Как установить volatility на windows

Мы уже рассказывали про использование Volatility и рассматривали популярные плагины Volatility 2. Сегодня покажу, как установить Volatility на Windows. В сети нет хорошей инструкции, а то, что я нашел не работает.

Еще по теме: Как установить Volatility на Kali Linux

Как установить Volatility на Windows

Волатилити 3 — отличный инструмент для анализа дампа памяти или образов ОЗУ Windows 10 и 11. Я не буду рассказывать, с чем его едят, лучше сразу перейдем к установке.

Итак, для работы Volatility на Windows понадобиться:

• Volatility 3
• Python 3
• Таблицы символов Windows Volatility 3

Установка Python 3

Для работы Волатилити 3 требуется Python 3

Перейдите на официальный сайт Python и скачайте файл установки для Windows.

Картинка с сайта: spy-soft.net

После скачивания, следуя инструкции, установите Python 3.

Установка Volatility 3 на Windows

Зайдите на официальный сайт Volatility. Перейдите на вкладку Volatility 3 и скачайте последнюю версию файла Source code(zip).

Картинка с сайта: spy-soft.net

После скачивания, извлеките содержимое архива куда-нибудь на диск C:.

Таблицы символов Windows Volatility 3

Для работы модулей Windows требуются настройки таблиц символов.

Скачиваем большой архив (800мб) windows.zip и закидываем его в папку volitality3 —> symbols.

Картинка с сайта: spy-soft.net

Использование Volatility 3 на Windows

Все готово к использованию.

Запустите FTK Imager или выберите другой способ создания дампа оперативной памяти Windows.

Закиньте файл дампа в туже папку.

Используя PowerShell, запустите Волатилити указывая файл дампа (в моем случае, под рукой был уже готовый дамп ОЗУ Windows 7).

Пробуем модуль Windows.info:

Картинка с сайта: spy-soft.net

Пробуем модуль Windows.netscan:

Картинка с сайта: spy-soft.net

Заключение

У меня получилось установить Волатилити 3 на Windows 11, и, как видите, все конфликтующие плагины (Windows.info, Windows.pslist, Windows.netscan и другие) прекрасно работали.

ПОЛЕЗНЫЕ ССЫЛКИ:

• Популярные плагины Volatility 3
• Использование Autopsy Forensic Browser

Открытый набор инструментов, который реализован на Python под лицензией GNU General Public License. Он нужен для извлечение цифровых артефактов из оперативной памяти. Фреймворк поддерживает огромное количество профилей: Windows, Linux, MacOS, списанных dd-дампы и дампы виртуальных машин ( QEMU, VirtualBox).

Как установить Volatility на Windows

Для работы Volatility на Windows понадобиться:

• Таблицы символов Windows Volatility 3

1. Переходим на и качем файл установки для Windows.
2. После скачивания, следуя инструкции, устанавливаем Python 3.

Установка Volatility 3 на Windows

2. Переходим на вкладку Volatility 3 → качаем последнюю версию файла Source code(zip).

3. Извлекаем содержимое архива на диск C.

Таблицы символов Windows Volatility 3

Используем Volatility 3 на Windows

2. Кидаем файл дампа в туже папку.

3. Используя PowerShell, запускаем Volatility. Нужно указать файл дампа (в нашем случае готовый дамп ОЗУ Windows 7).

4. Пробуем модуль Windows.info:

5. Пробуем модуль Windows.netscan:

Скачиваем архив → кидаем его в папку volitality3 → symbols.

Table of Contents

• Getting Volatility
• Installing Volatility
  • Dependencies
    • Recommended packages
    • Optional packages
• Upgrade Volatility

Getting Volatility

You can get the source code by either downloading a stable release or cloning from github. To do the latter, type:

$ git clone https://github.com/volatilityfoundation/volatility.git

This will create a volatility folder that contains the source code and you can run Volatility directory from there.

Installing Volatility

If you’re using the standalone Windows, Linux, or Mac executable, no installation is necessary — just run it from a command prompt. No dependencies are required, because they’re already packaged inside the exe.

If you’re using the Pyinstaller (Windows-only) executable, double click and follow through with the installation instructions (which basically consists of clicking Next a few times and then Finish). You must already have a working Python 2.7. Also see below for the dependency libraries.

