AppCompatPCA
Author: Andrew Rathbun
description
AppCompat PCA Folder
paths
collection commands
# PowerShell Artifact Collection Script
# Target: AppCompatPCA
# Run as Administrator
#Requires -RunAsAdministrator
$ErrorActionPreference = "Continue"
$SourceRoot = "C:"
$DestBase = "D:\Evidence"
$Summary = @{ Copied = 0; Missed = 0; Errors = 0 }
function Collect-Artifact {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory)][string]$SourceDir,
[Parameter(Mandatory)][string]$FolderName,
[string]$FileMask = "*"
)
# Expand wildcards in any path segment (e.g. 'Program Files*',
# 'ScreenConnect Client*'). robocopy itself does not glob the source.
$sources = @(Get-Item -Path $SourceDir -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
Where-Object { $_.PSIsContainer })
if ($sources.Count -eq 0) {
$Summary.Missed++
return
}
$FullDest = Join-Path -Path $DestBase -ChildPath $FolderName
$null = New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $FullDest -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
foreach ($src in $sources) {
robocopy $src.FullName "$FullDest" "$FileMask" /E /COPY:DAT /R:0 /W:0 /NP /NFL /NDL /NJH /NJS 2>$null | Out-Null
if ($LASTEXITCODE -le 7) { $Summary.Copied++ } else { $Summary.Errors++ }
}
}
# 1. AppCompat PCA Folder
Collect-Artifact -SourceDir "C:\Windows\appcompat\pca" -FolderName "AppCompat_PCA_Folder"
Write-Host ("Collection complete. Copied: {0} Missed: {1} Errors: {2}" -f $Summary.Copied, $Summary.Missed, $Summary.Errors) -ForegroundColor Green› Save as .ps1 and run as Administrator. Use: powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File script.ps1
references
notes
Credit to rancio#4162 on the Digital Forensics Discord Server who noticed this artifact - https://discord.com/channels/427876741990711298/427936091220344833/1057680326484299786
This artifact appears to be on Windows 11 only and will comprise of the following files:
C:\Windows\appcompat\pca\PcaAppLaunchDic.txt
C:\Windows\appcompat\pca\PcaGeneralDb1.txt
C:\Windows\appcompat\pca\PcaGeneralDb0.txt
PcaAppLaunchDic.txt appears to contain reliable timestamps for evidence of last execution in the format of FILE PATH | TIMESTAMP
I've tested and validated this on my own Windows 11 Pro system where the timestamps updates in real-time upon execution of a given application