Welcome to our Dark Data Blog. I, Rob Zirnstein, have brought back some entries that I wrote in the past, and I plan to write new posts periodically. My intent is not to fill this blog with forced weekly posts, but
The Dark Data Blog
How To Leverage Your Exception Bin
For years we have been talking about the Exception Bin in Digital Forensics. In Electronic Discovery, this is typically referred to as the Exception Report. When searching through Electronically Stored Information (ESI), otherwise known as Computer Files, there are files
The 10 Common Data Carving Approaches
I’m providing a survey of File Carving/Data Carving approaches here, in order to set a base of understanding, before I introduce our new approach next month. We have been developing digital forensics products, that identify computer files, since 1990. These
Data Carving vs File Carving vs Disk Carving
In Digital Forensics/Cyber Forensics and Data Recovery, we often need to recover lost or deleted unstructured files which is typically referred to as carving the files from data storage. What does carving mean, and why is it called Data Carving,
Dark Data Detective has arrived!
Dark Data Detective is our new data investigation platform, that we are adding all of our technologies to, and it’s available today! For decades, we have been developing disparate technologies to fill the needs of Digital Forensics, Electronic Discovery, Document
DCO vs DFA vs HPA vs UAD
In January, I wrote about Slack Space on a hard drive/thumb drive/mobile device, and today I am writing about other areas where data is hiding on a hard drive. I intentionally left Device Configuration Overlay (DCO), Disk Firmware Area (DFA)
Byte Value Distribution (BVD)
Before you can do anything with an unstructured file, you first need to identify its file type. Our products start with the following steps: Calculate hashes (MD5, SHA-1, etc.) for the entire file, and match them to known good and/or
World Backup Day
Our customer base is primarily in the Data Recovery, Data Security, Digital Forensics, Electronic Discovery and Spy Agency industries. When threatened by Hackers, Ransomware and Data Loss, what one technology is the ultimate solution to prevent the need for Data
Alternate Data Streams
In 2008, I wrote a blog entry, Simple Techniques That Fool Forensic Tools, that included an introduction to Alternate Data Streams. Now, I’d like to go into more detail, so that you can better understand the use and danger of
Massachusetts’ Dark App is Spyware
In June of 2021, people in Massachusetts noticed a new application (app) installed on their Android cell phones, that they didn’t initiate. What an unwelcome surprise! Where did that come from? Is someone messing with my phone? Even people driving