You can see it againUnder pressure people bring back shapes and positions long after the wording has gone.
Picture superiority · Shepard 1967, Standing 1973
GIAC (SANS)GIAC Certified Forensic Examiner
The GIAC Certified Forensic Examiner (GCFE) certification validates your ability to collect and analyze data from Windows computer systems, covering core forensic skills like evidence acquisition, browser forensics, and user activity tracing. Designed for incident responders, law enforcement, and forensic analysts, it proves you can conduct defensible, expert-level Windows investigations. Earning GCFE signals readiness to handle typical incident investigations with confidence and precision.
Exam formatCyberLive (hands-on performance-based)
Duration180 minutes
DeliveryGIAC (via ProctorU and PearsonVUE)
Passing score70%
Free questions416
Content last reviewed 30 July 2026 · Up to date
The certification
What GIAC Certified Forensic Examiner proves, and what it asks of you
What this certification covers, who it is written for, and what the exam itself looks like on the day.
6domains
10objectives
77concepts
What it is
What this certification is
What it validates, who it is written for, and the experience it assumes.
About this certification
The GIAC Certified Forensic Examiner (GCFE) certification validates a practitioner's ability to collect and analyze data from Windows computer systems, implementing core computer forensic analysis skills and knowledge. GCFE certification holders are qualified to conduct typical incident investigations including e-Discovery, forensic analysis and reporting, evidence acquisition, browser forensics, and user and application activity tracing on Windows systems.
The exam covers Windows forensics and data triage, Windows Registry forensics, USB devices, shell items, email forensics, and log analysis, as well as advanced web browser forensics for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. Delivered through GIAC's CyberLive format, the exam uses realistic lab environments and real security tools to validate hands-on capability, ensuring certified professionals can apply their skills in real-world scenarios.
Who it’s for
The GCFE certification is for anyone with a background in information systems, information security, and computers who is interested in a deep understanding of Windows forensics. It is particularly suited for information security professionals, incident response team members, law enforcement officers, federal agents, detectives, and media exploitation analysts. If your role involves investigating Windows-based incidents, analyzing digital evidence, or conducting forensic examinations, GCFE provides the validated skills to perform these tasks effectively and defensibly.
Recommended experience
Practical work experience in information security or digital forensics is recommended, along with familiarity with Windows operating systems and forensic concepts. Training is available in various modalities, including live training and OnDemand. Hands-on experience with Windows operating systems and file systems; Understanding of basic forensic methodology and evidence handling; Familiarity with incident response processes and tools; Completion of SANS-aligned training or equivalent self-study
The syllabus
What you’ll learn
Every domain and objective GIAC (SANS) measures, with the weight they carry on the exam.
The official GIAC (SANS) exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
Digital Forensic Fundamentals
- Digital Forensic Fundamentals
Forensic Artifact Techniques
- Forensic Artifact Techniques
Browser Forensics
- Browser Structure and Analysis
- Browser Forensic Artifacts
System and Device Analysis
- System and Device Analysis
- Event Log Analysis
File and Program Analysis
- File and Program Analysis
User and Cloud Artifacts
- User Artifact Analysis
- Cloud Storage Analysis
- Email Analysis
On the day
The exam itself
Everything GIAC (SANS) publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
No mandatory prerequisites — this certification has no required predecessor exam or credential.
CertificationGIAC Certified Forensic Examiner
Exam formatCyberLive (hands-on performance-based)
Duration180 minutes
Questions82 questions
Passing score70%
DeliveryGIAC (via ProctorU and PearsonVUE)
LanguagesEnglish
After you pass
Where this credential goes next
The path GIAC (SANS) lays out, how the credential is kept, and where to book.
Step-by-step path to GIAC Certified Forensic Examiner
Credential earnedGIAC Certified Forensic Examiner Certification Renewal and maintenance
GIAC certifications must be renewed every four years by earning 36 CPE credits or retaking the exam. Stay current with the latest technologies and maintain your certification.
Learn more about renewal requirements Lifecycle status
This certification is currently active and available. GIAC (SANS) maintains this certification to validate current skills and industry relevance.
Exam status: ActiveMaintained by GIAC (SANS)
Exam registration
Register for the exam through GIAC (via ProctorU and PearsonVUE), GIAC (SANS)’s authorized testing partner.
Schedule your examVisit the official GIAC (SANS) certification page for exam policies and requirements.
View the official pageYour coach
And when you are serious, your coach Pip takes over
Your coach in the app reads what you have answered with the book closed and tells you one thing to do tonight. It will not count an answer you gave with the page open, and it will tell you when you are not ready.
See how the coach worksBefore you book
Questions people ask
How does the GCFE exam relate to the GIAC Experienced Forensics Examiner (GX-FE) certification?
GX-FE is a higher-level certification for experienced forensic examiners, while GCFE is a Practitioner-level certification. GX-FE is not a successor but a separate credential for advanced practitioners.
Is the GCFE exam hands-on?
Yes, the GCFE exam uses the CyberLive format, which includes performance-based challenges in realistic lab environments with virtual machines and real security tools.
