This year, for my diary entries with malware analysis, I will check each time if a malware sample can be analyzed with the strings command (or a variant). And if it does, I'll write-up a second analysis with the strings command.

Although most malware samples don't contain clear text strings, I regularly encounter samples that do.

I hope this will make malware analysis more accessible to a larger audience.

Best wishes for the new year to you and your family from all of us at the SANS Internet Storm Center!

Didier Stevens
Senior handler
Microsoft MVP
blog.DidierStevens.com DidierStevensLabs.com