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Understanding NTFS Timestamps(Timeline Analysis) : With Example


Lets understand with example:

We have created table to understand NTFS Operations


1. Create Operation:

  • When a file is created, according to the table, all timestamps (Modified, Accessed, Created) are updated


2. Modify Operation:

  • When a file is modified, only the Modified timestamp is expected to change, while the Accessed and Created timestamps remain unchanged.

  • However, if NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate is enabled (set to 0), the Access timestamp will be updated along with the Modified timestamp.


In this case its enabled:


3. Copy Operation:

  • When a file is copied using Windows Explorer, the Modified timestamp of the new file inherits from the original file, while the Created and Accessed timestamps are updated to the current time.

  • If a file is copied using the command line (cmd), the behavior is similar to using Windows Explorer. Both methods update the Created and Accessed timestamps of the copied file.

However:

But when we analyze $MFT File. We may actually see a difference. Because MFT will show us all the time stamps

($SI)These time stamps are which accessible by windows API

($FN) These time  stamps are accessible by Windows kernel



4. File Access:

  • The behavior of the Access timestamp depends on the NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate registry setting. If enabled, the Access timestamp will be updated upon file access.


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