Forensics challenges in CTFs can feel overwhelming — you’re staring at a massive disk image, a packet capture, or some corrupted file and wondering: where do I even begin?

The trick isn’t to memorize every command, but to build a systematic way of thinking. In this article, I’ll walk you through how I approach Forensics CTFs: the first questions I ask, the tools I reach for, and the mindset I keep when the path isn’t obvious.”

Step 1: What type of file am I dealing with?

• First, I always check the file extension or run file on it.
• If it’s compressed (.gz, .zip), I extract it with gunzip or unzip.

Mindset: Before diving in, I ask: “What exactly is this thing, and how might the challenge creator have hidden the flag inside it?”

Step 2: What does the content look like?

• I don’t try to solve immediately. I open the file with cat, less, or a hex viewer (xxd) just to get a feel for it.
• Sometimes the content screams disk image, PCAP, or memory dump.

Mindset: I’m scanning for patterns — readable text, headers, anomalies — not chasing the flag yet.

Step 3: How is the data structured?

• For disk images, I ask: “Are there partitions? What filesystem is inside?” → use mmls, fls.
• For PCAPs: “What kind of…