Pinpoint Labs

‘Imaging a hard drive’ is a phrase that is commonly used for preserving the contents of a custodian hard drive or server. It can also be used to describe when a custodian hard drive is cloned. It is worth taking some time to…more

It’s important to understand that deleted email is not recovered or indexed using common litigation support or electronic discovery software. These applications only process email that is still visible within the email…more

When examining or processing the files on a hard drive, it is extremely important to retain the original file contents and time stamps. Many people don’t realize that just connecting a hard drive to a PC will alter the contents…more

Recovering data from a hard drive is one of the most common tasks during a computer investigation. Here are a few of the artifacts which computer investigators may retrieve from unallocated (free) space to assist in a case: *…more

Copying corporate data and using it at a competing company (intellectual property/corporate asset theft) is a common and serious concern for companies and their legal counsel. When employees leave companies, there are often…more

Searching and identifying relevant content is a common process for both electronic discovery and computer forensic investigations. But some people don’t realize the challenges associated with indexing hundreds, or even…more

A couple weeks ago, I outlined what computer forensics and electronic discovery have in common and how they differ. I’d like to expand on this topic by identifying some common obstacles encountered when using popular computer…more

One of the common requests we receive is to help a client determine when a document was created, or if it existed at a specific date and time, and when it was last modified. For example, an employment dispute may involve one of…more

Changes are underway in how electronically stored information (ESI) is processed and reviewed. These changes are due to the huge size of repositories - hundreds of gigabytes or multiple terabyte sizes - identified for collection…more

Electronic discovery and computer forensic investigations often go hand in hand. The challenge for many in the legal community is how to identify what ESI (Electronically Stored Information) requires more than typical electronic…more

There are three common scenarios in which you may want to recover deleted images: 1. Images accessed from web sites 2. Images downloaded by a user or obtained through file sharing applications 3. Photos stored on a computer…more

You have requested a hard drive clone or image and discover that the contents cannot be culled or reviewed. One reason may be hard drive encryption. Encryption involves ”scrambling” the contents of a file or hard drive so that…more

Carving files, which can be performed manually or through an automated process, permits the recovery of a portion of a corrupted or deleted file. During a computer investigation, examiners may encounter deleted files that cannot…more

If you or a partnering service bureau need to be able to process or review your client’s files from an imaged hard drive, you may be in for a surprise. The results of an imaged hard drive are often stored in a forensic image…more

The terms, ‘file timestamps’ and ‘file metadata’ are often used interchangeably, however, they can have two completely different meanings. I trust the following will help clarify the differences…more