computer forensic examination Archives

Don’t be a Victim to New Scam Techniques

As much as we knew it was a possibility, we were still a little surprised here at to hear that scammers were pretending to be private investigators in a payday loan debt scheme. The incident cited at credit.com says that a caller saying he was a private investigator pressured the victim into going to the local courthouse to settle her debt. There are so many things wrong about this: Private investigators are NOT debt collectors. Our business is to uncover facts, evidence and the truth, not to contact people and collect on debts. No one from will ever call to push you to settle a debt. It won’t happen. Unless there is a court case and hearing, no one can just “go to the courthouse” [...]

It May Start as a Joke, but Spyware on the Computer is Never Funny

Proving innocence and proving guilt are opposite sides of the same investigative coin. Here at , we are concerned with facts, evidence and truth. That’s the investigative business. That being said, good investigators are also experienced professionals - and, I dare say, experts – in human behavior. It is that understanding of how people react and what they are likely to do that gives us leads that others might not recognize. detectives are also steadfast in their objectivity, which is another sign of a professional. Objectivity promotes clarity and the ability to see past the heat of the moment. Derek came to us in a highly emotional state. The young man was trying to build a career in accounting and there had been “an incident” [...]

It’s the Little Details That Come from Computer Forensics Experience That Breaks Cases Wide Open

As a full-service investigative firm, is the source for a certified computer examiner in the Indianapolis area. Our experience is part of the reason attorneys turn to us. In fact, it is our knowledge and experience that can really make the difference in some cases. For instance, we were tasked with completing a computer forensic examination on a work computer used by a person accused of providing confidential information to a competitor. The accused knew his computer would be submitted to us during a general information meeting. Our impression, because, as investigators, we are highly observant during an investigation, was that the subject was confident, almost smug, that nothing would be found on the device. It was a red flag to us. The computer forensic [...]

Are Employees Putting Holes in Your Business’s Digital Security?

As if business owners didn’t have enough to worry about, computer hackers are opening a new can of worms that can affect businesses on the sly. And not only is it a problem, but an embarrassing situation as well. Let me give you an example: There was a site based in Canada called Ashley Madison devoted to allowing people to arrange extramarital affairs. The site was hacked and the identities of the subscribers were leaked out to the hackers. The data was traced back to the subscribers and they were sent emails infected with malware. Where the rub for businesses came in was that many of the subscribers had subscribed to the service using their business email addresses. So after the data leak, the malware [...]

Legality of Digital Forensics Critical for Admissible Evidence

Right now there is a big controversy stewing regarding whether or not authorities have the right to seize computers at the borders of the United States. There is a “border search exception” regarding the seizure of physical objects from travelers and some say it should extend to computers. The final decision on the legality and practice of computer forensic analysis in that situation is still pending. What is not pending is that in order to conduct a computer forensic examination or a cell phone investigation, digital forensics firms or labs must have either the permission of the owner, a court order or subpoena for the device. That means that you cannot casually pick up someone’s phone, computer or tablet and bring it to a forensic [...]

Are You Being Proactive about Cyber Attacks in Your Small Business?

Small business owners have another growing trend to be concerned with in today’s online marketplace. Symantec reported that 30% of cyber attacks targeted small businesses. Not every cyber attack has to do with malicious threats or activities against a specific business or business owner. The fact is that some hackers simply want to cause a disruption for someone, somewhere. As forensics consultants, has seen a growing number of small business owners invest in computer forensic services as a regular expense of operations. This might fly in the face of what we talk about mostly – the use of spyware and malware to stalk or monitor the activities of others, but malware can also infect systems and networks and create complete upheaval – just for fun. [...]