Free DME & DFIR Resources

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This weekend I downloaded and tested out v2.5 of the Flock browser.  If you've never heard of it and you're a Web 2.0 junkie, you just might find this browser to be the one for you.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) recently launched an entire website related to law enforcement's use of social media tools and resources - www.iacpsocialmedia.org

The new Center for Social Media has all kinds of information on planning and implementing Web 2.0 and social media tools for your agency, including case studies, white papers, directories, and more.  Be sure to take a minute to check it out by visiting www.iacpsocialmedia.org

Did you know you can preview your encoding output before writing it to a file with FFmpeg? Just call on your old friend ffplay and use the same encoding options/settings you're considering with FFmpeg. When you do you'll see exactly what the output will look like without having to wait for the entire file to be generated and saved.

Easy peezy lemon squeezy. 😎

It's after 4:00 am in the morning and I'm writing about codecs.  That isn't right.  Just curious what lossless video codecs others are using or have used and/or compared for forensic screen capture?  I'm sure the most common answer will be TechSmith's TSCC, but there are others out there that work quite nicely and are priced just right....FREE.

I posted a new member poll on the topic, which you'll find on the right-hand side of your profile page.  Also recently added the free LZO and GZIP based CamStudio codec to our files & downloads library and have been fiddling with some others.    Are you using something else, or do you prefer to keep all captures uncompressed?

Samsung Semiconductor Monday introduced a handful of new hard disks and optical drives, including a 3.5-inch desktop PC drive which it bills as the world’s fastest Blu-ray drive on the market.

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Videophiles, gamers and audiophiles are all too familiar with codec conflicts. What many people don't realize, however, is that not only can these issues prevent you from viewing, hearing or working with a file, they can also seriously impact system operation or performance. Fortunately, there are several freeware and/or shareware utilities to help identify and resolve codec related issues...even if you don't realize you have any.

The Law Enforcement & Emergency Services Video Association International, Inc. (LEVA) has launched an entirely new website for members and visitors! I'm proud to have been given the opportunity to work with LEVA on providing new capabilities and services for LEVA members, and hope everyone enjoys the new site.

Visit www.leva.org today!

1. What is File History
File History is a new backup service introduced in Windows 8. By default this feature is off and to turn it on, user has to select a backup location – either a network drive or external storage media. Thus, it does not allow user to use the same disk. File History backs up files of the Libraries, Desktop, Contacts and Favorites folders. There is an option to exclude any folder(s) that users don’t want to backup. Notice that File History is unable to backup your folders synced with cloud storage service(s). According to Microsoft, “File History doesn’t back up files on your PC that you have synced with SkyDrive, even if they’re in folders that File History backs up.” Once turned on, File History automatically backs up the folders after every hour by default; however this interval can be changed easily in advanced settings. In addition, at any time, user can manually run the service. File History appears as fhsvc in the Task Manager and some associated dlls are fhcfg.dll, fhcpl.dll and fhsvcctl.dll.

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If you believe what Apple is saying about the dying media format that is the CD/DVD (hence the lack of optical drives on the MacBook Air and the latest refresh of the Mac Mini), then you have to wonder why would a company still attempt to innovate the CD despite reports of its declining status. However, if you believe that optical media is still the best way to back up your data then perhaps the M-Disc might be something you could be interested in.

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Who would launch a website on Veteran's Day for Pete's sake? A veteran: one whose work habits sometimes leave him totally oblivious to weekends and national holidays!

Today is the official launch of DME Resources, the new home for my Independent Consulting business and the evolution of Media-Geek.com. Lots of content coming over the next few weeks, but the core functionality is finally out of BETA!

Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it? Is it a standard or is it a guideline? It's both, and it's courtesy of the ISO/IEC JTC (joint technical committee). I've been told the new document was created from a SWGDE guideline, but since you have to purchase the "standard" I couldn't really even tell you what language it is in, because I'm not paying for any document created in a vacuum.

ISO/IEC 27037 News Release

It's Saturday afternoon and I'm in the lab today working on the cellular phone of the suspect from yesterday's tragic mass murder here in Binghamton, NY.   While waiting for the device to image I wanted to take a quick moment to thank those from the Media-Geek community who've reached out to me and my family since the tragic events began unfolding yesterday morning.   

Hidy ho my fellow digital forensicators! I wanted to type up a quick post about searching DME Resources for information on proprietary file extensions, players/viewers and codecs. Before the tips though, thought I'd mention that our Professional Community is now well over 2,000 verified members! Thank you to all of those who have and continue to contribute to our collective knowledge!

Now a few tips on searching our resources...