Backup tapes are important. Aside from the fact that backup tapes can save a company's data in the event of a software failure, hard drive failure, or a database corruption... backing up a company's data on a regular basis should be a part of every IT department's disaster recovery plan.
As part of that plan, IT departments should test and validate that the backups are in fact backing up data and is able to be restored. Most companies assume that once the backup is running everything will be safe. However, not many IT departments routinely check the error logs to discover problems. And only when a disaster occurs do they realized that the scheduled backups have not been collecting all of the data.
From an IT point of view, the above is one of the hurdles they deal with on a daily basis. From a legal point of view, those backup tapes are even more valuable. Those tapes represent a snapshot in time for that company.
In a recent case, AAB Joint Venture v. United States, 2007 WL 646157 (Fed. Cl. Feb. 28, 2007), the court heard an argument regarding the a period of time (data) for which that data was not available. The defendant claimed that it had provided all e-mails related to the case. However, the court was not persuaded by defendant’s arguments, and agreed that defendant’s overall production of emails had been far from adequate. The court also said that, while cost was an issue for the court to consider in addressing a motion to compel, it was not the only consideration. The court continued with the following statement:
Here, because the Court finds that defendant had a duty to preserve evidence, as set forth below, the Court cannot relieve Defendant of its duty to produce those documents merely because Defendant has chosen a means to preserve the evidence which makes ultimate production of relevant documents expensive. Accordingly, the Court concludes that Defendant has not adequately responded to Plaintiff's requests for production of electronic documents and that supplementation of its response to Plaintiff's requests is necessary.
As the field of Computer Forensics and E-Discovery becomes more mainstream in litigation, more companies may find they need to take a look at what exactly is in the disaster recovery plan for both data loss and litigation.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Nation's First National Computer Forensics Institute will be Located in Alabama
Computer forensics is becoming more mainstream in litigation and with the amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on 12-1-2006, more cases will utilize these rules. With the expected increase in demand for qualified and trained law enforcement professionals, the first computer forensics institute has been announced and will be located in Hoover, Alabama. Construction of the facility is expected to begin by mid-April of 2007, with construction completed by January of 2008. Training is expected to begin in July 2007.
"With the ever-increasing prevalence of cyber crimes such as identity theft, computer hacking and online child pornography, it is absolutely essential that we equip our law enforcement personnel with the best training and equipment available," said Governor Riley. "This center will make Alabama the nation's leader in training our local, state and federal law enforcement to combat high-tech crimes. It will become America's institution of excellence in the fight against cyber crimes."
The Center is being funded though a cooperative effort by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Secret Service, and state, county, and local governments. The State of Alabama is contributing approximately $3 million dollars to the Center, to be used for build-up expenses. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is providing an additional $9 million dollars, and the U.S. Secret Service is providing 18 full-time agents to help staff the Center.
U.S. Secret Service agents will teach computer forensics and digital evidence to national, state and local law enforcement at the Center. These agents are in the field and understand the curriculum from a law enforcement perspective. It will include high-tech classrooms, a computer forensic lab, and public education exhibit space.
"With the ever-increasing prevalence of cyber crimes such as identity theft, computer hacking and online child pornography, it is absolutely essential that we equip our law enforcement personnel with the best training and equipment available," said Governor Riley. "This center will make Alabama the nation's leader in training our local, state and federal law enforcement to combat high-tech crimes. It will become America's institution of excellence in the fight against cyber crimes."
The Center is being funded though a cooperative effort by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Secret Service, and state, county, and local governments. The State of Alabama is contributing approximately $3 million dollars to the Center, to be used for build-up expenses. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is providing an additional $9 million dollars, and the U.S. Secret Service is providing 18 full-time agents to help staff the Center.
U.S. Secret Service agents will teach computer forensics and digital evidence to national, state and local law enforcement at the Center. These agents are in the field and understand the curriculum from a law enforcement perspective. It will include high-tech classrooms, a computer forensic lab, and public education exhibit space.
Text Messages, Voice Mails And Flash Drives - Welcome To The New E-Discovery
Most companies will now be required to retain and produce a wider range of electronic data because of the new Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which were approved on December 1, 2006. The types of electronically stored information that companies could be required to produce in a lawsuit range from docs, e-mails, voice mails, text messages and just about any digital information saved on a company's server, e-mail database or employee's desktop.
IT departments, as well as corporate counsel, are not very well prepared for these changes. A recent study by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services in November 2006 found that nearly 70% of the respondents said they would require more training on their own corporate record retention policies and procedures. The respondents included CFOs, tax directors, finance directors, controllers and corporate counsel.
One way to reduce a company's risk is to implement an IT audit system. Employees tend to install additional programs to their computers often without the IT department's knowledge or approval. Instant messanger (IM) programs for example are readily available and most employees use these types of quick applications to chat with other employees as well as individuals outside of work. IMs are considered 'faster' than e-mail, but nonetheless is data being sent to and from somebody.
