System Gatherer - Educational Malware Sample

Part of the Malware Analysis Learning Course - Challenge 1A

Educational demonstration of Windows system enumeration techniques commonly used by malware for initial reconnaissance.

⚠️ Educational Purpose Only

This code demonstrates system enumeration techniques for cybersecurity education in controlled environments.

Compilation & Usage

Requirements

• Platform: Windows 10/11
• Compiler: Visual Studio 2022 or MinGW-w64

Build Instructions

Visual Studio 2022:

start system-gatherer.sln

# Build in Release mode for analysis
Build → Configuration Manager → Release → Build Solution

Command Line (MinGW):

g++ -o system-gatherer.exe src/main.cpp -ladvapi32 -static

Safe Execution

./system-gatherer.exe

# Output saved to system_info.txt

📖 References & Further Reading

• Practical Malware Analysis - Chapter 3: Dynamic Analysis
• MITRE ATT&CK: System Information Discovery
• Windows Registry Reference
• Malware Analysis Bootcamp - System Enumeration Module

Analysis Reports (To-Do)

See ANALYSIS.md for detailed:

• Static analysis with PE-bear and hex editors
• Dynamic analysis with Process Monitor and debuggers
• Network analysis with Wireshark (baseline establishment)
• Professional malware analysis reporting format

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🎓 Educational Note: This project demonstrates legitimate cybersecurity research methodology. Understanding attack techniques is essential for building effective defenses and developing security solutions.