% Throughout my Ph.D. program and the development of this dissertation, I have received lots of supports and motivation. I especially appreciate valuable motivations from various sources and feel that people value my ability more than what I have.
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\par First and foremost, I would like to thank Almighty Allah for giving me the strength and guidance to pursue a doctoral program in Digital and Cyber Forensic Science at Sam Houston State University. Due to His divine guidance, I could become the best version of myself. \medskip

I owe a debt of gratitude to my advisor Dr. Narasimha Shashidhar. It has been my privilege to study and conduct research under his guidance, and this dissertation would not be possible without his constant support, encouragement, and motivation. I have benefited immensely from his patience and ability to breathe perfection into the most complex and challenging digital and cyber forensics concepts. In addition, he has constantly pushed me to achieve better things throughout my graduate study. I am grateful to him for his kindness and everything he has taught me. \medskip

I am incredibly grateful to my associate advisor, Dr. Cihan Varol, for giving me updated information on operating system technology and encouraging me to explore and add new technological advancements to my dissertation. Moreover, I have thoroughly enjoyed discussing exciting research avenues that can help new practitioners to conduct research. I would also like to thank Dr. Amar Rasheed for his valuable insights on hardware forensics and for teaching me how to understand the essentials of hardware pins and controller chips. Furthermore, I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Bing Zhou and Dr. Peter Cooper for their insights into teaching and for giving me the creative control of the courses I would be teaching in the department. Their guidance helped me in becoming a much better instructor and teaching assistant. \medskip

I am fortunate to have been a part of the Cyber Forensic Intelligence Center, where I worked with the best colleagues, Dustin Thornton, Ashley Miksch, Amanda Rincon Morales, and Ricky Malcom. I have troubled them with my questions, printing documents, and technological equipment demands. Yet, they always stood by me through my journey in the department. Moreover, they also inspired me to work harder and enjoy the process. Also, I would like to thank my Ph.D. cohorts Alberto Cellabos for teaching and assisting me in complex topics of Python scripting and Khushi Gupta for pushing me to become a better scientific writer. \medskip
 
No amount of words is ever sufficient to express my deep gratitude to my parents, Asad and Urusa Neyaz; my sister, Nimra Neyaz; my best friend, Kamran Akhter; and my uncle Irshad Malik and aunt, Safura Ahmad; the six people who never lost faith in me and to whom I always turned for inspiration, and comfort.
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\noindent \flushleft \textit{Huntsville, Texas} \hspace*{\fill} \textbf{Ashar Neyaz}

\noindent \flushleft \textit{August, 2022}

