Updates - 9/13/2017
I mentioned last month that I was trying out a couple of expert witness directories. My first listing was posted on HG Experts. Now, I have a listing up at ALM Experts as well. I will also have a listing in the 2018 Western Directory of Legal Expert Pages (in hardcopy). It comes out in January. In October, I have an article appearing in Res Ipsa Loquitur, the magazine for the Kern County Bar Association. As always, if you have a case that requires digital forensics expert

Stop Using MD5
Cryptographers (the people who make and break codes) have told us not to use the MD5 algorithm for twenty years. Why are we still using it? MD5 and SHA-1 are the two hash algorithms that are used to verify the authenticity of digital evidence. Both algorithms have security issues but SHA-1, which is more popular now, is clearly the stronger of the two. While it makes sense for products to support MD5 for backward compatibility, there is never a good reason to use MD5 for a

HG Experts Article: Deleted Files
I have a new article up on HG Experts: Attorneys who need to read and understand reports by computer forensics professionals and/or who need to present recovered files as evidence should understand how files are stored on computers and mobile devices, what happens when they are deleted, how they can be recovered, and know the limits on file recovery. Before diving into the details of deleted files and how they are recovered, we need to understand how files are stored. Every c

What happens when you delete a file?
I try not to get too deep into the weeds. This video covers the basics that an attorney, investigator or HR director would need to know. #expertwitness #datarecovery #deletedfiles #computerforensics

Preserve Evidence, Put the Device Down
I put together some videos tonight which I'll be posting to YouTube and linking here. This one talks about the importance of not using a device once you realize that it has evidence on it. Continued use = lost evidence.
What can we get from digital forensics?
This was originally posted on LinkedIn and on the Trace Digital Forensics blog on the old website. I'm reposting it here because I think the content is still valuable. If time permits, I will update this with a Part 2 focused on mobile devices. I'm sometimes asked what we can find out through a computer forensic examination. Obviously, what is available will vary from case to case. The following list, while not exhaustive, contains many of the things we look for during a t
Updates - Aug 2017
I've decided to try out the expert witness directories to see if they are helpful in drawing in new customers. My first listing is up at HGExperts.com . I'm planning to list in another directory soon and will update this post when I do. Prior to moving to this new site, I blogged that I had recently purchased Magnet AXIOM. AXIOM grew out of Magnet's Internet Evidence Finder product which was used by many forensics examiners as an add-on to forensic suites such as EnCase and