YouDetect – Implementing the principles of statistical classifiers and cluster analysis for the purposes of classifying illegally acquired multimedia files

Author: Jonathan Murphy, 7Safe

Whilst all instances of the illegal acquisition of multimedia are not known, it is not possible to gain a complete loss value, but a loss of $12.5 billion has been suggested by the IPI. Continued response as a means of protecting the media companies and the income they receive from legal sales continues as copyright enforcement attempts to eradicate illegal downloading. This is forcing those who support the legal downloading material to invent new and more creative means to adapt technology to achieve an end to their means. ‘YouTube Downloader’ (YTD) is a proof of concept which allows the user to download videos (of any nature) from a number of video streaming websites simply by entering the URL of the video they wish to download. Whilst the application is specifically named after the website, YouTube.com, videos from many other websites can be acquired in this manner. The software allows the user to convert this video to a variety of multimedia formats including .mp3 and .avi. The individual can then view on these files on any supporting media device or computer. In the case of copyrighted material, the individual who uploaded the material to YouTube in the first instance, as well as the individual who then ‘reproduced’ the material by extracting the video file have infringed on copyright law. As of September 2011, YTD has received approximately 85 million downloads via software download website, ‘CNET.com’ making it the most commonly used tool of its type by a significant margin. Yet, for something which significantly assists and supports illegal downloading and multimedia piracy so significantly, little has been done to develop a suitable response...

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Advice for Digital Forensics Job Seekers

by Joe Alonzo

You see the job advertisements posted on the web everyday, Digital Forensics Analyst, Internet Investigator, Computer Forensic Associate. You hit the Apply Now button, often never hearing back from said company.

Your background may consist of computer programming/IT, network security or possibly even a background in law enforcement. You ask yourself, “How do I get the attention of this organization and get them to hire me?”

Working for the leader in Computer Forensics and eDiscovery recruiting and seeing all the good and bad candidates have done, I can give you some great insight on how to get your dream job...

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Forensic Toolkit v3 Tips and Tricks – Re-indexing a case

by Brian K.Glass


This is the first in a series of articles that will cover topics concerning AccessData Forensic Toolkit (FTK) version 3.

So you’ve created a case in FTK 3.X / Oracle and added 20 forensic images of seized computers and assorted media which previously had been successfully processed and indexed. You’ve worked on this case for weeks, painstakingly searching and bookmarking thousands of keywords provided by Inspector R. Runner who has been investigating the Acme Corporation.

Monday morning you come to work and fire up your FTK cluster, open your case, go to Indexed Search, type in the keywords Wile E. Coyote and Ka-Blam!! You get an error message saying a Search Request Error has occurred (Figure 1.) What happened, it was working fine on Friday?

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