Practical Malware Analysis for Beginners

Name: Practical Malware Analysis for Beginners
Rating: 4.7 (105 reviews)

Learn basic static and dynamic malware analysis with easy to follow instructions

Created byHassan Shafiq

Last updated 7/2026

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

Introduction to Malware Analysis Process
Setting up a malware analysis lab for safe dissection of malware
Static Malware analysis with strings and hashes
Understanding PE File structure and File dependencies and exports
Packing and obfuscation used by malware
Processes and Network monitoring
Registry and file system monitoring
Analyzing Persistence Management mechanisms of a malware
Analysing Malware with online sandbox Any Run

Course content

6 sections • 23 lectures • 2h 25m total length

Introduction to Course0:50
Learn static and dynamic malware analysis using tools with strings, hashes, and packing and obfuscation; set up a lab and automate process and network analyses in a sandbox for beginners.
Who AM I ?1:04
Amar introduces the practical malware analysis for beginners course, drawing on information security and network engineering expertise to guide you through practical hacking and pentesting.
Introduction to Malware Analysis2:09
Learn malware analysis to identify its type and scope, infection methods, indicators for detection, and apply static, dynamic, code, and behavioral analyses to generate signatures for future detections.

Lab Setup Instructions0:56
Set up a safe malware lab with a Windows machine upgraded and tool-equipped via a flare script, and a Kali Linux or Remnux VM using VMware.
Installing Windows VM on Vmware5:28
Learn to create and configure a Windows 10 VMware virtual machine for malware analysis and pen testing, from iso acquisition to VMware Tools installation and prep for analysis tools.
Installing Flare VM7:02
Set up flare VM on Windows base image, disable Defender real time protection and firewall via policy, run the flare VM installer with PowerShell, then snapshot for malware analysis tools.
Installing Kali Linux on Vmware5:55
Install Kali Linux on VMware by downloading VMware Player and the Kali live ISO, creating a bridged-network virtual machine, and booting Kali in live mode for a resettable pentesting environment.

Static Malware Anlaysis and Checking File types9:03
Learn static malware analysis by identifying file types and architectures, using hashing, strings, packing and obfuscation clues, and PE header insights to infer malware behavior.
Analysing Malware with Hashes7:20
Hash malware files using md5, sha-1, and sha-256 to create unique fingerprints for identification. Search hashes on VirusTotal and hybrid analysis to verify detections and view reports.
Strings Analysis12:07
Extract ASCII and Unicode strings from malware to reveal functionality, identifying file names, URLs, domains, IP addresses, and registry keys using strings and tools like bintext, floss, pyd, and p studio.
Understanding File Structure8:52
Explore the portable executable file format on Windows, including the PE header, DOS header and stub, section headers, and how code, data, resources, and imports load at runtime.
File Dependencies and Imports6:27
Examine file dependencies and imports to identify runtime requirements and possible malware actions, using Dependency Walker, malapi.io, and PE Studio to map DLLs and functions.
Analysing the resources section3:34
Analyze the resources section of malware using tools like Resource Hacker and PE Studio to inspect embedded icons, dialogs, and version info, infer origin, and identify payloads or configuration data.
Packing and Obfuscation8:23
Explain packing and obfuscation that encrypt or compress malware, hide execution with a wrapper, and how to identify the packer using entropy and tools like pid to unpack for analysis.
Malware Analysis Task -1

Intro to Dynamic Malware Analysis1:39
Learn the basics of dynamic malware analysis, exploring how runtime behavior reveals malware actions, including processes, system calls, network connections, registry and file activity, and persistence mechanisms.
Process Monitoring11:18
Use process monitoring to analyze malware behavior with tools like Process Hacker and Pokemon, tracking process creation, memory strings, API calls, and registry changes.
Registry and File Monitoring9:17
Learn registry and file monitoring for dynamic malware analysis, tracking persistence and startup changes in Windows, using Regshot and Procmon to analyze artifacts in appdata and startup directories.
Network Monitoring8:25
Analyze malware behavior using network monitoring tools in an isolated environment, capturing traffic with fake net, Wireshark, and Fiddler to identify command and control, data exfiltration, and behavioral patterns.
Persistence management4:00
Identify malware persistence mechanisms by analyzing registry modifications, startup folder changes, scheduled tasks, services, bootkits and rootkits, using tools like Autoruns to quickly spot auto start entries.
Tying it all together8:33
Tie together dynamic malware analysis in an isolated Windows VM by running tools like Wireshark and Procmon to reveal dns, http traffic, file and registry activity.
Lets Defend Example 1 - Walkthrough14:07
Conduct basic dynamic malware analysis on two samples in let's defend. Use Wireshark, Fiddler, Process Hacker, and Procmon to trace DNS, HTTP traffic, and registry and file changes.
Malware Analysis Task -2

Requirements

Just a windows PC and an interest in malware analysis, or software reverse engineering.

Description

Discover the essential skills of malware analysis with our beginners friendly hands-on course on Malware Analysis. Master the Art of Static and Dynamic malware analysis Techniques. This course is perfect for beginners, covering static analysis, dynamic analysis, and advanced sandboxing provides a comprehensive foundation in cybersecurity.

The course provides all the necessary resources to help you learn malware analysis including Malware samples and presentations along with video lectures.

What You'll Learn:

Static Analysis Fundamentals: Learn to analyze malware code without execution, identifying malicious patterns and characteristics.
Dynamic Analysis Techniques: Execute malware in a secure environment to observe behaviour, understand impact, and identify threats.
Sandboxing Malware: Utilize online Malware Analysis sandbox to automate malware analysis in real time, enhancing your understanding of real-world threats.

Why This Course?

Hands-On Learning: Engage in practical exercises with real-world scenarios to build confidence and expertise in malware analysis.
Expert Guidance: Gain insights from experienced cybersecurity professionals through step-by-step instructions.
Career Advancement: Develop crucial skills in malware analysis, essential for a successful career in cybersecurity.

Malware analysis is crucial for cybersecurity professionals because it helps them understand the behavior and techniques of malicious software. By analyzing malware, they can identify vulnerabilities, develop effective defenses, and enhance incident response strategies. This knowledge enables them to protect systems, mitigate risks, and prevent future attacks, ensuring the overall security of digital environments.

Who this course is for:

Students who like to get started on the career path to become malware analysts
Beginners who want to pursuit a lucrative career as Malware Analysts or Cyber security researchers.
Malware enthusiasts in general, and cyber security researchers who want to gain knowledge in cyber threats.

Practical Malware Analysis for Beginners

What you'll learn

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Course content

Introduction3 lectures • 4min

Lab Setup4 lectures • 19min

Basic Static Malware Analysis7 lectures • 56min

Dynamic Malware Analysis7 lectures • 57min

Sandboxing Malware1 lecture • 7min

Bonus Section1 lecture • 2min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: