Individual skill
analyzing-windows-registry-for-artifacts
Extract and analyze Windows Registry hives to uncover user activity, installed software, autostart entries, and evidence of system compromise.
internal/tools/skills/data/digital-forensics/analyzing-windows-registry-for-artifacts/SKILL.md
Source commit d42f381ad34843e71a42658e5c57290c713e85af
What was checked
- Matches the observed repository HEAD
- Yes
- Scanner rules are current
- Yes
- Repository scan complete
- No
- Skill scan complete
- No
- Observed behavior
- Instructions only
- Last checked
- Nov 9, 2026
These are observations at the recorded commit, not a guarantee of safety. Review the source before running it.
Install this skill
Choose an agent in your Stack or copy a command below. Commands fetch the pinned commit and copy only this skill directory. Existing destinations are refused. Copying a command does not install anything.
An install command is unavailable: current rules, complete repository and skill scans, an eligible behavior level and a permitted license are required.
Repository context
- Repository stars (not skill ratings)
- 1,322
- Repository last updated
- Nov 8, 2026
- License
- Apache-2.0
Observed agent integration: No specific integration evidence. Standard SKILL.md installation does not imply verified compatibility.
- cybersecurity Repository topic
- security Repository topic
- bug-bounty Repository topic
- automation Repository topic
- autonomous-pentesting Repository topic
- ai-agent Repository topic
- ai-security Repository topic
- ethical-hacking Repository topic
- golang Repository topic
- penetration-testing Repository topic
- forensics Declared skill tag
- windows-registry Declared skill tag
- artifact-analysis Declared skill tag
- regripper Declared skill tag
- registry-explorer Declared skill tag
- evidence-collection Declared skill tag
- engineering Derived category
Files and excerpt
File metadata and permitted, redacted excerpts come from the recorded scan. Source links are pinned to that commit.
Browse files
Read excerpt
# Analyzing Windows Registry for Artifacts
## When to Use
- When investigating user activity on a Windows system during an incident
- For identifying autorun/persistence mechanisms used by malware
- When tracing installed software, USB devices, and network connections
- During insider threat investigations to reconstruct user actions
- For correlating registry timestamps with other forensic artifacts
## Detection Gaps & Validation
- **ShimCache (AppCompatCache) proves presence, not execution, and lags.** Entries are written to the SYSTEM hive only at **shutdown**, so recent activity is missing until the next reboot, and an entry only means the binary was *seen* by the system. Pair it with Amcache/Prefetch for execution.
- **Dirty hives need transaction-log replay.** If you parse `SYSTEM`/`NTUSER.DAT` without applying `.LOG1/.LOG2`, RegRipper/python-registry may return stale or truncated data. Always collect and replay the logs (RECmd/EZ tools do this).
- **Last Write Time is per-key, not per-value.** A key timestamp tells you the most recent value change, not which value changed. Do not attribute a single value's age to the key timestamp.
- **UserAssist is ROT13-encoded** and counts focus/run from Explorer only; CLI-launched programs are absent. BAM/DAM (`bam\State\UserSettings\<SID>`) gives Win10+ last-run times worth checking separately.