Software Diagnostics Library

After almost a 6-year break we resume extending the catalog of structural memory patterns as a foundation of pattern-oriented memory forensics, root cause analysis, and software internals. The next pattern we add is borrowed from archaeology and is called Region Strata. When we have several memory snapshots we can analyze Memory Regions for their changes at different times:

For example, we got two memory dumps of the same process saved by WER with approx. one minute difference. We saved the raw stack region of the current thread using .writemem WinDbg command in text files (Strata1.txt and Strata2.txt) and then combined them into one Excel table (Strata.xlsx). In that table we can see memory region changes as shown in this picture (click to expand):

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

Memoretics as a science of memory snapshots borrows many ideas from the following disciplines (the list is not exhaustive):

• Troubleshooting and Debugging
• Intelligence Analysis
• Critical Thinking
• Forensics
• Linguistics
• Archaeology
• Psychoanalysis
• History
• Mathematics: Sets and Categories
• Literary Criticism and Narratology

It also contributes many ideas back. The following diagram depicts such an interaction:

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

I’m pleased to announce that MDAA, Volume 5 is available in PDF format:

www.dumpanalysis.org/Memory+Dump+Analysis+Anthology+Volume+5

It features:

- 25 new crash dump analysis patterns
- 11 new pattern interaction case studies (including software tracing)
- 16 new trace analysis patterns
- 7 structural memory patterns
- 4 modeling case studies for memory dump analysis patterns
- Discussion of 3 common analysis mistakes
- Malware analysis case study
- Computer independent architecture of crash analysis report service
- Expanded coverage of software narratology
- Metaphysical and theological implications of memory dump worldview
- More pictures of memory space and physicalist art
- Classification of memory visualization tools
- Memory visualization case studies
- Close reading of the stories of Sherlock Holmes: Dr. Watson’s observational patterns
- Fully cross-referenced with Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, and Volume 4

Its table of contents is available here:

www.dumpanalysis.org/MDAA/MDA-Anthology-V5-TOC.pdf

Paperback and hardcover versions should be available in a week or two. I also started working on Volume 6 that should be available in November-December.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

Working for more than 7 years in technical support environment I found that many support incidents were resolved more easily by abductive reasoning than by induction and deduction practiced by Sherlock Holmes and observed by Dr. Watson. Abduction as a way to build an incident theory to advance in problem resolution was practiced by a USA colleague of Holmes: Philip Marlowe. Because technical support is less detached from customers (”the world”) when compared to software engineering departments I see the way of Marlowe as more natural. Of course, from time to time the way of Holmes is also appropriate. All depends on a support case. I found that abductive reasoning is also appropriate for memory dump and software trace analysis where “leaps of faith” are necessary because of insufficient information. Such leaps of abduction actually happen all the time when analysts give troubleshooting advice based on patterns.

I plan to write more about the 3rd way of reasoning after I finish reading two Raymond Chandler’s novels and a few other inference, causality and explanation books I mention later: The Big Sleep & Farewell, My Lovely (Modern Library).

I’m grateful for Clive Gamble for pointing this way out in his book Archaeology: The Basics

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

As the new decade is approaching (2011-2020) we would like to make a few previews and predictions:

- Increased complexity of software will bring more methods from biological, social sciences and humanities in addition to existing methods of automated debugging and computer science techniques

- Focus on first fault software problem solving (when aspect)

- Focus on pattern-driven software problem solving (how aspect)

- Fusion of debugging and malware analysis into a unified structural and behavioral pattern framework

- Visual debugging, memory and software trace visualization techniques

- Software maintenance certification

- Focus on domain-driven troubleshooting and debugging tools as a service (debugware TaaS)

- Focus on security issues related to memory dumps and software traces

- New scripting languages and programming language extensions for debugging

- The maturation of the science of memory snapshots and software traces (memoretics)

Imagining is not not limited to the above and more to come and explain in the forthcoming parts.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

Five volumes of cross-disciplinary Anthology (dubbed by the author “The Summa Memorianica”) lay the foundation of the scientific discipline of Memoretics (study of computer memory snapshots and their evolution in time) that is also called Memory Dump and Software Trace Analysis.ca

The 5th volume contains revised, edited, cross-referenced, and thematically organized selected DumpAnalysis.org blog posts about crash dump, software trace analysis and debugging written in February 2010 - October 2010 for software engineers developing and maintaining products on Windows platforms, quality assurance engineers testing software on Windows platforms, technical support and escalation engineers dealing with complex software issues, and security researchers, malware analysts and reverse engineers. The fifth volume features:

- 25 new crash dump analysis patterns
- 11 new pattern interaction case studies (including software tracing)
- 16 new trace analysis patterns
- 7 structural memory patterns
- 4 modeling case studies for memory dump analysis patterns
- Discussion of 3 common analysis mistakes
- Malware analysis case study
- Computer independent architecture of crash analysis report service
- Expanded coverage of software narratology
- Metaphysical and theological implications of memory dump worldview
- More pictures of memory space and physicalist art
- Classification of memory visualization tools
- Memory visualization case studies
- Close reading of the stories of Sherlock Holmes: Dr. Watson’s observational patterns
- Fully cross-referenced with Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, and Volume 4

Product information:

• Title: Memory Dump Analysis Anthology, Volume 5
• Author: Dmitry Vostokov
• Language: English
• Product Dimensions: 22.86 x 15.24

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Opentask (10 December 2010)
• ISBN-13: 978-1-906717-96-4

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Opentask (10 December 2010)
• ISBN-13: 978-1-906717-97-1

Back cover features memory space art image Hot Computation: Memory on Fire.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

I detour for MARS expedition. You may also call it Memory Analysis Report System as malware analysis is always exploration of memory (in general). Why is this sudden change of course? After reading Gilles Deleuze I want to broaden the concept of “malware” and give it new orientation and direction of thinking. Beside that I also want new challenges after many years of research in pattern-driven memory dump and software trace analysis of abnormal software behaviour.

You may have also noticed small restructuring (rebranding) of this blog and DumpAnalysis.org headers.

See you there

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

This paleodebugging tool was excavated from Central Russia (thanks to Mr. Kutuzov) and generously provided for a photo session by its owner Mr. Mansour:

It also inspired this sequence of strcat: Analog -> Anatrace -> Analyzer -> Tracelyzer -> Loglyzer.

… enough tracing. It’s time to close our session:

… what is left? If you are curious, look at this conceptual picture:

Component Trace

If you wonder what electricity has to do with tracing (at a metaphorical level) look at this trace analysis pattern:

Statement Density and Current

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

I’ve decided to adapt archaeological classificatory framework (using my favourite method of inquiry: metaphorical bijectionism) to lay out foundations for yet another attempt to classify DA+TA patterns):

Attribute  ↔ Pattern
Artefact   ↔ Component Artefact1
Assemblage ↔ Component Assemblage
Culture    ↔ Memory System Culture²

1 Can be either a component-generated artefact or a component like a module or symbol file
2 Typical examples of memory system cultures are Windows, UNIX or even “Multiplatform”

I propose a word Memoarchaeological for such a framework and Memoarchaeology for a branch of Memoretics that studies saved computer memory artifacts from past computations (as opposed to live memory).

Note: In one of the forthcoming issues of Debugged! MZ/PE magazine there will be presented yet another classificatory scheme.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -