![]() ![]() This allows for potential recovery of live records that have not been committed to the database, or recovery of previously existing records that have been deleted and are no longer recoverable from the database itself, but all or part of the record resides in the WAL file. WAL file: The WAL file can be found in filesystems where the database connection has not shutdown cleanly. In addition to several other system level benefits over journal files, WAL files tend to perform faster. Both types of files (WAL and journal) serve the same purposes of ‘ atomic commit’ and rollback, but both implemented in different ways. The legacy refers to the use of a journal file. The use of either a WAL or roll back journal file is determined by the value within the SQLite database file at decimal offsets 18 and 19. The database write-ahead log (WAL) or journal file. It can use various types of suffixes (listed below), or in some cases the SQLite database file will not have any suffix appended after the arbitrary prefix file name. But for the purposes of this article, we will briefly mention the database file itself and the 3 types of temporary files (‘shm’, ‘wal’, and ‘journal’) that are most commonly encountered by digital forensics practitioners. There are, however, actually nine distinct types of temporary files that can be used by SQLite during database processing operations. The SQLite database as a file on disk can consist of 3 separate files. For that we direct you to the only textbook on this subject authored in 2018 by Paul Sanderson, titled, SQLite Forensics. What will not be covered is the explanation on the various methods to recover deleted records. ![]() The authors are working from the premise that recovery of deleted, partially recoverable, or wholly intact recoverable records, is no longer viable. The various analysis tools that will be used to analyze missing records within SQLite databases will be noted throughout the article. This article will specifically discuss the identification of missing records, within the SQLite database in its use as an application file format. SQLite can be used as on disk application file format, or as an SQLite Archive (where the SQLite Archive is similar to a ZIP file or archive or Tarball). The utilization of SQLite databases across a wide spectrum of so many mediums, is due to its performance, reliability, portability, simplicity and accessibility of data. The SQLite database engine is one of the most widely used database formats, where its use can be found in countless areas such as web browsers, instant messengers, all smartphones, Mac computers, Windows 10 computers, also automotive infotainment systems, and surprisingly also found in smart television sets and cable boxes. ![]()
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