If you downloaded the zip or tar source code archive (Windows, Linux, OSX) there are two ways to «install» the code:

1. Extract the archive and run setup.py. This will take care of copying files to the right locations on your disk. Running setup.py is only necessary if you want to have access to the Volatility namespace from other Python scripts, for example if you plan on importing Volatility as a library. Pros: easy use as a library. Cons: more difficult to upgrade or uninstall.

2. Extract the archive to a directory of your choice. When you want to use Volatility just do python /path/to/directory/vol.py. This is a cleaner method since no files are ever moved outside of your chosen directory, which makes it easier to upgrade to new versions when they’re released. Also, you can easily have multiple versions of Volatility installed at the same time, by just keeping them in separate directories (like /home/me/vol2.0 and /home/me/vol2.1). Pros: clean, easy to run multiple versions, easy to upgrade or uninstall. Cons: more difficult to use as a library.

Dependencies

This section does not apply to the standalone Windows executable, because the dependent libraries are already included in the exe. Also please note the majority of core Volatility functionality will work without any additional dependencies as well. You will only need to install packages if you plan on using specific plugins that leverage those packages (see recommended dependencies), or if you want to enhance your experience (see optional dependencies). Note: for Linux you may have to install a few other packages/libraries as prerequisites for the following recommended packages (Example: apt-get install pcregrep libpcre++-dev python-dev -y)

Recommended packages

For the most comprehensive plugin support, you should install the following libraries. If you do not install these libraries, you may see a warning message to raise your awareness, but all plugins that do not rely on the missing libraries will still work properly.

• Distorm3 — Powerful Disassembler Library For x86/AMD64
  • Dependent plugins
    • apihooks
    • callbacks
    • impscan
    • kdbgscan, pslist, modules etc for Windows 8/2012 machines
    • the disassemble command in volshell, linux_volshell, and mac_volshell
• Yara — A malware identification and classification tool
  • Dependent plugins
    • yarascan, linux_yarascan, mac_yarascan
  • Note: get yara from the project’s main website, do not install it with pip.
  • Note: if you are on Linux, you may have to issue the following command: echo "/usr/local/lib" >> /etc/ld.so.conf && ldconfig
• PyCrypto — The Python Cryptography Toolkit
  • Dependent plugins
    • lsadump
    • hashdump
  • Note: this requires python-dev to build (unless you get pre-built binaries)
• PIL — Python Imaging Library
  • Dependent plugins
    • screenshots
• OpenPyxl — Python library to read/write Excel 2007 xlsx/xlsm files
  • Dependent plugins
    • Any plugin that has been converted to unified format (with --output=xlsx option)
• ujson — Ultra fast JSON parsing library
  • Dependent plugins: anything using --output=html

Optional packages

The following libraries are optional. If they’re installed, Volatility will find and use them; otherwise an appropriate alternative method will be chosen.

• pytz for timezone conversion. Alternative: tzset (standard with Python)
• IPython for enhancing the volshell experience. Alternative: code (standard with Python)
• libforensic1394 for live analysis over firewire. Alternative: libraw1394

Upgrade Volatility

If you used setup.py to install Volatility, the files will be placed in a few standard locations. For example:

$ sudo python setup.py install
....
byte-compiling /usr/local/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/volatility/fmtspec.py to fmtspec.pyc
byte-compiling /usr/local/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/volatility/utils.py to utils.pyc
running install_scripts
copying build/scripts-2.6/vol.py -> /usr/local/bin
changing mode of /usr/local/bin/vol.py to 755
running install_data
creating /usr/local/contrib/plugins
copying contrib/plugins/example.py -> /usr/local/contrib/plugins
copying contrib/plugins/psdispscan.py -> /usr/local/contrib/plugins
....
creating /usr/local/contrib/plugins/addrspaces
copying contrib/plugins/addrspaces/ewf.py -> /usr/local/contrib/plugins/addrspaces
copying contrib/plugins/addrspaces/ewf-python.py -> /usr/local/contrib/plugins/addrspaces
running install_egg_info
Writing /usr/local/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/volatility-2.1.egg-info

Unfortunately there is no uninstaller, and if you simply try to run setup.py for a new version of Volatility, you may end up with some mixed source files which will surely lead to trouble. So before you install a new version of Volatility, remove everything the previous setup.py created:

$ sudo rm -rf /usr/local/lib/python2.6/dist-packages/volatility
$ sudo rm `which vol.py`
$ sudo rm -rf /usr/local/contrib/plugins 

Now you can run the setup.py for your new Volatility version. As stated above, please remember setup.py is only necessary if you plan on importing Volatility as a library from other Python scripts. If you just want to use Volatility, no installation is necessary (just extract the archive and run vol.py inside).

