Advertisement!
Author Information Pack
Editorial Board
Submit article
Special Issue
Editor's selection process
Join as Reviewer/Editor
List of Reviewer
Indexing Information
Most popular articles
Purchase Single Articles
Archive
Free Online Access
Current Issue
Recommend this journal to your library
Advertiser
Accepted Articles
Search Articles
Email Alerts
FAQ
Contact Us
International Journal of Forensic Science

Volume  7, Issue 1,  January–June 2024, Pages 25-28
 

Original Article

Detecting Information from MMORPGS

M Vishwanatha Bhargav1 , Don Caeiro

Security Consultant, Delloite, Bangalore 560077, Karnataka, India, 2 Assistant Professor, Department of Forensic Science, Krishtu Jayanti College, Bangalore 560077, Karnataka, India.

Choose an option to locate / access this Article:
days Access
Check if you have access through your login credentials.        PDF      |
|

Open Access: View PDF

DOI:

Abstract

MMORPGs are a combination of RPGs and MMOGs in which millions of players worldwide play simultaneously. MMORPG is the most popular genre of gaming among millions of people. Many crimes are taking place due to MMORPGs such as homicides, sexual offences, theft, fraud, hacking etc. A study was conducted in order to detect information which is left by the MMORPGs in computer systems, which can also be used as corroborating evidence or real evidence connecting the suspect to the crime in cybercrime investigations. Eight games were selected (4 browser based, 4 client based) as samples, downloaded, installed and certain number of sessions were played. The hard disk which contained the sample was analyzed using Access Data’s FTK Imager for game information and chat histories. The client based games were uninstalled and analyzed as well. We found that browser based MMORPGs did not leave any traces of chat history but it had traces of important information such as URLs and timestamps. Client based MMORPGs left a lot of vital information as well as chat history. After uninstallation, the client based MMORPGs had yielded the same data as before uninstallation, but as deleted files. Thus, from this study we could prove that MMORPGs data can be detected and obtained from suspect hard disks and also can be used as corroborating evidence or real digital evidence which links the suspect directly to the crime in cybercrime investigations.

Context: In the field of digital forensics and cybercrime, determining the information left behind by various applications is a necessity. MMORPGs are one type of such applications that require in depth analysis as to the type of information that can be retrieved from the computer system that is being used by the games. This will further help forensic examiners to proceed in the right direction and create a protocol for analysis of such games.

Aim: To determine the information that can be retrieved from MMORPGs in a computer system.

Settings and Design: Experimental study conducted on a system with eight MMORPGs. The games were used and various activities including chatting was conducted on it and then information was searched for in the computer system.

Methods and Material: Eight games were selected (4 browser based, 4 client based) as samples, downloaded, installed and certain number of sessions were played. The hard disk which contained the sample was analyzed using Access Data’s FTK Imager for game information and chat histories. The client based games were uninstalled and analyzed as well.

Statistical Analysis Used:

Results: We found that browser-based MMORPGs did not leave any traces of chat history but it had traces of important information such as URLs and time stamps. Client-based MMORPGs left a lot of vital information as well as chat history. After uninstallation, the client[1] based MMORPGs had yielded the same data as before uninstallation, but as deleted files.

Conclusions: This study we could prove that MMORPGs data can be detected and obtained from suspect hard disks and also can be used as corroborating evidence or real digital evidence which links the suspect directly to the crime in cybercrime investigations.


Keywords : MMORPGs; Game Data; Cyber Forensics; MMORPG Game Information Forensics; MMORPG Chat History
Corresponding Author : Don Caeiro,