These 'text' messages are where companies can get in trouble. While most e-mail servers have traceable logs and backups, most employee desktop computers are not managed by the IT department and can have those features disabled. It is entirely possible for an employee (or employees) to have a lengthy conversation via text messages totally bypassing the company's e-mail server where text messages are expected to occur.
Voice mails and Flash drives are also quick methods to share information. Faxes can be sent to voice mail boxes and flash drives are a quick way to share files between computers not connected via a network.
It is these types of situations that a company can find itself in trouble when it comes to litigation. Companies should evaluate their network to find other such areas that may need attention and discuss their options on saving the data.
IT departments, as well as corporate counsel, are not very well prepared for these changes. A recent study by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services in November 2006 found that nearly 70% of the respondents said they would require more training on their own corporate record retention policies and procedures. The respondents included CFOs, tax directors, finance directors, controllers and corporate counsel.
One way to reduce a company's risk is to implement an IT audit system. Employees tend to install additional programs to their computers often without the IT department's knowledge or approval. Instant messanger (IM) programs for example are readily available and most employees use these types of quick applications to chat with other employees as well as individuals outside of work. IMs are considered 'faster' than e-mail, but nonetheless is data being sent to and from somebody.
These 'text' messages are where companies can get in trouble. While most e-mail servers have traceable logs and backups, most employee desktop computers are not managed by the IT department and can have those features disabled. It is entirely possible for an employee (or employees) to have a lengthy conversation via text messages totally bypassing the company's e-mail server where text messages are expected to occur.
Voice mails and Flash drives are also quick methods to share information. Faxes can be sent to voice mail boxes and flash drives are a quick way to share files between computers not connected via a network.
It is these types of situations that a company can find itself in trouble when it comes to litigation. Companies should evaluate their network to find other such areas that may need attention and discuss their options on saving the data.
What is Digital Rights Management (DRM)?
DRM stands for Digital Rights Management, or as some people call it, Digital Restrictions Management. Put simply, DRM consists of various restrictions applied in music or video files, so their use (such as playback) can be controlled by a third party, usually the company holding the copyright for a song or movie. DRM is not just a copyright protection technique but a whole set of technologies that aim to implement the DRM strategy each distributor of digital content specifies. As an example, DRM can verify that the user that bought an audio file is actually the same user playing the file. DRM technology can also be used to limit the number of PCs a file can be played on. The major disadvantage of DRM is that these restrictions are not always clear when a user buys a digital product.
Which Multimedia Formats Support DRM?
If you're expecting to see MP3 in this list, guess again. Due to it's open nature, the MP3 standard is unable to support DRM. Furthermore, there is no centralized coordination in the development and evolution of the MP3 format so don't expect digital music stores to offer songs in the MP3 format.
Advanced Audio Coding: The AAC format, used by iTunes and iPod, is based on Apple's QuickTime. It was originally designed as a replacement of the MP3, and can actually compress files better than the MP3 format can.
Windows Media Audio: WMA is a closed-source standard of digital music. It was designed to compete with the MP3 but in reality, it's actually AAC's main competitor, especially with regards to DRM support and buying music online. The latest version of WMA offers similar quality to that of AAC and better than that of MP3 files. This means that much smaller files can have CD quality. WMA is based on the ADvanced System Format (ASF) which can integrate different streams of audio and video as long as they belong to the Windows Media family.
RealNetworks & Sony: Both of these companies offer music download services. Real mostly uses the AAC format with the Helix DRM system, while Sony uses the OpenMG DRM system on ATRAC3 files. It is expected that Sony will support other music formats in the future.
Which Multimedia Formats Support DRM?
If you're expecting to see MP3 in this list, guess again. Due to it's open nature, the MP3 standard is unable to support DRM. Furthermore, there is no centralized coordination in the development and evolution of the MP3 format so don't expect digital music stores to offer songs in the MP3 format.
Advanced Audio Coding: The AAC format, used by iTunes and iPod, is based on Apple's QuickTime. It was originally designed as a replacement of the MP3, and can actually compress files better than the MP3 format can.
Windows Media Audio: WMA is a closed-source standard of digital music. It was designed to compete with the MP3 but in reality, it's actually AAC's main competitor, especially with regards to DRM support and buying music online. The latest version of WMA offers similar quality to that of AAC and better than that of MP3 files. This means that much smaller files can have CD quality. WMA is based on the ADvanced System Format (ASF) which can integrate different streams of audio and video as long as they belong to the Windows Media family.
RealNetworks & Sony: Both of these companies offer music download services. Real mostly uses the AAC format with the Helix DRM system, while Sony uses the OpenMG DRM system on ATRAC3 files. It is expected that Sony will support other music formats in the future.
