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Training Camp • Cybersecurity Glossary
Prefetch files are Windows artifacts that evidence program execution, recording an executable's name, run count, and launch timestamps for forensic timelines.
Prefetch Files Definition: Prefetch files are Windows artifacts that evidence program execution, recording an executable's name, run count, and launch timestamps for forensic timelines.
Prefetch files are Windows artifacts created in the C Windows Prefetch folder to speed up application launches by caching information about recently run programs. In digital forensics they are valuable evidence of program execution, recording the executable name, run count, and timestamps of the last several launches. Analysts examine these PF files to build a timeline of what was executed on a system, making them useful in malware investigations and intrusion analysis.
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