Abstract
The study of computer forensics has quickly emerged and technology used in theis type of forensics is being developed quite rapidly. As swiftly as the field and its importance are growing, many practitioners still remain unaware of computer forensics and its role in the technological world. A paper provides an overview of the relatively new field of computer forensics. The paper also illustrates why, in the wake of 9-11 and other terrorist acts, the research and development of computer forensics is of international importance. (A)

I chose to write my article on computer forensics mainly because I have been involved with computer forensics numerous times in my life. The most recent experience I’ve had with computer forensics was last year. I was informed by my wife that her best friend had received a visit from DHS after their daughters had mentioned that their dad had been touching them and asking them to do things that they were uncomfortable with. DHS determined that they needed to investigate the situation and began to gather the necessary information.

During the investigation my wife’s friend had noticed that her husband was starting to be very secretive and was locking up his computer anytime she walked into the room and had been using a 128 bit encrypted flash drive that he never let leave his person. He started being verbally abusive and physically abusive to both her and their 2 young daughters and she locked him out of the house.
I received a phone call from her mother and the county sheriff’s office asking me to check into what he had on his computer. ( I have been dealing with computers for over 18 years) I pulled his hard drive from his desktop and also was able to have access to his flash drive. I performed a deep format file recovery on his desktop hdd and spent a few hours trying to get into his flash drive. After the file recovery I spent 3 hours filtering through thousands and thousands of files until I came across a *hidden* folder.

Inside this folder were images that I never want to see ever again. I gained access to his flash drive by using his daughter’s middle name as a password and once again found images of child pornography. I was sick to my stomach that he even had the nerve to use his daughters name as a password to protect such filth. The sheriff told me to turn in the evidence I had and after they reviewed the content I found, they arrested him and he is now looking at life through iron bars.

I chose to write about this personal accomplishment mainly because it is a field that I’m highly interested in. Computer forensics is being developed and upgraded quite rapidly and a lot of public and private companies are using computer forensics on a daily basis creating another area of technological jobs. (A) The recent technology boom and significant use of computers in everyday life has been accompanied by an increasing rate of computer crimes. (2,3,11,12)

There were many private corporations that I didn’t even know existed such as DIBS who describes computer forensics as “the process of scientifically examining and analyzing data anywhere from computer storage to media so that the data can be used as evidence in court. (10) Another group called the International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists (IACIS) leads the training and development of software for computer forensics. (10)
It used to be that computer information or digital files were not allowed in court as credible evidence because of The Fourth Amendment that was used to protect defendants against computer forensic evidence. Only until 1988 was this not allowed. (13)

There is also commercial software called Forensic Tool Kit (FTK) that will perform almost the same functions as the software used by law enforcement agencies. (10) I only wish I had access to this software when I was needed to get the information from those drives.
This article that I have written about has been very informative. It has led me to different agencies and software that I will be able to utilize in the future, and also give me more options when I’m asked to do anything related to computer forensics.