Is Your Spouse Lying?
You may have noticed some unusual behavior from your significant other such as spending a lot of time 'at work' or perhaps more time than normal 'out with friends'. These are the obvious signals that something could be going on. However, the more subtle indicators that you are being lied to are conveniently hidden from your view.
Maybe your spouse is spending a lot of time on the Internet late at night chatting, web surfing, instant messaging (IMs), sharing files or e-mailing people. The usual attention you are used to receiving from your lover is now not there and you fear the (s)he is up to something. You may have said something or voiced your concerns about 'why are you looking at porn on the Internet?' or 'who are you chatting with online?' to your significant other only to be told that nothing is going on and there is nothing at all to worry about.
In situations such as this, computer forensics can help discover what exactly is going on. Computer Forensic Investigators can uncover the truth by examining the computer's hard drive and see what websites, e-mails, chat logs and other pieces of useful information to help you. Once the information is collected and you have had time to go over the data, you will then have the evidence you need to either believe that your relationship is still solid and there isn't any lying and cheating occurring. Or, that there is and now you will need to evaluate your options and possibly file for a divorce.
The types of information that can be collected by a Computer Forensics Investigator include:
e-mail
plain text and documents
images
calendar files
databases
spreadsheets
digital faxes
audio files
animation
websites If you are in a situation where you feel that your partner or spouse is lying and cheating on you, it is up to you to take action. A computer forensics investigation can help you take those steps to collect the evidence you may need to protect yourself and your family.
Maybe your spouse is spending a lot of time on the Internet late at night chatting, web surfing, instant messaging (IMs), sharing files or e-mailing people. The usual attention you are used to receiving from your lover is now not there and you fear the (s)he is up to something. You may have said something or voiced your concerns about 'why are you looking at porn on the Internet?' or 'who are you chatting with online?' to your significant other only to be told that nothing is going on and there is nothing at all to worry about.
In situations such as this, computer forensics can help discover what exactly is going on. Computer Forensic Investigators can uncover the truth by examining the computer's hard drive and see what websites, e-mails, chat logs and other pieces of useful information to help you. Once the information is collected and you have had time to go over the data, you will then have the evidence you need to either believe that your relationship is still solid and there isn't any lying and cheating occurring. Or, that there is and now you will need to evaluate your options and possibly file for a divorce.
The types of information that can be collected by a Computer Forensics Investigator include:
plain text and documents
images
calendar files
databases
spreadsheets
digital faxes
audio files
animation
websites If you are in a situation where you feel that your partner or spouse is lying and cheating on you, it is up to you to take action. A computer forensics investigation can help you take those steps to collect the evidence you may need to protect yourself and your family.
Domain Name Theft
Are you losing visitors to your domain? Are your search engine rankings still yours?
Other people might hijack your search engine rankings and they might steal your web site visitors. The worst thing is that you might not even notice it.
Imagine your domain URL is listed in search engine results on Google, MSN and Yahoo. In the search engine results, most people that click on your domain URL are sent to your website. However, some people that click your domain URL are sent to a totally unrelated website that has nothing to do with your site and although your website domain name URL is displayed in the browser, people see a completely different site that has literally nothing to do with you or your company.
How do these hackers steal your Visitors?
Hackers exploit a flaw in the software some domain name servers use and by sending incorrect information to these particular domain name servers, hackers compromise the domain name server to redirect the traffic for the URLs to another site.
If domain name servers do not use a method to validate that the information has come from valid or authoritative source, it will send visitors to the wrong pages. This means that people who enter your domain name URL in the web browser will be sent to the hacker’s pages instead of your pages.
How can you protect you website?
It is extremely important that you use a reliable host that does not use an open DNS server. To check this, go to www.dnsreport.com and enter the domain name URL of your website. You should see PASS in the Open DNS servers line. If your domain name fails the test, you should contact your web host. If you don’t want to expose your website to hackers, it is critical that you use a secure DNS server. If your web host cannot fix the issue, you should change to another web host.
Other people might hijack your search engine rankings and they might steal your web site visitors. The worst thing is that you might not even notice it.
Imagine your domain URL is listed in search engine results on Google, MSN and Yahoo. In the search engine results, most people that click on your domain URL are sent to your website. However, some people that click your domain URL are sent to a totally unrelated website that has nothing to do with your site and although your website domain name URL is displayed in the browser, people see a completely different site that has literally nothing to do with you or your company.
How do these hackers steal your Visitors?
Hackers exploit a flaw in the software some domain name servers use and by sending incorrect information to these particular domain name servers, hackers compromise the domain name server to redirect the traffic for the URLs to another site.
If domain name servers do not use a method to validate that the information has come from valid or authoritative source, it will send visitors to the wrong pages. This means that people who enter your domain name URL in the web browser will be sent to the hacker’s pages instead of your pages.
