Computer Forensics & Data Recovery

Have you ever had an anti-virus or firewall tell you a file was malware, but you didn’t really think so?  It is a situation I encounter from time to time.  Sometimes, one security program will say one by another company is bad.

Well, there is a free site that helps you get a definitive 2nd, 3rd, 4th… 30th opinion.  It is VirusTotal.com .   A quick upload of the suspicous file to their site then it is scanned by numerous security programs.  This gives you a breadth of opinions on which to base your decision.

Another good way to get additional info, is to search for the file name in Google.  This will usually give some definitive write-ups on the file for anything that has been around for awhile.

Of course if you are in the Gainesville, Florida area… you can always contact me for a second opinion on your trojan, virus, or other malware.

I had a case recently where I had basically three hours  from hands on the computer to finding the evidence. If not the bad guy was going to get out of jail. To make things even more interesting the drives were in a RAID 0 configuration.

Well, I removed the drives, hooked them both to a forensic machine with Tableau write blockers. I fired up X-Ways forensics. I went into the feature to reassemble the RAID. After about 10 to 15 minutes of guessing raid striping size and header location settings, I was into the RAID. Thankfully the data was not hidden, deleted, encrypted or anything interesting like that.

I was able to quickly find the evidence in the case with supporting evidence to show personal possession/ knowledge. I still had enough time left to write arrest paperwork and drive to the jail.

Thanks to X-Ways and some quick work…. one more bad guy waiting for his day in court!

I just wanted to give a little update on my local Gainesville business.  I have been super busy lately! It seems like with every computer repair or data recovery job I do for a University of Florida student or professor I get 3 more jobs.  I am not complaining mind you :)  It just show how valuable word of mouth is among the UF community.

I have been doing more referral work, also.  Other computer shops recommending me, usually after they have given it a shot :)  It is all good.

I just want to thank everyone  who has been recommending me and helping my business take off.  THANKS!!