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Log analysis translates computer-generated data into meaningful information, often used in troubleshooting system problems and tracking malicious programs. It is only as useful as the person performing the analysis.
Log analysis is the skill set of translating computer-generated data into meaningful information. Computer programs are often programmed to generate “logs,” such as error reports, that indicate the general functionality of the item. To save space on the computer system’s hard drive, these logs are often written in shorthand, necessitating translation to extract the information. Translating logs into data is often used in troubleshooting system problems, correlating seemingly unrelated events on a system, and classifying log information for archival purposes.
Computer registry data seems completely incomprehensible to anyone not trained to understand it. Log parsing works to convert that information back into useful and readable English. The log data in the computer is often supplied with date and time information, allowing the log analyst to generate a working history of the previous day’s or week’s events within the program. When translated logs from various programs active on your system are compared, patterns can emerge that can help simplify, optimize, troubleshoot, and fail-proof your computer.
Imagine a computer running 10 or 20 programs at the same time. Now imagine that every day at 9:00 the computer crashes. In the absence of log data, it can be difficult or even impossible to predict the root cause of the problem. With registry analysis, a technician can quickly obtain and translate registry reporting information from each program, looking for any abnormal behavior that may have triggered the crash. If only one program reports a problem at that specific time, the cause becomes apparent; if two or more programs report identical problems, the technician can use the log data to drill down, looking for a potential conflict between the two malfunctioning programs.
Log analysis can also be used to track the progress of malicious programs in the system by following their proverbial “footsteps” through various active programs. Finding patterns in the logs of various programs can help the registry technician detect otherwise unnoticed hacker activity on your computer network. For example, finding a strange access pattern in a single program might seem like an anomaly in your system, but if the same access pattern suddenly appears in a dozen different registries, it’s likely that someone has hacked into your computer.
In general, analyzing the registry is only as useful as the person performing the analysis. While a seasoned technician with years of experience may be able to find errors and other patterns in seemingly disparate data, a novice might stumble upon the same clues. Program logs provide the raw data needed to make changes, but only through human intuition can that data be processed into a useful form.
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