How can you protect you website?
It is extremely important that you use a reliable host that does not use an open DNS server. To check this, go to www.dnsreport.com and enter the domain name URL of your website. You should see PASS in the Open DNS servers line. If your domain name fails the test, you should contact your web host. If you don’t want to expose your website to hackers, it is critical that you use a secure DNS server. If your web host cannot fix the issue, you should change to another web host.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Backup Tapes Can Help Your Case
Backup tapes are important. Aside from the fact that backup tapes can save a company's data in the event of a software failure, hard drive failure, or a database corruption... backing up a company's data on a regular basis should be a part of every IT department's disaster recovery plan.
As part of that plan, IT departments should test and validate that the backups are in fact backing up data and is able to be restored. Most companies assume that once the backup is running everything will be safe. However, not many IT departments routinely check the error logs to discover problems. And only when a disaster occurs do they realized that the scheduled backups have not been collecting all of the data.
From an IT point of view, the above is one of the hurdles they deal with on a daily basis. From a legal point of view, those backup tapes are even more valuable. Those tapes represent a snapshot in time for that company.
In a recent case, AAB Joint Venture v. United States, 2007 WL 646157 (Fed. Cl. Feb. 28, 2007), the court heard an argument regarding the a period of time (data) for which that data was not available. The defendant claimed that it had provided all e-mails related to the case. However, the court was not persuaded by defendant’s arguments, and agreed that defendant’s overall production of emails had been far from adequate. The court also said that, while cost was an issue for the court to consider in addressing a motion to compel, it was not the only consideration. The court continued with the following statement:
Here, because the Court finds that defendant had a duty to preserve evidence, as set forth below, the Court cannot relieve Defendant of its duty to produce those documents merely because Defendant has chosen a means to preserve the evidence which makes ultimate production of relevant documents expensive. Accordingly, the Court concludes that Defendant has not adequately responded to Plaintiff's requests for production of electronic documents and that supplementation of its response to Plaintiff's requests is necessary.
As the field of Computer Forensics and E-Discovery becomes more mainstream in litigation, more companies may find they need to take a look at what exactly is in the disaster recovery plan for both data loss and litigation.
As part of that plan, IT departments should test and validate that the backups are in fact backing up data and is able to be restored. Most companies assume that once the backup is running everything will be safe. However, not many IT departments routinely check the error logs to discover problems. And only when a disaster occurs do they realized that the scheduled backups have not been collecting all of the data.
From an IT point of view, the above is one of the hurdles they deal with on a daily basis. From a legal point of view, those backup tapes are even more valuable. Those tapes represent a snapshot in time for that company.
In a recent case, AAB Joint Venture v. United States, 2007 WL 646157 (Fed. Cl. Feb. 28, 2007), the court heard an argument regarding the a period of time (data) for which that data was not available. The defendant claimed that it had provided all e-mails related to the case. However, the court was not persuaded by defendant’s arguments, and agreed that defendant’s overall production of emails had been far from adequate. The court also said that, while cost was an issue for the court to consider in addressing a motion to compel, it was not the only consideration. The court continued with the following statement:
Here, because the Court finds that defendant had a duty to preserve evidence, as set forth below, the Court cannot relieve Defendant of its duty to produce those documents merely because Defendant has chosen a means to preserve the evidence which makes ultimate production of relevant documents expensive. Accordingly, the Court concludes that Defendant has not adequately responded to Plaintiff's requests for production of electronic documents and that supplementation of its response to Plaintiff's requests is necessary.
As the field of Computer Forensics and E-Discovery becomes more mainstream in litigation, more companies may find they need to take a look at what exactly is in the disaster recovery plan for both data loss and litigation.
Nation's First National Computer Forensics Institute will be Located in Alabama
Computer forensics is becoming more mainstream in litigation and with the amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on 12-1-2006, more cases will utilize these rules. With the expected increase in demand for qualified and trained law enforcement professionals, the first computer forensics institute has been announced and will be located in Hoover, Alabama. Construction of the facility is expected to begin by mid-April of 2007, with construction completed by January of 2008. Training is expected to begin in July 2007.
"With the ever-increasing prevalence of cyber crimes such as identity theft, computer hacking and online child pornography, it is absolutely essential that we equip our law enforcement personnel with the best training and equipment available," said Governor Riley. "This center will make Alabama the nation's leader in training our local, state and federal law enforcement to combat high-tech crimes. It will become America's institution of excellence in the fight against cyber crimes."
The Center is being funded though a cooperative effort by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Secret Service, and state, county, and local governments. The State of Alabama is contributing approximately $3 million dollars to the Center, to be used for build-up expenses. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is providing an additional $9 million dollars, and the U.S. Secret Service is providing 18 full-time agents to help staff the Center.
