensic examiners on a daily basis.

In the X-Ways Forensics Practitioner's Guide, the authors provide you with complete coverage of this powerful tool, walking you through configuration and X-Ways fundamentals, and then moving through case flow, creating and importing hash databases, digging into OS artifacts, and conducting searches.

With X-Ways Forensics Practitioner's Guide, you will be able to use X-Ways Forensics to its fullest potential without any additional training. The book takes you from installation to the most advanced features of the software. Once you are familiar with the basic components of X-Ways, the authors demonstrate never-before-documented features using real life examples and information on how to present investigation results. The book culminates with chapters on reporting, triage and preview methods, as well as electronic discovery and cool X-Ways apps.

Provides detailed explanations of the complete forensic investigation processe using X-Ways Forensics. Goes beyond the hands-on case demonstrations of never-before-documented features of X-Ways. Provides the best resource of hands-on information to use X-Ways Forensics.

266 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

I've had a fantastic career in law enforcement, starting in a municipal police agency (Renton WA PD) where I took on various roles. I was selected for detectives, later assigned to a state (VNET) task force, and then recruited to a federal (DHS) task force. Along the way, I was appointed as a bicycle patrol officer, SWAT officer, use-of-force instructor, undercover officer, and computer forensics examiner.

My cases spanned coast-to-coast in the USA. I even ventured outside the USA, working undercover and infiltrating international organized crime rings for various alphabet agencies in foreign countries. I’ve bought, sold, and seized tons of drugs, along with seizing hundreds of illegal firearms. I smuggled bulk currency across borders and assumed undercover roles as a drug trafficker, drug manufacturer, arms trafficker, human trafficker, and hit man. But rescuing children from trafficking after witnessing their tragedies made me cry. That changed me more than anything else I’ve ever done.

I’ve also been an adjunct instructor at the University of Washington’s Digital Forensics Program, qualified in courts as an expert witness, appointed as a Special Master, and consulted on digital forensic at every court level. I speak at lots of conferences, write blogs on digital forensics (www.brettshavers.com and www.dfir.training), am an honorary life member and former President of the Computer Technology Investigators Network (https://ctin.org/), and am a founding member of DFIR Review (https://dfrws.org/dfir-review/). I have worked on all kinds of criminal and civil cases, from harassment to national security matters. Of all my training and experiences, my most effective “teachers” have been those I wined and dined with while undercover.

And long, long ago, I served as an active-duty Corporal of Marines (I was in 2/3, for you Devil Dogs out there wondering). Now, I am but a humble member of the Marine Corps League and the Marine Corps Cyber Auxiliary.
You can find me rambling away at www.brettshavers.com.