> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://cyber-reaper.gitbook.io/my-malware-analysis-guide/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://cyber-reaper.gitbook.io/my-malware-analysis-guide/guide/basic-static-analysis/static-string-analysis.md). # Static String Analysis Simply, the string is an array of characters. Executables often contain strings, what type of strings? these can be URLs or file paths or sometimes other payloads inside the malware; all these data are found in plain inside the executable unless they are obfuscated. Of the most common tools that extract readable strings in ASCII or UTF-8 or whatever format is there are the default `strings` in kali, or another tool called `floss` ,this tool will be installed by default if you have set up `Flare VM` from this section[What should I do and use?](/my-malware-analysis-guide/guide/safety-procedures/what-should-i-do-and-use.md). What makes floss different is it may try to de-obfuscate the obfuscated strings that are within the file. *** So how do we use these tools? simply you type the tool name and append whatever file you want to extract the literal strings from, and yeah; these tools are not only for executables, but for any file you wish to test. ```bash # If you use strings strings # If you use floss floss ``` What do the output look like? From `Strings`

From `Floss`