What proctoring options are available for the GCFE exam?
You can take the exam remotely through ProctorU or onsite through PearsonVUE. All exams are web-based and proctored.
How long do I have to complete my GCFE exam attempt after registration?
You have 120 days from the date your certification attempt is activated in your GIAC account to complete it.
Can I renew my GCFE certification by retaking the exam?
Yes, you can renew your certification by retaking the exam instead of earning CPE credits.
What job roles does the GCFE certification map to?
GCFE is relevant for information security professionals, incident response team members, law enforcement officers, federal agents, detectives, and media exploitation analysts.
Are there any regional restrictions for taking the GCFE exam?
GIAC offers online proctoring and onsite proctoring through PearsonVUE, making the exam available in many regions. Check your GIAC account for specific delivery options.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2026-07-30 Up to date
Practice free questions 416 questions, free, no account needed.
The curriculum
The whole exam, mapped and written
Every domain, every objective, and every concept GIAC (SANS) measures — each one written out.
6domains
10objectives
77concepts
87free pages
The domains, and what sits inside them
Every objective below is a page you can open and practise now, without an account.
The official GIAC (SANS) exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
1Digital Forensic Fundamentals42 questions
2Forensic Artifact Techniques40 questions
3Browser Forensics92 questions
4System and Device Analysis79 questions
5File and Program Analysis41 questions
6User and Cloud Artifacts122 questions
Not a table of contents
Every line on this map already opens
In front of every objective the practice pages are already there, free and without an account. This is one objective, opened.
Digital Forensic Fundamentals9 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
42 questions on this objective, five to a page. Every range above is a real page, open now, with no account.
Reading the map is not the same as knowing the ground
The curriculum tells you what is on the exam. Proving you know it is a different job — and it is the one the closed-book run does.
Free questions
416 questions. No account, no card.
The whole bank is open. 5 questions to a page, every answer explained, and a discussion thread on each one.
416questions
87pages
10objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Digital Forensic Fundamentals42 questions
2Forensic Artifact Techniques40 questions
3Browser Forensics92 questions
4System and Device Analysis79 questions
5File and Program Analysis41 questions
What a practice page gives you
1Five to a page
Short enough to finish, long enough to matter.
2Every answer explained
Not only which one is right — why the others are wrong.
3A discussion on each
Ask, answer, and vote. Every question has its own thread.
A question, and the idea behind it
Every question comes from a concept
These are not trivia. Each one is written against a concept in the book, so when you get one wrong there is somewhere to go and find out why.
The visual book
See it once. Carry it into the exam.
The pages shown here come from our AI-900 book — an example of how each concept is written in plain language and, where the idea needs one, drawn as a full page you can take in at a glance.
77concepts
416free questions
Why a picture, and not another paragraph
Three reasons, and each one is a real finding rather than a slogan.
You can see it againThe whole idea at onceWhere it starts, what happens in the middle, what comes out, and the mistake to avoid.
Multimedia principle · MayerThe look-alikes sit togetherThe pairs the exam tests are drawn side by side, so the difference is seen, not told.
Dual coding · PaivioWhat one page is made of
You are never asked to read a poster here — only to see how one is built. After that, every other page is legible at a glance.
1A numbered strip on top
The idea as a sequence, followed with a finger before a word is read.
2Panels for the parts
What it is, how the machine learns it, when it is the right tool.
3The trap, framed
The distinction the exam tests, given its own box instead of buried in prose.
4One line at the bottom
The sentence to carry into the exam room.
Open book, on purpose
Answer it with the picture beside you
This is the part that teaches. The illustration and the written explanation stay where they are while you work, so a scenario stops being a memory test and becomes something you can simply look at.
It teaches · it does not count
A smartphone uses AI to unlock when the owner looks at the camera. Which AI capability is being used?
AImage classification
BFacial recognition
COptical character recognition
DObject detection
Look at the five steps. Detect finds a face, align straightens it, encode turns it into numbers, search compares it with a stored face, and decide answers one question: is this the same person? Classification would only say “a face”. Detection would only draw a box. Neither decides whose.
Then the page shuts, and it starts counting
The same questions come back with the book closed — that run is the one that counts. After it, your coach picks one thing for tonight, sized to the time you have, and brings pages back before you lose them.
Testing effect · Roediger & Karpicke 2006 · spacing effect · Cepeda et al. 2006
Official resources
Straight from GIAC (SANS)
Where the exam is defined, scheduled and scored.
1official link
77concepts mapped
The source
GIAC (SANS)’s own pages
We link to them rather than repeat them, so nothing here goes stale behind them.
Checked against the source
Every objective on the official GIAC (SANS) outline already has questions here
We build from the official skills outline, not from a summary of it — 10 objectives, 77 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When GIAC (SANS) changes the outline, this page changes with it.
10objectives on the outline→77concepts written→416free questions
An official page tells you what will be asked. It cannot tell you what you will get right.
That is the only question worth answering the night before, and no link answers it. You answer it by taking the questions with the book closed, and seeing what comes back.