Syllabus
CSCI/CINF/ITEC 4381 - Computer Forensics
 

Course Syllabus

  Course Description Prerequisites
Professor Abeysekera
Sr. Lecturer and Systems Administrator
   
E-mail: abeysekera@uhcl.eduand perkins@uhcl.edu
URL: http://sceweb.uhcl.edu/abeysekera
Phone: 281-283-3831
Office: Delta Building - Suite 165
Office Hours:
Tues 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Wed 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
May also be arranged as needed
TA Information Textbook
Learning Outcomes Instructional Method
General Class Policies Schedule
Assignments Laboratory
Quizzes Exams
Assessment & Grading Criteria Other Rules and Infomation
 
This course examines the various media and strategies of storing information. Students will learn different aspects of computer crime and ways in which to protect, uncover and understand digital evidence. Students will gain experience using hardware and software tools to perform investigations. Laboratory Instruction.
 
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CSCI 1471 or CSCI 1370 or ITEC 3381  
 
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Binjal Patel
Email : PatelBin@UHCL.edu
TA Hours : M 10am-1pm; T 3pm-7pm; W 9am-12pm; F 10am-11.15pm

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Textbook: Guide to Computer Forensics and Investigations - Processing Digital Evidence with MindTap
Bill Nelson, Amelia Phillips, Chirstopher Steuart
Cengage, 6th Edition
ISBN-13:9781337568944
 
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After completing this class, students will be able to:  
bullet Encode and decode digital messages
bullet    Identify documents according to header information
bullet Copy and examine files to find encoded or deleted data
bullet Use software and hardware forensics tools to perform rudimentary investigations
bullet Document evidence and generate reports
bullet Develop and deploy a forensics case study for another student to use
   
This course will also focus on strengthening students' problem solving skills and some team-work.  
 
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In this course, a 'student-centered' approach will be emphasized instead of the traditional teacher-centered approach. Students are expected to attend all classes, read related chapters and notes before class, work homework exercises, and participate in class discussion, problem solving and laboratory experiments

Every class will begin with a question and answer session, where the previous class days work will be discussed/reviewed. Reading the notes for the assigned day should be completed before the start of each class.

The University of Houston-Clear Lake and its staff are here to help students learn and achieve their academic goals.  The instructor is expected to be prepared, to be punctual, to conduct appropriate classroom activities such as delivering lectures and promoting classroom discussions, to keep students informed of any changes in the course, to assist students generally in their efforts to learn the course material, and to evaluate student performance on assignments, on exams, and for the course as a whole.

The student is expected to be on time, to be prepared to participate in classroom activities and to make use of all available resources in order to learn about the topics covered in the course.  Students should be conscientious and punctual about attending classes, reading the textbook and handouts, submitting assignments, taking notes, asking questions, studying the material, and preparing for examinations.  Students should be self-reliant, honest, and courteous.  If the student has any difficulties, problems, or conflicts, she/he should communicate with the instructor or the teaching assistant.  If the teaching assistant is not responsive or helpful, students should contact the instructor for assistance.  If the instructor is not responsive or helpful, students should contact the division chair.

 
   
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Expect to spend 5-7 hours a week on this class.
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Class attendance is important and will be recorded.

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Being on time to class is important.

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Homework assignments are due at the beginning of class.

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No extra credit work will be given.

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Grade discrepancies will be discussed only within one week after the return of the graded assignments, quizzes and exams.

bullet If you copy another student's work, or let another person copy your work, you will be in violation of the academic honesty policy that is stated in the UHCL catalog. Read the Plagiarism Article from http://wso.williams.edu/~athoms/WW/3--PlagiarismHandout.pdf and the UHCL Honesty Policy in the UHCL catalog (see UHCL website). Students will be asked to sign a paper indicating that they have read the contents of both and are aware of the UHCL violation penalties. By attending the second class, students are expected to know this policy.
bullet Every student is expected to work on their assignments alone. Cheating will not be tolerated. Any student caught cheating or attempting to cheat will be given a zero on the assignment or the exam. Repeat offenders will be given an F for the course and may suffer expulsion from the university. All work must be your own. You may discuss the material in the course and help one another, however, I expect any work you hand in for a grade to be your own. Plagiarism will result in, at best, an "F" for the assignment. A simple way to avoid inadvertent plagiarism is to talk about the assignments, but not to read each other's work or write solutions together.
 
bullet    Cell phones need to turned off before coming to class.
 
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The course schedule can be found at the schedule link on the website.

