computer forensic investigations Archives

They Thought They Permanently Deleted Files From Their Computer

Before writing this blog, I did some research on what computer users perceive when they delete a file from their computer. Instructions on how to delete. When you delete a file, it's usually moved to the Recycle Bin so that you can restore the file later if necessary. For information about recovering a file, see Recover files from the Recycle Bin. To permanently remove files from your computer and reclaim any hard disk space they were using, you need to delete the files from the Recycle Bin. You can delete individual files from the Recycle Bin or empty the entire Recycle Bin at once. Open the Recycle Bin by double-clicking the Recycle Binon the desktop. Do one of the following: To permanently delete one file, click it, [...]

Computer forensics with Inc.

Ever accidently delete a file on your computer only to try in vain to recover it. Usually, a simple search in the recycle bin will allow you to recover the file. However, if you permanently deleted the file (such as using the command Ctrl+Shift+Delete) then you won’t have much luck using the recycle bin. There are available software that the home user can install that will provide a chance to recover the file but what if you don’t feel comfortable using such software or worse, the software did not yield the results you were hoping for? This is where the professionals come in. has been in the game for years and employs its own forensics lab for both cellular and computer forensics investigations. The main [...]

Are You Sabotaging Your Own Business’s Digital Security?

You wouldn’t be the first business owner to use their work email address for non business related tasks. Sometimes it might make sense to use your business email account during online orders, quote applications, etc. However, this might not be the smartest move. When you send an email anywhere the email will move through various networks. If the company your dealing with has lax daisy network security system you could in fact be asking for malware to be directed right back at your own network via email responses. There are other scenarios to consider as well. How many users and what type of privileges to the users on the business network have? Can they also send emails and if so are the emails monitored? If [...]

Play Poker Online? Losing? There Might be a Reason!

Do you wile away your time playing poker online? How are you doing? Losing a lot? There might be a reason beyond your poor poker-playing skills. It’s been uncovered that several hundred online poker player’s accounts have been infected with malware called Odlanor. The bad guys are able to take screen shots of player’s hands and then join the game. Unbeknownst to the victim, the bad guy uses the illicit information to cheat their way to win(s) during the game. Victims unwittingly install malware embedded in poker-related programs and even as installers. The innocent poker player never even knows what has happened – except they are losing. Sadly, that in itself may not be unusual. Until they quit playing, they will continue to be cheated [...]

Do You Think Computer Forensics Conjures Up the Past Like Magic?

Computer forensics is not magic, in fact it is very technical in nature and can be very exacting. People always wonder how the computer forensics experts at can “conjure” up “stuff” from computers that the owners thought was gone. How does forensics data recovery work? When it comes to files, forensic computer investigations and computer forensic analysis works from a three-pronged approach. The first is to recover files as we users know them. For example, a Word document or an Excel worksheet or workbook. These are files that openly exist on the computer. These are not files the user thinks has been deleted or removed. Although some of those could exist in their original form in the recycle or trash folders. The second is the [...]

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 [...]

Are You Being Victimized By Corporate Espionage?

According to a recent article on CNN, the head of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, Randall Coleman said that the bureau has seen a 53% increase in economic espionage cases. To warn and educate industry leaders, the FBI has launched a nationwide campaign. In the article, Bill Evanina, head of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said, “Economic security is national security.” There is growing evidence of threats from several different nations, which is part of the concern from the government agencies. Three scenarios highlight the types of situations of corporate espionage: Insider Threats. This is a situation where individuals who are familiar with the inner workings of a company or products are recruited by outside organizations. Sometimes these individuals actually “spy” on the company and [...]

Stalker Outed with Digital Forensics and Surveillance

After dealing with the very bizarre behavior of a scorned lover in another state, our female client called . Although she had relocated, she was scared because she knew he had found her. In her previous home, the man had stalked her; repeatedly calling her house and following her around. She had tried several times to seek assistance from law enforcement officers but was told that they could do nothing to help her. Not until a crime was committed. And by then, of course, it would be too late to protect herself. In an attempt to protect herself, the woman moved out of state. She changed her cell phone number. Only family members and a handful of close friends knew her whereabouts. But now weird [...]

Computer Investigation is More Than Forensics, Especially for the Bullied

Being a parent is a big job and now with bullying and cyber bullying that job has become even harder. Years ago the topic of hazing was in the news and the public became aware of the dangers and harm from it. Now, bullying is coming up in the mainstream conversation and its impact is gaining attention. And parents are taking action. Here at , we are seeing that parents consider private investigators a tool in helping them combat bullying in the lives of their children. One case in Maryland caught national attention when an autistic teenager was tormented by two female schoolmates. Evidence of the mistreatment was caught on the girls’ telephones where they had videotaped horrific pranks played on the boy. Played is [...]

Why Computer Forensics Must be Handled by Experts

Getting and maintaining public trust is a critical component of business. So when a situation arises that can impact that trust, the phone at rings. Sometimes it’s an attorney, sometimes it is a CEO or CFO, and sometimes no one except the business owner can make the call. Recently in Indianapolis a CFO of a large business was arrested for theft. Big theft. Not only was he accuse of diverted company funds to his own personal use, it was believed that he had used funds from a client at a former place of employment to cover the funds taken from his current employer. It is a tangled web that is certain, in this case and in many others. Which is the reason why certified computer [...]