Unhide vs dfvfs: 2026 Comparison
Unhide is a free digital forensics and incident response tool. dfvfs is a free digital forensics and incident response tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best digital forensics and incident response fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of available product data, here is our conclusion:
Incident responders and forensics teams investigating suspected rootkit infections will get the most from Unhide because it actually surfaces hidden processes and sockets that kernel-mode malware deliberately conceals from standard OS tools. The tool costs nothing, runs on Windows and Linux, and catches what netstat and tasklist miss by comparing multiple detection methods rather than trusting a single enumeration API. Skip this if you need post-compromise artifact recovery or timeline reconstruction; Unhide is visibility-only, not a full forensic platform.
Forensic analysts and incident responders who need to parse exotic file systems and storage formats without touching original media should build dfvfs into their toolkit. The tool handles 40+ file systems and image formats natively, making it invaluable when you're working with seized devices, cloud snapshots, or proprietary storage layouts that commercial forensic suites charge premium licensing for. Free and open source means you can audit the code and deploy it at scale without per-seat costs. Not the fit if you need a turnkey GUI or automated artifact parsing; dfvfs is a library for practitioners who write scripts, not a packaged investigation platform.