U.S. Secret Service agents will teach computer forensics and digital evidence to national, state and local law enforcement at the Center. These agents are in the field and understand the curriculum from a law enforcement perspective. It will include high-tech classrooms, a computer forensic lab, and public education exhibit space.
"With the ever-increasing prevalence of cyber crimes such as identity theft, computer hacking and online child pornography, it is absolutely essential that we equip our law enforcement personnel with the best training and equipment available," said Governor Riley. "This center will make Alabama the nation's leader in training our local, state and federal law enforcement to combat high-tech crimes. It will become America's institution of excellence in the fight against cyber crimes."
The Center is being funded though a cooperative effort by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Secret Service, and state, county, and local governments. The State of Alabama is contributing approximately $3 million dollars to the Center, to be used for build-up expenses. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is providing an additional $9 million dollars, and the U.S. Secret Service is providing 18 full-time agents to help staff the Center.
U.S. Secret Service agents will teach computer forensics and digital evidence to national, state and local law enforcement at the Center. These agents are in the field and understand the curriculum from a law enforcement perspective. It will include high-tech classrooms, a computer forensic lab, and public education exhibit space.
Text Messages, Voice Mails And Flash Drives - Welcome To The New E-Discovery
Most companies will now be required to retain and produce a wider range of electronic data because of the new Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which were approved on December 1, 2006. The types of electronically stored information that companies could be required to produce in a lawsuit range from docs, e-mails, voice mails, text messages and just about any digital information saved on a company's server, e-mail database or employee's desktop.
IT departments, as well as corporate counsel, are not very well prepared for these changes. A recent study by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services in November 2006 found that nearly 70% of the respondents said they would require more training on their own corporate record retention policies and procedures. The respondents included CFOs, tax directors, finance directors, controllers and corporate counsel.
One way to reduce a company's risk is to implement an IT audit system. Employees tend to install additional programs to their computers often without the IT department's knowledge or approval. Instant messanger (IM) programs for example are readily available and most employees use these types of quick applications to chat with other employees as well as individuals outside of work. IMs are considered 'faster' than e-mail, but nonetheless is data being sent to and from somebody.
These 'text' messages are where companies can get in trouble. While most e-mail servers have traceable logs and backups, most employee desktop computers are not managed by the IT department and can have those features disabled. It is entirely possible for an employee (or employees) to have a lengthy conversation via text messages totally bypassing the company's e-mail server where text messages are expected to occur.
Voice mails and Flash drives are also quick methods to share information. Faxes can be sent to voice mail boxes and flash drives are a quick way to share files between computers not connected via a network.
It is these types of situations that a company can find itself in trouble when it comes to litigation. Companies should evaluate their network to find other such areas that may need attention and discuss their options on saving the data.
IT departments, as well as corporate counsel, are not very well prepared for these changes. A recent study by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services in November 2006 found that nearly 70% of the respondents said they would require more training on their own corporate record retention policies and procedures. The respondents included CFOs, tax directors, finance directors, controllers and corporate counsel.
One way to reduce a company's risk is to implement an IT audit system. Employees tend to install additional programs to their computers often without the IT department's knowledge or approval. Instant messanger (IM) programs for example are readily available and most employees use these types of quick applications to chat with other employees as well as individuals outside of work. IMs are considered 'faster' than e-mail, but nonetheless is data being sent to and from somebody.
These 'text' messages are where companies can get in trouble. While most e-mail servers have traceable logs and backups, most employee desktop computers are not managed by the IT department and can have those features disabled. It is entirely possible for an employee (or employees) to have a lengthy conversation via text messages totally bypassing the company's e-mail server where text messages are expected to occur.
Voice mails and Flash drives are also quick methods to share information. Faxes can be sent to voice mail boxes and flash drives are a quick way to share files between computers not connected via a network.
It is these types of situations that a company can find itself in trouble when it comes to litigation. Companies should evaluate their network to find other such areas that may need attention and discuss their options on saving the data.
What is Digital Rights Management (DRM)?
DRM stands for Digital Rights Management, or as some people call it, Digital Restrictions Management. Put simply, DRM consists of various restrictions applied in music or video files, so their use (such as playback) can be controlled by a third party, usually the company holding the copyright for a song or movie. DRM is not just a copyright protection technique but a whole set of technologies that aim to implement the DRM strategy each distributor of digital content specifies. As an example, DRM can verify that the user that bought an audio file is actually the same user playing the file. DRM technology can also be used to limit the number of PCs a file can be played on. The major disadvantage of DRM is that these restrictions are not always clear when a user buys a digital product.
Which Multimedia Formats Support DRM?
If you're expecting to see MP3 in this list, guess again. Due to it's open nature, the MP3 standard is unable to support DRM. Furthermore, there is no centralized coordination in the development and evolution of the MP3 format so don't expect digital music stores to offer songs in the MP3 format.
