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Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Sunday, Nov 6, 2016 - 13:39:   

A preview version of the dongle-based edition of X-Ways Forensics 19.1 is now available. The download link can be retrieved as always by querying one's license status.

NEW: If when querying your licenses you do not receive any e-mail message at your work address because your organization has the sending server blacklisted, you now have the option (here) to get the e-mails sent from an alternative server (different domain, different IP address), for a 2nd chance to actually receive something.

What's new in v19.1 Preview 1?

* Support for Google's Chrome sync database, where information can be found that is synchronized across devices, such as bookmarks, form history, typed URLs, synced devices and much more. A preview HTML file is generated, and events are output to the event list.

* The type status "mismatch detected" now has an effect on the assumed relevance of a file.

* The relevance of a file now more reliably takes into account whether or not a picture is a screenshot.

* Directory icons for evidence objects that are directories, in the Case Data window, so that they can be distinguished from volumes.

* Under Windows Vista and later, attachments are now conveniently linked from the alternative e-mail representation in Preview mode.

* Option to print selected fields on the cover page in bold letters and in a different color, to point the attention of the reader to a certain aspect.

* TAR archive processing revised.

* New upper/lower case conversion option for textual data in UTF-16 (Edit menu).

* Some minor improvements.

* Same fix level as v19.0 SR-4.
Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Monday, Nov 14, 2016 - 8:42:   

Preview 2:

* Multi-threading: Option to set the number of worker threads to 1, which means that one extra thread is started for processing, separate from the main thread, so that GUI interaction is possible without time lag. Useful for example on a terminal server with many concurrent users, where you should not start too many threads, but may want to be able to at least use the GUI quickly. If the number of additional threads is set to 0, that means processing is done like in v19.0 with 1 thread or generally in v18.9 and before by the main thread itself, so that GUI interactions may be slow.

* More user-friendly behavior when trying to change the edit mode in data windows where that is not allowed because of not running X-Ways Forensics as WinHex or because of the strict drive letter protection.

* Separate notation options for the case report just like for exported lists.

* More reliable detection of pictures as screenshots (output as report tables "Screenshot" and "Screenshot?").

* New report table "Scan" based on generator signatures "PDF/Scan" and "JPEG/Scan".

* Most JPEG pictures that were transcoded by Facebook and downloaded from Facebook are now identified as such in the Metadata column by their generator signature.

* Several minor improvements.

* Same fix level as v19.0 SR-5.
Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Saturday, Nov 19, 2016 - 17:15:   

Preview 2b:

* PDF scan detection improved.

* PDF metadata extraction improved especially for Acrobat 10 PDF files.

* Some minor improvements.

* Same fix level as v19.0 SR-6.
Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Wednesday, Nov 23, 2016 - 20:12:   

Preview 3:

* Same fix level and same additional features as v19.0 SR-7.
Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Tuesday, Nov 29, 2016 - 20:20:   

Preview 4:

* The maximum number of report tables in a case was increased from 256 to 1000.

* When checking for duplicate files based on hash values, identical files can now optionally be grouped in dedicated report tables so that you can conveniently list each group of duplicates in the directory browser with the report table filter, for example to find out which copy of the file was created first, which was was touched last, which one might be of most evidentiary value based on metadata such as path etc. Unlike marking duplicates as so-called related items, report table grouping works even across evidence object boundaries, so you are not limited to comparing duplicates within the same evidence object.

* Report tables that represent groups of duplicate files are highlighted in turquoise. In total there are now 5 different kinds of report tables: 1) user-created report tables, for example for report purposes, 2) report tables created by X-Ways Forensics to make the user aware of special properties of files, 3) report tables representing search terms that are contained in a file, 4) report tables representing hash sets in which a file was found, 5) report tables representing groups of duplicate files.

* To avoid a bloated list of report tables available for selection during report creation, report tables are now offered in that dialog window only if they are actually intended for report purposes. That is assumed by default for all user-created report tables. And you can toggle the report purpose of each report table in the report table association dialog window, by assigning or removing the "star" symbol.

* When taking a new volume snapshot, all report table associations in that evidence object are discarded. If that completely empties a report table that is not marked as intended for report purposes, such a report table will now be automatically deleted from the case at that occasion.

* Duplicate files can now also be recognized by the secondary hash value.

* Duplicate files can now also be recognized by identical start sectors (within the same evidence object).

* It now possible to optionally ignore additional hard links when checking for duplicate files.

* In newly taken volume snapshots, alternate data streams now show hard link counts in the same way as their parents, so that the alternate data streams of additional hard links can be optionally omitted from searches etc.

* It is now possible to omit not only known irrelevant files, but also known relevant files from further volume snapshot refinement. Useful for example if in large cases you have or expect really many such files and having proof of their presence is sufficient for you and you don't need to extract their internal metadata, don't need to compute their skin tone percentages or PhotoDNA hashes, and don't need to check them for embedded data etc.

