Malware Handbook
  • Preface
  • Author
  • Prerequisites for Malware
  • Prerequisites for Lab Set-Up
  • Setting Up Labs
  • Download Sample Malware Exercises
  • Intro to Assembly Language
  • Assembly Language Basics
  • Commonly Used Instructions
  • Win32 Assembly Programming
  • PE Format
    • PE32
    • PE32+
  • Malware
    • Types of Malware
    • Malware Classification by Windows Defender
    • Sourcing Malware
  • Malware Development
  • Malware Analysis
    • Malware Analysis Methodologies
      • Static Analysis
        • Static Analysis Tools/Methods
        • Static Analysis of Sample Files
      • Dynamic Analysis
        • Dynamic Analysis Tools/Methods
        • Analyzing Files with Regshot, Process Monitor, and Wireshark
        • Analyzing calc.exe and Network Activity
      • Manual Code Reversing
        • Reverse Engineering Simple Windows Executable Files
        • Reverse Engineering re_lotsastuff.exe
        • Reverse Engineering re_lotsastuff.exe Using Ghidra
      • Analyzing PowerShell Scripts
      • Analyzing JavaScript Samples
        • Analyzing JavaScript in HTML
      • Analyzing Macro Code in Office Documents
      • Setting Up REMnux Environment
        • Setting Up and Configuring FakeNet in REMnux
      • Analyzing an ELF File
      • Analyzing ASPX Webshells
      • Analyzing JAR Files
    • SAMPLE NOTES (of Notes.txt)
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Intro to Assembly Language

Overview

  • Assembly Language (ASM): A low-level programming language that is closely related to machine code instructions that a computer can execute directly.

  • Comparison with High-Level Languages: Assembly is harder to understand compared to high-level languages like C or C++ due to its proximity to machine code.

Key Points

  1. Purpose of Assembly Language:

    • Direct Hardware Manipulation: Allows precise control over hardware components.

    • Specialized Processor Instructions: Provides access to specific instructions that might not be available in high-level languages.

    • Performance Optimization: Used to address critical performance issues by optimizing low-level operations.

  2. Machine Code vs. Assembly Code:

    • Machine Code: The actual raw instructions executed by the CPU, expressed in binary.

    • Assembly Language: A human-readable counterpart to machine code, often using mnemonics to represent instructions.

  3. Assembler:

    • Role: Converts assembly code into executable machine code that the computer can run.

  4. Historical and Practical Use:

    • Gaming Consoles: Used in platforms like Atari and Nintendo Entertainment System.

    • Old Arcade Games: Example includes Robotron 2084.

    • Role-Playing Games: Example includes Number One MSDS for Apple II.

    • Operating Systems: Utilized in boot loaders and device drivers.

    • Computer Viruses: Assembly language is used in crafting certain types of malware.

  5. Machine Code vs. Assembly Code Example:

    • Machine Code: Direct binary or hexadecimal representation (e.g., 0xB8 for a specific instruction).

    • Assembly Code: Human-readable representation (e.g., MOV EAX, 0xCODE5AFE to move a value into a register).

  6. Advantages of Assembly Language:

    • Speed and Memory Optimization: Allows for fine-tuning of performance and resource usage.

    • Debugging: Useful for debugging high-level code by inspecting the low-level operations.

    • Reverse Engineering: Essential for understanding and analyzing compiled code or malware.

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Last updated 9 months ago