 
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Assignments are posted on my website. It is your responsibility to check the website regularly. The due date of assignments will be given with each assignment. All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the due date. They will not be accepted at any later time. (There is no drop box in which to submit yourlabs or assignments.) If a student if unable to come to class on a due date, it is the students' responsibility to give it to the instructor before that. Only the instructor will accept assignments. Assignments handed to TA or any other person will not be graded.

It is your responsibility to keep your assignments with original grade marks. You NEED to show the original marks in case you have a dispute with your grade.

 
   
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There will be several labs that will be done in class, and also as homework assignments. The exams will also have several lab components.

Students will work on systems in D119 in order to use specialized software in this class. This lab is open 24/7.

 
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Quizzes on the previou class days' materials might be given after the question and answer session on randomly selected dates. These quizzes will be held at the beginning of class, and students are given 10 minutes to complete the quiz. It is the students' responsibility to come to class on time. If the student is late to class, he/she will be given whatever remaining time that there is for the quiz. If the student comes to class after the quiz is completed, he/she will get a 0 for that quiz. There are no makeup quizzes.  
   
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Exams will have laboratory components as well. There will be no makeup exams. According to UHCL rules, you CANNOT miss the final exam.  
  
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Assessment and Grading Criteria

The following is the weight (%) of each component used to calculate final course grade:

Final Grade  Percent
Assignments  25%
Quizzes 15%
Semester Project 20%
Exam 1 20%
Exam 2 20%


The following conversion scale will be used between the numeric and letter grades:

[90.100] A        
[87..89.9] B+ [83..86.0] B [80..82.9] B-
[77..79.9] C+ [73..76.9] C [70..72.9] C-
[67..69.9] D+ [63..66.9] D [60..62.9] D-
[0..59.9] F
 
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Class Notes: Class notes are password protected.

University Academic Honesty Policy: All UHCL students are responsible for knowing the standards of academic honesty. Please refer to the UHCL catalog and the student Life Handbook for the University Academic Honesty Policy. Plagiarism, that is, using research without citations, or using intellectual property without crediting the sources, will result in failure of the course. See the UHCL academic honesty policy for details.

Academic Integrity: Each student is expected to maintain the highest standards of honesty and integrity in academic and professional manners. The University reserves the right to take disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal, against any student who is found guilty of academic dishonesty or otherwise fails to meet these standards.

Access to Education: Qualified students with disabilities needing appropriate academic adjustments should contact the instructor as soon as possible to ensure your needs are met in a timely manner. For information on assistive technology available for student use and additional information on services available through Coordinator of Health Disabilities Services, Bayou 1402, telephone 281-283-2627. If you will require special academic accommodations, as specified by the Americans with Disabilities Act, please contact the Disability Services Office at 281-283-2627.

Collaboration: Collaborative work, such as studying or discussing course assignments and materials with other class members is encouraged.

Changes in Syllabus: The instructor may make necessary revisions of the syllabus. It is the student's responsibility to keep informed of any changes. All changes will be posted on the website.

Copyright: All materials in this course fall under copyright laws and should not be downloaded, distributed, or used by students for any purposes outside of this course.

6 Drop Rule: Students who entered college for the first time in Fall 2007 or later should be aware of the course drop limitation imposed by the Texas Legislature.  Dropping this or any other course between the first day of class and the census date for the semester/session does not affect your 6 drop rule count.   Dropping a course between the census date and the last day to drop a class for the semester/session will count as one of your 6 permitted drops.  You should take this into consideration before dropping this or any other course. Visit www.uhcl.edu/records for more information on the 6 drop rule and the census date information for the semester/session.

Other UHCL Policies : UHCL General Program Requirements on Withdrawals, Appeals, GPA, Repeated Courses etc. can be found at http://www.uhcl.edu/XDR/Render/catalog/archives/125/06/.

 
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Course Information

CSCI/CINF 4364 - Computer Systems Administration

ITEC 3365 - Network Fundamentals

ITEC 4365 - Network Administration

ITEC/CSCI/CINF 4381 - Computer Forensics

ITEC 3381 - Forensics Fundamentals

ITEC 4382 - Registry Internet Forensics

CSCI 1320 - Programming in C

CSCI 3303 - Fundamentals of Programming

CSCI 3333 - Data Structures

CINF 4324 - Software Modeling and Design Patterns

 

Contact Information

Krishani Abeysekera
Office: Delta 165
Phone: (281) 283-3831
Email: abeysekera@uhcl.edu