I’m coming to the end of another Open University module (M812 Digital Forensics) and have just completed the final tutor-marked assignment for the course. This one came in two parts. Firstly I had to conduct a forensic examination of a provided disk image and write a suitably professional report. Secondly, I had to take part in a short interview with the tutor to answer some questions on my findings, as if I were being cross-examined in court.

I did that bit this afternoon and it is probably a bit early to judge how I did. None of the questions left me flummoxed but did I give sufficient detail without going overboard? It didn’t help that it took a while to connect to the online tool, as I discovered I couldn’t reuse the activation file I had downloaded and tested on Saturday in the practise session but needed to reuse the original link. So much for thinking I had everything in place and just as well I’ve got quite fine-tuned trouble-shooting skills when it comes to computers. Also, the connection seemed choppier than it did on Saturday even though that involved several people in the chat room with audio and video feeds.

Still I made it and made it through and at least get the points for turning up. Results from the two parts of this exercise are due on Monday and then I’ve got an actual “sit-down and write for three hours” exam the following week. I’ve not done one of those for a long time so, as I approach the final part of my revision, I will be writing my notes in long-hand both to support recall in a similar physical environment and to start to rebuild the pen-holding endurance which I suspect has rather waned over the last twenty or so years!