Like a patient in a hospital, a file needs to undergo some triage to determine the right allocation of resources. The result of the file assessment will tell us what tools need to be used, what kind of reversing steps need to be taken, and what resources will be used. The steps involved in carrying out reversing are categorized into static and dynamic analysis. 

In this chapter, we will introduce the methods and tools used in assessing a file. We will be focusing on a 32-bit Windows operating system for our examples. This will be followed by an examination of tools we can use for static and dynamic analysis. This chapter can help you to generate a checklist that will serve as a guide for you to retrieve all information on a file in the least amount of time.

In this chapter, you will do the following: 

• Gain an understanding of Target assessment
• Perform static analysis
• Perform dynamic analysis