What can an investigator examine to verify that a file has the correct extension?

To verify that a file has the correct extension, examining the file header is essential. The file header contains vital information about the file's format and structure, which can help confirm whether the file's content aligns with its extension. For instance, a file might have a ".jpg" extension, but upon inspecting the file header, which identifies the type of data contained within the file, an investigator can determine if the actual content is indeed a JPEG image or something else entirely.

In many cases, file extensions can be misleading or easily altered, which is why relying solely on the extension itself is not sufficient for verification. By analyzing the file header, which is always part of the actual binary data, investigators can ascertain the true nature of the file.

The other options, while relevant to file characteristics, do not address the primary need of verifying the file's actual content against its extension as directly as the file header does. For example, file size can indicate if it falls within expected norms for a certain type, file system location can provide context about where the file is stored, and file metadata can offer additional details such as creation dates or modified timestamps, but these do not confirm the file's format or integrity in relation to its extension.