* Tentative extraction of Exif metadata fields that are damaged in a certain way.

* Some minor improvements.
Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Sunday, Dec 4, 2016 - 19:20:   

Preview 5:

* The descriptive text file that is generated for images now points out the exact sizes in bytes of all segments of raw images files and the exact chunk counts in all segments of .e01 evidence files. If for whatever reason one or more segments get lost or corrupted, this allows to create artificial placeholder segments of the right capacity to fill in any gaps, such that all the data in subsequent segments will have the correct logical distance from the data in preceding segments, to preserve validity of pointers within the data (partition start sectors in the partition table, cluster numbers in file system data structures) as long as the original image file segments that contain source and destination are available.

* Ability to conveniently create dummy/makeshift segments for .e01 evidence files that can substitute missing/lost/corrupt original segments, with the File | New command. The user specifies the required chunk size and the number of chunks as well as a filename for the desired segment (must be with the correct extension, identifying the segment number, not number 1). The data written into the chunks is a recurring textual pattern ("MISSING IMAGE FILE SEGMENT!" when running X-Ways Forensics in English), so that you know that you are looking at a gap in between available data when browsing the interpreted combined image later. The idea of such an artificial dummy segment is that if correctly created it can serve as a placeholder that ensures that data in subsequent segments has the correct logical distance from the data in preceding segmented. Of course, the hash of the entire image cannot be successfully verified any more if the original data is not present, and of course, this functionality should be used only as a last resort if there is no backup of the missing segment file and if data recovery fails etc., and creation and usage of such a dummy image file segment should be properly documented. (forensic license only)

* When interpreting an .e01 evidence file that contains dummy segments, you will be notified, and the total number of placeholder chunks are noted in the evidence object properties when the image is added to the case.

* If you require a placeholder for a single missing segment of which you don't know the chunk size and chunk count because the image was created without the new information in the descriptive text file, this is how to find out: Change the filename extension of the penultimate segment to that of the missing segment so that there is no gap. Then rename the last segment to the now missing penultimate segment. (If the missing segment actually is the penultimate one, the last step is sufficient; if the missing one is the last, no renaming is required at all.) Then add the image (first segment) to a case in X-Ways Forensics as usually. X-Ways Forensics will bring the misnamed segment to your attention in the Messages window, which can be ignored. Check the evidence object properties for the chunk size as well as the expected chunk count and the actually referenced chunk count. Subtract the actually referenced chunk count from the expected chunk count. Now you know how many chunks are missing. Change the filename extension back to what it was before, and then create the missing dummy segment with the correct chunk size, correct chunk count, and correct extension.

With a variation, this approach also works if multiple consecutive segments are missing, just you rename more available segments to fill the gap in the first step, and you create as many dummy segments as necessary to fill the gap. Which dummy segment exactly contains how many surrogate chunks is not important as long as the total number of surrogate chunks must account exactly for the total number of missing chunks. If multiple discontiguous segments are missing, suitable dummy segments can only be created with the new information from the descriptive text file.

* Convenient option to automatically open the output directories of Recover/Copy after completion.

* Ability to pause multi-threaded operations with the Pause key.

* Revised metadata extraction for JPEG. ICC profiles are evaluated, including timestamps.

* New file type signature for .0tx Tobit e-mail defined.

* Generator signature table further revised.

* The X-Tension API function XWF_CreateFile now supports a new flag, which allows to create files in the volume snapshot with data as provided in a buffer.

* Same fix level as v19.0 SR-8.
Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Monday, Dec 5, 2016 - 20:21:   

The DLLs of the internal graphics viewing library were updated in the download.

* Improved stability with special GIF and TIFF pictures.
Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Sunday, Dec 11, 2016 - 20:11:   

Preview 6:

* A new command in the Case Data window's context menu allows to mark an evidence object with a light bulb icon as a visual aid to locate it if important.

* Another new command in the Case Data context menu allows to conveniently make a backup of the selected evidence object's volume snapshot. Backups can be restored at any later time with the same command, and they can also be deleted with the same command (right-click an item in the list of backups to get the Delete command). Such a backup is like a snapshot of the volume snapshot. Useful if you think you might want to revert to a certain processing stage later (i.e. undo changes to the volume snapshot), for example after having carefully tagged thousands files that you don't want to lose, before running a file header signature search with experimental settings that might produce a lot of garbage files, before attaching external files with options that you had never tried before, before running an X-Tension made by a 3rd party, before totally removing excluded items from the volume snapshot etc.

Report table associations, events, and search hits are also included in the backup. Search hits can be restored from a backup only if the search term list of the case did not change in the meantime. Indexes are not included in the backup, but can be manually backed up, of course.

