SECURITY 526SECURITY 526

Laptop Required:

!! IMPORTANT! BRING YOUR OWN LAPTOP CONFIGURED USING THESE DIRECTIONS!!

A properly configured computer system is required for each student participating in the workshop portion of this course. Before coming to class follow the steps below to complete the installation. If you do not carefully read and follow these instructions exactly, you are guaranteed to leave the course unsatisfied since you will not be able to analyze the forensic images that we will hand out.

You will use VMware to simultaneously run multiple operating systems when performing the analysis in class. You must have VMware Workstation installed on your system prior to class beginning. If you do not own a licensed copy of VMware, you can download a free 30-day trial copy from http://www.vmware.com VMware will send you a time-limited serial number if you register for the trial at their Web site.

Due to the hard drive space and processing requirements for the lab exercises, students should bring a laptop meeting the mandatory laptop requirements listed below in order to get the most of the course.

BASE OPERATING SYSTEM - LINUX, MAC OSX, or WINDOWS

You can use any version of Windows, MAC OSX, or Linux as your core operating system as long as VMware Workstation 6.0, VMware Fusion 2.0, or VMware Player 2.5 or higher is installed and functional. SANS will be handing out a VMware guest machines that will be utilized for the course.

Follow these steps for your Forensic Laptop Installation

Make sure it works by launching it with VMware Workstation or Player and logging in as:

User: root

Password: forensics

Mandatory Laptop Hardware Requirements:

  • CPU: 1.5 GHz or higher is recommended
  • DVD/CD Combo Drive
  • Wireless 802.11
  • B/G Networking Capability
  • 1 Gigabyte of RAM minimum (2 or higher RAM is highly recommended)
  • 60 Gigabyte Hard Drive minimum (HARD DRIVE SIZE IS CRITICAL)
  • 20 Gigabytes of Free Space on your Hard Drive
  • Download and install WINZIP 12 or higher on your Windows Machine
  • The student should have the capability to have Local Administrator Access within the Windows OS
  • Bring your INSTALLATION CD-ROMS or DVDs to the course



"This is awsome! We're seeing details that most people don't even know exist" - John Wright, Info Tech, Inc.
"The class provided in-depth, real world, hands-on information" - Robert Dale Drollinger, General Dynamics
SANS Institute