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28 January 2014

How A Digital Forensic Investigator Can Help You

By Eliza Mendoza


Nowadays, people who commit crimes often leave an electronic trail. This evidence can be found and preserved using various methods by digital forensics detectives and researchers. These experts help solve a myriad of problems in the computer science field including cyber security, data visualization and natural language processing. You can hire a digital forensic investigator if you need to have any kind of data contained in various types of data storage devices analyzed.

The other names used to refer to digital forensics include digital discovery, computer forensic analysis, computer analysis, computer examinations and electronic evidence discovery. Computer analysis involves the preservation, identification, interpretation and documentation of evidence for the purpose of presenting it to criminal or civil courts. It helps investigators search for evidence on the unallocated space on a hard drive and recover deleted files.

By using digital forensics, detectives can get clues about what a computer was used for by processing hidden files containing information about past usage. These professionals can recover data from flash disks, SD cards, backup tapes, zip disks and compact disks among other storage devices. They can analyze data in a computer even if it has been formatted or defragged.

Computer forensics plays an important role in many types of investigations. For example, in cases involving infidelity, a detective can find evidence of an unfaithful spouse. This professional can trail your partner using global positioning system technology. He or she can also recover deleted emails and short text messages.

A computer forensics detective can also assist you if you have been harassed by a person through phone calls and emails. The investigator can trail the subject by checking the call logs or emails that this aggressor has sent. This professional can then present them in court as evidence of harassment. A detective can also trace the IP address which an email originated from after analyzing email headers.

Computer forensics investigators also carry out surveillance. They are often called upon to observe the activities that people suspected of being criminals engage in. They often utilize tools such as key loggers and spyware programs to capture information about the time and location where a particular activity occurred.

The evidence that computer forensics analysis experts collect is useful in law courts because it can support or discredit hypotheses. You can also hire a forensics detective to help you carry out investigations in a company. Regardless of the case this professional will investigate, he or she will follow a typical process that starts with acquiring data storage devices like memory cards and hard drives for the purpose of imaging them forensically. Before taking this first step, a detective may interview a few people who may have relevant information about the case.

As you hire a digital forensic investigator, seek to know whether he or she is well trained in this field and has adequate experience. You should also choose a computer forensics detective who can provide expert testimony in court in the right way. This professional should be able to explain the forensic evidence that he or she has gathered in a manner that allows everyone in a court of law to understand.




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