Reconnoitre

Reconnoitre is a computer forensics tool designed to parse data directly from forensic images containing Volume Shadow Copies (VSC) and display the data in context within a display of the current file system.

Reconnoitre can be purchased by selecting the Purchase Software link from the site menu.

A demo version is available from this link

A number of short support videos that highlight some of the features of Reconnoitre are available here.

Features

• Works directly from a image file (i.e. dd or encase)
• Can process local devices and volumes
• No need to mount an image file
• No need to use VSSAdmin on individual files (Reconnoitre does not use VSSadmin at all)
• See which parts of a file come from different VSC's
• See the modified MFT entry for files in VSC's
• See all file name attributes (and associated dates) from the VSC's
• See files that have been altered and or deleted since the last shadow was created
• enhanced filters to show only files that are in VSC's (no matching file in the live files)
• See the history of a file across different VSC's
• Built in image viewer
• Powerful filtering capabilities.
• Comprehensive and very customisable reporting engine

File categorisation Features

• Integrate with a MySQL or SQL Server C4P hash server and automatically categorise files by hash
• Import a .c4p export file and identify files categorised by C4P
• identify files using an NSRL hashset
• categorise files manually
• export categorised report, including summary table, to PDF/HTML or RTF

EXIF/Geolocation features

• Show EXIF data from all pictures in one grid
• C4P categorisations displayed within the same grid
• For pictures that contain GPS data see a map of where the picture was taken (for illegal images this could mean identifying where a child was abused)
• Show all pictures taken within a user specified distance of the current picture
• Sort and filter with the same ease as in the main grid
• EXIF data and maps can be included in the report

Link file support

• Internal dates (when the file pointed to by the link files was created/modifed and accessed)
• Path
• Relative path
• Share name
• Vol name and Serial Number
• Decodes and displays ObjID’s if present including dates and volume ID's and MAC addresses
• Working Dir and Command line

Use Reconnoitre's link file features to determine:

• Which link files point to a specific bit of media
• Which folders have been shared
• The serial numbers of disks that have been attached to the computer
• Dates and times when a computer was booted
• That a file has been moved from a different computer (and determine its MAC address)
• That a file has been moved between volumes on the same computer

Viewing files within an image containing one or more volume shadow copies is easy -

1. Create a new case file
2. Select an image file and wait for Reconnoitre to parse the file
3. View all the files in the shadows (and all the current live files)

To categorise all graphics by querying a C4P MySQL or SQL server, just

4. Hash all the files (or just the graphics)
5. Point Reconnoitre at the IP of your C4P server
6. Look at all the files (live files or in VSC's) and their categories
7. Export a categorised report either with or without images.

Some of the feedback so far

• It looks as if it is going to solve that huge problem no one else seemed to want to tackle except in small segmented ways
• the UI looks like it was designed by someone who doesn't hate his customers
• it’s flipping amazing
• paid for itself on the first job
• this is exactly the tool that we have been looking for that has been missing for our investigations
• ...have to say everything about it is easy except saying it and spelling it!

Benefits of Reconnoitre over VssAdmin based approach

• No need to image each mounted logical volume - saves time and disk space
• Look at ALL VSC's at once, not limited by available drive letters
• Much faster - maximises the use of your valuable time
• Can see records in different VSC's side by side
• No need to mount an image - just point Reconnoitre at an image file
• Can see MFT record for files in VSC's
• Can identify MFT entries in which only the MFT has changed (rather than the file content).

The following short video shows just how easy it is to look at files within a Volume Shadow Copy with Reconnoitre.

The traditional approach shows any file in any VSC, so if a file has changed once and 20 shadows have been created you will see that file in every shadow that you look at. Ideally you just want to see the file in the shadows in which the change was acknowledged (i.e. for a single change in a single shadow). Reconnoitre can do this.

Complex SQL filters can be created to limit the file display to just those files that the investigator wishes to see, The filter below displays any file with an extension .jpeg, .jpg, .gif, .png or .bmp that is present in any of the shadow files:

The Reconnoitre display is very customisable allow different panels to be moved and docked within other panels, or panels can be left floating on second monitors.

Reconnoitre also has powerful image categorisation features that allow you to manual categorise individual files from the multiple thumbnail view or all visible files with one click. You can also integrate with a MySQL or SQL Server C4P hash server and automatically categorise all known files in the case:

The EXIF table allows the user to easily browse all files with EXIF data and even just those that also have GPS data. Each picture with GPS data can quickly be viewed in turn and a map of the location of the pciture can be shown alongside.

Once an image has been selected all pictures taken within a user specified distance of the original can be selected