Individual skill
analyzing-windows-shellbag-artifacts
Analyze Windows Shellbag registry artifacts to reconstruct folder browsing activity, detect access to removable media and network shares, and establish user interaction with directories even after deletion using SBECmd and ShellBags Explorer.
internal/tools/skills/data/digital-forensics/analyzing-windows-shellbag-artifacts/SKILL.md
Source commit d42f381ad34843e71a42658e5c57290c713e85af
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- Observed behavior
- Instructions only
- Last checked
- Nov 9, 2026
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Repository context
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- 1,325
- Repository last updated
- Nov 9, 2026
- License
- Apache-2.0
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- 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
- shellbags Declared skill tag
- windows-registry Declared skill tag
- sbecmd Declared skill tag
- shellbags-explorer Declared skill tag
- folder-access Declared skill tag
- user-activity Declared skill tag
- removable-media Declared skill tag
- network-shares Declared skill tag
- bagmru Declared skill tag
- dfir Declared skill tag
- engineering Derived category
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# Analyzing Windows Shellbag Artifacts
## Overview
Shellbags are Windows registry artifacts that track how users interact with folders through Windows Explorer, storing view settings such as icon size, window position, sort order, and view mode. From a forensic perspective, Shellbags provide definitive evidence of folder access -- even folders that no longer exist on the system. When a user browses to a folder via Windows Explorer, the Open/Save dialog, or the Control Panel, a Shellbag entry is created or updated in the user's registry hive. These entries persist after folder deletion, drive disconnection, and even across user profile resets, making them invaluable for proving that a user navigated to specific directories on local drives, USB devices, network shares, or zip archives.
## When to Use
- When investigating security incidents that require analyzing windows shellbag artifacts
- When building detection rules or threat hunting queries for this domain
- When SOC analysts need structured procedures for this analysis type
- When validating security monitoring coverage for related attack techniques
