Home » Email Forensics » ZDB File Viewer to View & Analyze the ZDB File

ZDB File Viewer to View & Analyze the ZDB File

author
Published By Ashwani Tiwari
Aswin Vijayan
Approved By Aswin Vijayan
Published On May 6th, 2022
Reading Time 3 Minutes Reading
Category Email Forensics

Zimbra was initially developed by Zimbra, Inc. and currently, it is owned by Telligent System since July 2013. Zimbra Desktop is a desktop email client application that stores users’ email messages, calendars, contact and many other mailbox items. Due to free and open-source applications, users widely use this. It is compatible with any POP (Post Office Protocol) or IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) client, including Gmail, Yahoo and Microsoft Exchange.

Location of Zimbra ZDB File

Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS) is a collaborative system that is used to synchronize the Zimbra Desktop data with Microsoft Outlook. A ZDB is an email data file created by Zimbra Connector for Microsoft Outlook. The default location of the Zimbra.zdb file is:

In Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft \Outlook

In Window 8/7/Vista: C:\Users\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook

With the extensive use of Zimbra Desktop emailing service, it has also become the host for cybercriminals to perform their illegal activities. To view and extract the evidence from Zimbra.zdb file, experts need sophisticated methodology.

Open Zimbra ZDB File

Open ZDB file via ZDB File Viewer

ZDB files are found only in the Zimbra Desktop client. There might be a situation in which experts need to view and analyze the .zdb file. So far, there is no manual procedure to examine it. At this stage, techies need to rely on third-party solutions. Zimbra ZDB viewer is one such tool that is specially designed to perform a forensic investigation on Zimbra. The software is developed to enhance the investigation process in the least effort and time. Let’s discuss the key features of the tool in detail.

Software Features and System Requirements

File Size: 6.4 MB

Software Version: 2.0

Operating System Supported – Windows 10 and all the below versions

Processor – 1 GHz

RAM – 512 MB

Hard Disk Space – 10 MB

  • The very first step is to download and install the ZDB file viewer and add the offenders’ files.

Open ZDB File

  • Once the ZDB file loads, the tool assists the investigators to perform a detailed examination via allowing different views modes for a single mail such as Properties View, Hex View, MIME View, RTF View and many more. Using this feature, experts can extract each and every crucial artefact from offenders’ mailboxes.

Open Zimbra ZDB File

Eminent Features of the ZDB File Viewer

  • After adding the corrupted .zdb file, the tool automatically scans the file with an advanced mechanism and creates a comprehensive report.
  • The best part of the tool is it not just examines emails that may contain inculpatory artefacts but also contacts, tasks, calendars, notes and journals.
  • Examine and analyze the attachments along with a precise email message.
  • Moreover, the most peculiar feature of the software is that it can download and install all versions of the Windows Operating System.
  • The simple UI of the software with Horizontal and Vertical views aids the investigators to open and previewing the ZDB file conveniently.

Open ZDB File

Also Read: Export Zimbra Contacts to VCF

The software for viewing and carving evidence for Zimbra.zdb file was so far not found. However, ZDB File Viewer proves to be a complete platform to perform an investigation on .zdb file. With the above-mentioned proficiencies, the software ensures to analyze and carve artefacts without making any changes. The bunch of view modes is one of the most corking options that the application offers to view ZDB files from every slant.