Advanced Audio Coding: The AAC format, used by iTunes and iPod, is based on Apple's QuickTime. It was originally designed as a replacement of the MP3, and can actually compress files better than the MP3 format can.
Windows Media Audio: WMA is a closed-source standard of digital music. It was designed to compete with the MP3 but in reality, it's actually AAC's main competitor, especially with regards to DRM support and buying music online. The latest version of WMA offers similar quality to that of AAC and better than that of MP3 files. This means that much smaller files can have CD quality. WMA is based on the ADvanced System Format (ASF) which can integrate different streams of audio and video as long as they belong to the Windows Media family.
RealNetworks & Sony: Both of these companies offer music download services. Real mostly uses the AAC format with the Helix DRM system, while Sony uses the OpenMG DRM system on ATRAC3 files. It is expected that Sony will support other music formats in the future.
Which Multimedia Formats Support DRM?
If you're expecting to see MP3 in this list, guess again. Due to it's open nature, the MP3 standard is unable to support DRM. Furthermore, there is no centralized coordination in the development and evolution of the MP3 format so don't expect digital music stores to offer songs in the MP3 format.
Advanced Audio Coding: The AAC format, used by iTunes and iPod, is based on Apple's QuickTime. It was originally designed as a replacement of the MP3, and can actually compress files better than the MP3 format can.
Windows Media Audio: WMA is a closed-source standard of digital music. It was designed to compete with the MP3 but in reality, it's actually AAC's main competitor, especially with regards to DRM support and buying music online. The latest version of WMA offers similar quality to that of AAC and better than that of MP3 files. This means that much smaller files can have CD quality. WMA is based on the ADvanced System Format (ASF) which can integrate different streams of audio and video as long as they belong to the Windows Media family.
RealNetworks & Sony: Both of these companies offer music download services. Real mostly uses the AAC format with the Helix DRM system, while Sony uses the OpenMG DRM system on ATRAC3 files. It is expected that Sony will support other music formats in the future.
Is Your Spouse Lying?
You may have noticed some unusual behavior from your significant other such as spending a lot of time 'at work' or perhaps more time than normal 'out with friends'. These are the obvious signals that something could be going on. However, the more subtle indicators that you are being lied to are conveniently hidden from your view.
Maybe your spouse is spending a lot of time on the Internet late at night chatting, web surfing, instant messaging (IMs), sharing files or e-mailing people. The usual attention you are used to receiving from your lover is now not there and you fear the (s)he is up to something. You may have said something or voiced your concerns about 'why are you looking at porn on the Internet?' or 'who are you chatting with online?' to your significant other only to be told that nothing is going on and there is nothing at all to worry about.
In situations such as this, computer forensics can help discover what exactly is going on. Computer Forensic Investigators can uncover the truth by examining the computer's hard drive and see what websites, e-mails, chat logs and other pieces of useful information to help you. Once the information is collected and you have had time to go over the data, you will then have the evidence you need to either believe that your relationship is still solid and there isn't any lying and cheating occurring. Or, that there is and now you will need to evaluate your options and possibly file for a divorce.
The types of information that can be collected by a Computer Forensics Investigator include:
e-mail
plain text and documents
images
calendar files
databases
spreadsheets
digital faxes
audio files
animation
websites If you are in a situation where you feel that your partner or spouse is lying and cheating on you, it is up to you to take action. A computer forensics investigation can help you take those steps to collect the evidence you may need to protect yourself and your family.
Maybe your spouse is spending a lot of time on the Internet late at night chatting, web surfing, instant messaging (IMs), sharing files or e-mailing people. The usual attention you are used to receiving from your lover is now not there and you fear the (s)he is up to something. You may have said something or voiced your concerns about 'why are you looking at porn on the Internet?' or 'who are you chatting with online?' to your significant other only to be told that nothing is going on and there is nothing at all to worry about.
In situations such as this, computer forensics can help discover what exactly is going on. Computer Forensic Investigators can uncover the truth by examining the computer's hard drive and see what websites, e-mails, chat logs and other pieces of useful information to help you. Once the information is collected and you have had time to go over the data, you will then have the evidence you need to either believe that your relationship is still solid and there isn't any lying and cheating occurring. Or, that there is and now you will need to evaluate your options and possibly file for a divorce.
The types of information that can be collected by a Computer Forensics Investigator include:
plain text and documents
images
calendar files
databases
spreadsheets
digital faxes
audio files
animation
websites If you are in a situation where you feel that your partner or spouse is lying and cheating on you, it is up to you to take action. A computer forensics investigation can help you take those steps to collect the evidence you may need to protect yourself and your family.
Domain Name Theft
Are you losing visitors to your domain? Are your search engine rankings still yours?