* The same command applied at the case level (right-click the case title in bold for that) allows to make a backup of the entire case, covering all evidence objects' volume snapshots, all report tables, events, search terms, search hits, indexes, image file paths, etc. etc. Such backups can be restored from the same dialog window. Such backups can also be opened directly with the Open Case command if necessary, as they are complete copies of a case. (Backup .xfc file are created with the "hidden" attribute, though, as they are meant to be dealt with within X-Ways Forensics only.)

* Tidied up Case Data context menus.

* Recognition of new file system level compression style in NTFS under Windows 10.

* Several minor improvements.

* Same fix level as v19.0 SR-9.
Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Monday, Dec 19, 2016 - 8:31:   

Preview 7:

* If matches are returned from regular hash databases as well as the PhotoDNA hash database at the same time with conflicting categorizations, the "more severe" category prevails: unknown < known good < known, but uncategorized < known bad

* The option to mark a file as already viewed when it gets categorized as irrelevant is now applied to the combined result of ordinary hash database and PhotoDNA hash database matching.

* The option to use the viewer component also for pictures is now presented as an easy-to-reach button in Preview mode, named "VC", so it is now much quicker to switch between the internal graphics viewing library and the separate viewer component. Previously, users had to go to the Options | Viewer Programs dialog window for that, for example to get a second opinion in case of corrupt pictures. Also, some users probably had this option always enabled simply because they thought it was a "must" to view pictures with the viewer component, to get pictures displayed at all, not knowing that pictures are by default displayed by the internal graphics viewing library in X-Ways Forensics.

* Options | Viewer Programs now offers grayscale thumbnails for true-color pictures in the gallery. This option is meant for law enforcement users whose job is to review child pornography photos, to reduce the mental impact and stress level.

* Ability to view upside-down Bitmap pictures with the internal graphics viewing library and in the gallery. (To see them flipped vertically, you currently have to view them with the viewer component, though.)

* Several minor improvements.

* Same fix level as v19.0 SR-10.
Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Sunday, Jan 1, 2017 - 18:09:   

Beta 1:

* Event extraction from Apple FSEvent logs.

* Improved stability while processing EDB databases. Users of v18.8, v18.9, and v19.0 may replace their copy of the file EDBex.dat with the new version that at first is tentatively included in v19.1 Preview 8 only.

* New options when importing or creating hash sets in the ordinary hash databases and the block hash database. Duplicate hash values that are already contained in the hash database can either be removed from the newly created or newly imported hash set or from all existing hash sets, to keep the hash database more compact/less redundant.

* The Full path column now comes with a filter.

* Internal metadata is now extracted into the Metadata column only from files of selected categories.

* "Display SHA-1 & TTH192 in Base32" is now a Notation option.

* Several minor improvements.

* Same fix level as v19.0 SR-11.
Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Thursday, Jan 12, 2017 - 19:25:   

Beta 2:

* Extended attributes in HFS+ are now optionally included in the volume snapshot as child objects of the files or directories to which they belong (in X-Ways Forensics only) depending on a new 3-state volume snapshot option. If fully checked, extended attributes are presented as child objects even when they have been specially interpreted already by X-Ways Forensics internally. If half checked (default setting in X-Ways Forensics), they are presented as child objects only if they are not specially interpreted by X-Ways Forensics assuming that the user might want to check them out manually.

* Ability to open files with resident/inline storage in HFS+.

* Ability to recognize and open compressed files in HFS+.

* HTML previews are now generated during metadata extraction for the GZ archives that contain Apple FSEvent logs.

* French translation of the user interface updated. (The translation probably has some mistakes.)

* Check boxes with long text labels in Romance languages that get truncated because of the limited space available now automatically come with tooltips that reveal the complete text when hovering the mouse cursor over the control.

* Sender and recipients are now also shown for MSG files to which e-mail processing was applied, not only for the extracted .eml file.

* In Edit | Define Block it is now optionally possible to enter the size of the block instead of its end offset. And it is now possible to enter the start and end of a block in terms of sector numbers instead of offsets directly.

* The Navigation | Go To menu commands are now available in File mode.

* Some more dialog windows are now slightly more clearly structured.

* Several minor improvements.

* Same fix level as v19.0 SR-12.
Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Thursday, Jan 19, 2017 - 8:08:   

v19.1 has just been released. Additional changes:

* A new 3-state check box in General Options prevents Windows screensavers from starting and potentially requiring to re-enter the current user's password, either only during operations that show a progress indicator window (if half checked) or generally while the program is running (if fully checked). This option has an effect no matter whether the main window is visible or whether the program is running in the background. Useful for example when acquiring a live system of which you don't want to lose control during imaging, or if you wish to keep an eye on the progress indicator on your own machine from another corner in your office.

