Blog
Fitbit, Fun, Forensics, and Foes
Fitbit, Fun, Forensics, and Foes by Steve Burgess, 2018 Have you tracked your 10,000 steps today? Has anyone else tracked them? Fitness trackers are big business, helping people get and stay fit, and helping them share their progress with friends - and sometimes with...
The Case of the Deadbeat Beauty
Not everything always works out in Forensicland. Sometimes we strike out. In more ways than one. I was gazing out the tall windows of my office at the blue, blue Santa Barbara sky, with nary a cloud in sight. It was my 50-something birthday. The bills were ignored. It...
How to Avoid Being Hacked, Part 2 – Two-Factor Authentication
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) makes it much harder for a hacker to get access to your online stuff, and the most common form of consumer MFA is two-factor authentication (2FA). A very common form of 2FA is the debit card. One factor is the card itself, which...
How to Avoid Being Hacked, Part 1 – Email
How to Avoid Being Hacked, Part 1 - Email Hacking is a common occurrence these days, but it’s good to know that hacking targeting you specifically because of who you are is far less common than scattershot hacking. Additionally, taking advantage of your online data is...
Keyword Searches
Computer Forensics Expert Steve Burgess explains keyword searches - what they are, how to design an effective search, and differences between electronic data discovery (EDD) and computer forensics.
Data Recovery Myths and Misconceptions
In the very early 80's, IBM introduced the IBM PC, progenitor of most modern personal computers. That same year, undoubtedly, the first PC hard disk failed and someone was screaming about their data and cursing IBM. Shortly after that, we started the data recovery...
Can You Browse the Internet in Secrecy?
By Jessica Riccio Under normal circumstances, browsing the Internet leaves many footprints (“artifacts”) across the user’s computer. A computer forensic experts’ ability to find Internet History artifacts will frequently have a significant impact on the outcome of a...
Cyberstalking and Cyberharassment – What They Are and What To Do About It
What is Cyberstalking? The first five entries in a Google search show five different definitions, but all agree that it has to do with the use of electronic communication to bother someone. That electronic communication could be through the use of social networks,...
Cyberbullying Law and Intervention
Defining Cyberbullying Many people (the author included) conflate cyberbullying and cyberstalking. Both are forms of cyberharassment, but the National Conference of State Legislatures limits the term "bullying," or "cyberbullying" to electronic harassment or bullying...
The 2009 California changes to law with regard to ESI
The evolution of e-discovery and computer forensics, Part 4 In 2005 and 2006, the California Judicial Council proposed amendments for the California Rules of Court with regard to electronic discovery (ediscovery), but with Amendments to the Federal Rules set to be...