Other people might hijack your search engine rankings and they might steal your web site visitors. The worst thing is that you might not even notice it.
Imagine your domain URL is listed in search engine results on Google, MSN and Yahoo. In the search engine results, most people that click on your domain URL are sent to your website. However, some people that click your domain URL are sent to a totally unrelated website that has nothing to do with your site and although your website domain name URL is displayed in the browser, people see a completely different site that has literally nothing to do with you or your company.
How do these hackers steal your Visitors?
Hackers exploit a flaw in the software some domain name servers use and by sending incorrect information to these particular domain name servers, hackers compromise the domain name server to redirect the traffic for the URLs to another site.
If domain name servers do not use a method to validate that the information has come from valid or authoritative source, it will send visitors to the wrong pages. This means that people who enter your domain name URL in the web browser will be sent to the hacker’s pages instead of your pages.
How can you protect you website?
It is extremely important that you use a reliable host that does not use an open DNS server. To check this, go to www.dnsreport.com and enter the domain name URL of your website. You should see PASS in the Open DNS servers line. If your domain name fails the test, you should contact your web host. If you don’t want to expose your website to hackers, it is critical that you use a secure DNS server. If your web host cannot fix the issue, you should change to another web host.
Other people might hijack your search engine rankings and they might steal your web site visitors. The worst thing is that you might not even notice it.
Imagine your domain URL is listed in search engine results on Google, MSN and Yahoo. In the search engine results, most people that click on your domain URL are sent to your website. However, some people that click your domain URL are sent to a totally unrelated website that has nothing to do with your site and although your website domain name URL is displayed in the browser, people see a completely different site that has literally nothing to do with you or your company.
How do these hackers steal your Visitors?
Hackers exploit a flaw in the software some domain name servers use and by sending incorrect information to these particular domain name servers, hackers compromise the domain name server to redirect the traffic for the URLs to another site.
If domain name servers do not use a method to validate that the information has come from valid or authoritative source, it will send visitors to the wrong pages. This means that people who enter your domain name URL in the web browser will be sent to the hacker’s pages instead of your pages.
How can you protect you website?
It is extremely important that you use a reliable host that does not use an open DNS server. To check this, go to www.dnsreport.com and enter the domain name URL of your website. You should see PASS in the Open DNS servers line. If your domain name fails the test, you should contact your web host. If you don’t want to expose your website to hackers, it is critical that you use a secure DNS server. If your web host cannot fix the issue, you should change to another web host.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Text Messages, Voice Mails And Flash Drives - Welcome To The New E-Discovery
Most companies will now be required to retain and produce a wider range of electronic data because of the new Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which were approved on December 1, 2006. The types of electronically stored information that companies could be required to produce in a lawsuit range from docs, e-mails, voice mails, text messages and just about any digital information saved on a company's server, e-mail database or employee's desktop.
IT departments, as well as corporate counsel, are not very well prepared for these changes. A recent study by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services in November 2006 found that nearly 70% of the respondents said they would require more training on their own corporate record retention policies and procedures. The respondents included CFOs, tax directors, finance directors, controllers and corporate counsel.
One way to reduce a company's risk is to implement an IT audit system. Employees tend to install additional programs to their computers often without the IT department's knowledge or approval. Instant messanger (IM) programs for example are readily available and most employees use these types of quick applications to chat with other employees as well as individuals outside of work. IMs are considered 'faster' than e-mail, but nonetheless is data being sent to and from somebody.
These 'text' messages are where companies can get in trouble. While most e-mail servers have traceable logs and backups, most employee desktop computers are not managed by the IT department and can have those features disabled. It is entirely possible for an employee (or employees) to have a lengthy conversation via text messages totally bypassing the company's e-mail server where text messages are expected to occur.
Voice mails and Flash drives are also quick methods to share information. Faxes can be sent to voice mail boxes and flash drives are a quick way to share files between computers not connected via a network.
It is these types of situations that a company can find itself in trouble when it comes to litigation. Companies should evaluate their network to find other such areas that may need attention and discuss their options on saving the data.
IT departments, as well as corporate counsel, are not very well prepared for these changes. A recent study by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services in November 2006 found that nearly 70% of the respondents said they would require more training on their own corporate record retention policies and procedures. The respondents included CFOs, tax directors, finance directors, controllers and corporate counsel.
One way to reduce a company's risk is to implement an IT audit system. Employees tend to install additional programs to their computers often without the IT department's knowledge or approval. Instant messanger (IM) programs for example are readily available and most employees use these types of quick applications to chat with other employees as well as individuals outside of work. IMs are considered 'faster' than e-mail, but nonetheless is data being sent to and from somebody.
These 'text' messages are where companies can get in trouble. While most e-mail servers have traceable logs and backups, most employee desktop computers are not managed by the IT department and can have those features disabled. It is entirely possible for an employee (or employees) to have a lengthy conversation via text messages totally bypassing the company's e-mail server where text messages are expected to occur.