* Options | Security | "Collect information for crash report" is now a 3-state check box. If fully checked, should volume snapshot refinement crash the program, restarting the program will also point out which suboperation exactly was applied to the problematic file(s) when the program crashed. It has not been tested whether this enhanced granularity of logging might cause any noticeable slowdown. There may be multiple candidates for the problematic file that triggered the instability if multiple worker threads were active at the time of a crash. Unlike in v19.0, all of them are now logged, and they are now presented with the help of the Int. ID filter upon restart.

* Fixed inability to process bz2 archives.

* User manual and program help updated for v19.1.
Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Thursday, Jan 26, 2017 - 18:16:   

SR-1:

* Some commands in the directory browser context menu in v19.1 did not always appear as they should have appeared. That was fixed.

* An exception error that could occur in v19.1 when hashing files should no longer occur now.

* The JPEG quality detection now also works for rotated JPEGs.

* Some minor improvements.
Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Monday, Jan 30, 2017 - 6:38:   

SR-2:

* Computing hash values and matching them against hash databases was not done repeatedly in the original v19.1 release. Now it is done repeatedly again, and that operation is now officially documented as one of the operations that will be applied repeatedly to the same files in a volume snapshot, the only other exception being indexing.

* Many descriptions for registry events were not output to the event list. That was changed. This improvement will also be applied to v19.0 SR-13.

* Some minor improvements and fixes.
Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Tuesday, Feb 7, 2017 - 19:16:   

SR-3:

* Prevented a rare infinite loop with certain previously existing EVTX files that are incompletely defined in volume shadow copies.

* Prevented a rare infinite loop when carving OLE2 compound files.

* Australia Adelaide time zone definition updated.

* Prevented a rare error with corruption of decoded textual data when running a logical search with multiple worker threads.

* The representation of search hits in the search hit list is now based on the code page of the search hit in certain situations where previously it was not. Improved code page based context preview specifically for search hits in ISO-2022 code pages, where the search hits and their surroundings may or may not be prepended directly with a suitable escape sequence and may or may not be just ordinary ASCII text.
Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Tuesday, Feb 14, 2017 - 11:22:   

SR-4:

* Support for one previously unsupported component of the PIDL data structure in OpenSavePidlMRU items in the Windows Registry.

* Fixed a stability problem in the Registry Viewer.

* Index searches for two words that are delimited by a space were unsuccessful in certain files. That was fixed.

* Some sent e-mails extracted from PST archives were presented with erroneously inserted header lines. That error in the extraction process was fixed.

* Fixed an exception error that could occur in v19.1 when selecting files, events or search hits in the Case Root window.
Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Tuesday, Feb 21, 2017 - 11:50:   

SR-5:

* Fixed potential hanging during XViD metadata extraction.

* Prevented an exception error that could occur at the end of indexing when not even a single word was found to index.

* Fixed inability to read files representing uncovered data embedded in HFS+-compressed files.

* Fixed an error in the Registry Viewer search.

* Some minor improvements and fixes.
Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Thursday, Mar 16, 2017 - 20:12:   

SR-6:

* Certain currently unsupported file system level compression styles in HFS+ volumes are now recognized as such, and the affected files will be shown with their correct file size and "only metadata available" in the description.

* Fixed an exception error that occurred with template variables within loops if their names were longer than 30 characters.

* Since v17.3, files with child objects and an unknown hard-link count were potentially included in evidence file containers multiple times. That was fixed.

* Page count of some special PDF documents now reported correctly.

* Some minor improvements and fixes.
Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Monday, Mar 27, 2017 - 4:47:   

SR-7:

* Fixed an exception error that occurred in the X-Tension API function XWF_CreateEvObj if the case was still empty.

* Gallery scroll position is reset when the directory browser is re-filled.

* Uninitialized areas of NTFS-compressed files no longer have an undefined status, but are now presented with the data as stored on the disk, just as with ordinary (not compressed) files.

* Some minor improvements and fixes.
Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Friday, May 26, 2017 - 7:31:   

SR-8:

* Many of the fixes and some very few of the minor improvements introduced in later versions. Highly recommended to users whose access to updates covered no more than v19.1. Available to these users on request for a limited time.
Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Saturday, Jul 15, 2017 - 5:46:   

SR-9:

* Several of the fixes introduced in later versions. Highly recommended to users whose access to updates covered no more than v19.1. Available to these users on request for a limited time.
Stefan Fleischmann
Username: admin

Registered: 1-2001
Posted on Wednesday, Oct 11, 2017 - 6:16:   

SR-10:

* Several of the fixes introduced in later versions. Highly recommended to users whose access to updates covered no more than v19.1. Available to these users on request for a limited time. This is probably the last service release for v19.1.

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