Master File Table. A unique system file that essentially acts as a database, containing information on all the files and subdirectories located within the NTFS logical volume (partition). There is at least one record for every file and subdirectory on the NTFS logical volume and each one is 1024 bytes in length and contains information, known as attributes, that tell the system how to deal with the file or directory associated with the record. If the full 1024 bytes are not used, the record can contain information from previous files, which is known as MFT slack. Knowledge of this MFT slack is vital to investigators because a computer forensics utility that captures file slack does not capture MFT slack. In addition, the MFT sometimes stores the actual file data along with all the system data relating to the file, which is known as resident data. Resident data can have significant meaning concerning computer security issues regarding the potential leakage of sensitive data.