Today, let’s dive into the fascinating world of digital forensics by exploring Volatility 3—a powerful framework used for extracting crucial digital artifacts from volatile memory (RAM). Volatility enables investigators to analyze a system’s runtime state, providing deep insights into what was happening at the time of memory capture.

While some forensic suites like OS Forensics offer integrated Volatility functionality, this guide will show you how to install and run Volatility 3 on Windows and WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux). Given the popularity of Windows, it’s a practical starting point for many investigators. Moreover, WSL allows you to leverage Linux-based forensic tools, which can often be more efficient.

Installing Volatility 3 on Windows:

Before diving in, ensure you have three essential tools installed:

Once these tools are installed, follow these steps to set up Volatility 3:

Extracting Digital Artifacts:

Now that Volatility is set up, you’ll need a memory image to analyze. You can obtain this image using tools like FTK Imager or other image capture tools.

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Here are a few basic commands to get you started:

Provides information about the Windows system from which the memory was collected.

Modify windows.info for different functionalities.

D:\memdump.mem (Path of memory image)

3. python vol.py -f D:\memdump.mem windows.handles — Lists handles in the memory image. Use -h for the help menu.

Significance of -pid Parameter in Memory Forensics is used as a parameter.

Now you guys will think what’s point using python in volatility 3.

This command showcases the use of a search string (Select-String) to filter the pslist output for specific processes like ‘chrome.’ While Select-String isn’t a part of Volatility 3 itself, integrating it with Python offers a similar functionality to ‘grep’ in Linux, facilitating data extraction based on defined criteria.

Few Important commands:

windows.pstree (Will give hierarchy view)

windows.psscan (find unlinked hidden processes)

windows.netstat

windows.cmdline (what haven been run from where it have been run any special arguments he
used)

windows.malfind (in case of legit you will not get anything for legit processes)

windows.hashdump (showed hash password on windows)

windows.netscan

Windows.ldrmodules

A «True» within a column means the DLL was present, and a «False» means the DLL was not present in the list. By comparing the results, we can visually determine which DLLs might have been unlinked or suspiciously loaded, and hence malicious.

More commands with details you will found in this link click here

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Why Switch to WSL for Forensics?

As forensic analysis evolves, using Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) has become a more efficient option for running tools like Volatility 3. With WSL, you can run Linux-based tools natively on your Windows machine, giving you the flexibility and compatibility benefits of a Linux environment without the need for dual-booting or virtual machines.

Install WSL by running:

To install Volatility 3 on WSL:

1. Install Dependencies

Before installing Volatility 3, you need to install the required dependencies:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y python3-pip python3-pefile python3-yara

2. Installing PyCrypto (Optional)

While PyCrypto was a common requirement, it is now considered outdated. If installing it works, great! If not, you can move on:

If PyCrypto doesn’t install correctly, don’t worry—Volatility 3 can still function effectively without it in most cases.

3. Clone the Volatility 3 Repository

Next, clone the official Volatility 3 repository from GitHub:

4. Verify the Installation

To confirm that Volatility 3 is installed successfully, run the following command to display the help menu:

If you see the help options, your installation was successful, and you’re ready to begin memory analysis.

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Why WSL is Essential for Forensic Analysis

Forensic tools like Volatility 3 often run more smoothly in a Linux environment due to Linux’s lightweight nature and better compatibility with certain dependencies and libraries. WSL allows you to run a full Linux distribution natively on your Windows machine without the need for a virtual machine or dual-booting. This means you can enjoy the power and flexibility of Linux while still working within your familiar Windows environment.

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Conclusion

Forensic analysis, especially with tools like Volatility 3, becomes far more efficient when leveraging WSL. It offers better performance, compatibility with Linux-based tools, and ease of maintenance compared to traditional Windows installations. I hope this guide has provided a clear pathway for setting up and running Volatility 3 on both Windows and WSL, empowering you to optimize your forensic workflows.

Until then, happy hunting and keep learning! 👋

Akash Patel