Ravindra BagaleCourses & study guides

39. Malware Threats

39.4 Static vs Dynamic Analysis Mindset

Tumhi malware analyst nahi zhala tari mindset pahije:

Static (file shivay run):

  • Hash: SHA256 – share IOC, search reputation
  • Strings / file type / signature – high level
  • VirusTotal (and similar): upload only files you own / lab EICAR / samples your org legally allows – never upload confidential company docs (they become visible to VT community / vendors)

Dynamic (run to observe):

  • Isolated sandbox VM / commercial sandbox
  • Watch process tree, network (DNS/HTTP C2), file writes, registry Run keys
  • Snapshot → run → observe → revert

Golden rule: NEVER run unknown malware on your host OS, never on office laptop, never with shared folders that map to real Documents. Samjla ka?

# Amazon Linux / lab helper – hash a file YOU created (EICAR text or marker script)
sha256sum eicar.com
# Ubuntu/Kali often: sha256sum; Windows: Get-FileHash .\eicar.com -Algorithm SHA256
Red team (attacker) does Blue team (defender) detects / stops
Packs / obfuscates to change hash daily Behaviour EDR + sandbox detonation, not hash-only AV
Checks sandbox artifacts (short uptime, known VM MAC) Multiple analysis layers; don't rely on one public sandbox alone
Hopes analyst uploads secret docs to public VT Policy: no confidential uploads; private instance / internal sandbox

Ravindra Bagale's Tip

Students upload a random .exe to VT – if it contains customer data or keys, that's a leak. Search by hash first (local sha256sum); upload the full file only when policy allows. Interview: one line each on static vs dynamic + "I never run samples on my host."

Lab

Official EICAR test string (from eicar.org documentation – text file you create yourself) lab VM madhe save kara as eicar.com. sha256sum note kara. Windows Defender / ClamAV scan – detect zala pahije. Screenshot. Host OS var skip. VirusTotal: only if your trainer/lab policy allows EICAR; never real docs.