Flare VM Installation
Flare VM Installation
Flare VM is a Windows distribution specifically designed for Malware Analysis. It includes all the relevant tools to get started in this field.
Step 1: Setup Virtual Machine
First, you need to setup a Windows 10 virtual machine. This can be done by downloading the ISO from Microsoft and installing it inside your preferred hypervisor, such as VirtualBox or VMware Workstation.
- IMPORTANT: The network adapter of the virtual machine must be set to Host-only. This is important to prevent potential spreading of malware onto the host system or network.
- The hard drive of the VM must be at least 60 GB large, RAM should be at least 2 GB (more is recommended)
Step 2: Install Flare VM
Go to the official FlareVM Github repository (https://github.com/mandiant/flare-vm)
- Download the install.ps1 script
- Open Powershell as Administrator
- Go to the directory the script is located in and run: Unblock-File ..ps1
- Enable script execution: Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted
- Type Y to accept
- Finally, exeute the script: .\install.ps1 and enter your Windows password when prompted
This installation can take some time (up to 3 hours). Your machine will reboot a few times during the installation.
Once you see “Type ENTER to exit:”, type Enter to Exit the script - then, the installation is complete.
Now, you should definitely save a snapshot of the VM so you can always revert back to this state if needed.