Voice mails and Flash drives are also quick methods to share information. Faxes can be sent to voice mail boxes and flash drives are a quick way to share files between computers not connected via a network.
It is these types of situations that a company can find itself in trouble when it comes to litigation. Companies should evaluate their network to find other such areas that may need attention and discuss their options on saving the data.
What is Digital Rights Management (DRM)?
DRM stands for Digital Rights Management, or as some people call it, Digital Restrictions Management. Put simply, DRM consists of various restrictions applied in music or video files, so their use (such as playback) can be controlled by a third party, usually the company holding the copyright for a song or movie. DRM is not just a copyright protection technique but a whole set of technologies that aim to implement the DRM strategy each distributor of digital content specifies. As an example, DRM can verify that the user that bought an audio file is actually the same user playing the file. DRM technology can also be used to limit the number of PCs a file can be played on. The major disadvantage of DRM is that these restrictions are not always clear when a user buys a digital product.
Which Multimedia Formats Support DRM?
If you're expecting to see MP3 in this list, guess again. Due to it's open nature, the MP3 standard is unable to support DRM. Furthermore, there is no centralized coordination in the development and evolution of the MP3 format so don't expect digital music stores to offer songs in the MP3 format.
Advanced Audio Coding: The AAC format, used by iTunes and iPod, is based on Apple's QuickTime. It was originally designed as a replacement of the MP3, and can actually compress files better than the MP3 format can.
Windows Media Audio: WMA is a closed-source standard of digital music. It was designed to compete with the MP3 but in reality, it's actually AAC's main competitor, especially with regards to DRM support and buying music online. The latest version of WMA offers similar quality to that of AAC and better than that of MP3 files. This means that much smaller files can have CD quality. WMA is based on the ADvanced System Format (ASF) which can integrate different streams of audio and video as long as they belong to the Windows Media family.
RealNetworks & Sony: Both of these companies offer music download services. Real mostly uses the AAC format with the Helix DRM system, while Sony uses the OpenMG DRM system on ATRAC3 files. It is expected that Sony will support other music formats in the future.
Which Multimedia Formats Support DRM?
If you're expecting to see MP3 in this list, guess again. Due to it's open nature, the MP3 standard is unable to support DRM. Furthermore, there is no centralized coordination in the development and evolution of the MP3 format so don't expect digital music stores to offer songs in the MP3 format.
Advanced Audio Coding: The AAC format, used by iTunes and iPod, is based on Apple's QuickTime. It was originally designed as a replacement of the MP3, and can actually compress files better than the MP3 format can.
Windows Media Audio: WMA is a closed-source standard of digital music. It was designed to compete with the MP3 but in reality, it's actually AAC's main competitor, especially with regards to DRM support and buying music online. The latest version of WMA offers similar quality to that of AAC and better than that of MP3 files. This means that much smaller files can have CD quality. WMA is based on the ADvanced System Format (ASF) which can integrate different streams of audio and video as long as they belong to the Windows Media family.
RealNetworks & Sony: Both of these companies offer music download services. Real mostly uses the AAC format with the Helix DRM system, while Sony uses the OpenMG DRM system on ATRAC3 files. It is expected that Sony will support other music formats in the future.
Is Your Spouse Lying?
You may have noticed some unusual behavior from your significant other such as spending a lot of time 'at work' or perhaps more time than normal 'out with friends'. These are the obvious signals that something could be going on. However, the more subtle indicators that you are being lied to are conveniently hidden from your view.
Maybe your spouse is spending a lot of time on the Internet late at night chatting, web surfing, instant messaging (IMs), sharing files or e-mailing people. The usual attention you are used to receiving from your lover is now not there and you fear the (s)he is up to something. You may have said something or voiced your concerns about 'why are you looking at porn on the Internet?' or 'who are you chatting with online?' to your significant other only to be told that nothing is going on and there is nothing at all to worry about.
In situations such as this, computer forensics can help discover what exactly is going on. Computer Forensic Investigators can uncover the truth by examining the computer's hard drive and see what websites, e-mails, chat logs and other pieces of useful information to help you. Once the information is collected and you have had time to go over the data, you will then have the evidence you need to either believe that your relationship is still solid and there isn't any lying and cheating occurring. Or, that there is and now you will need to evaluate your options and possibly file for a divorce.
The types of information that can be collected by a Computer Forensics Investigator include:
e-mail
plain text and documents
images
calendar files
databases
spreadsheets
digital faxes
audio files
animation
websites If you are in a situation where you feel that your partner or spouse is lying and cheating on you, it is up to you to take action. A computer forensics investigation can help you take those steps to collect the evidence you may need to protect yourself and your family.
Maybe your spouse is spending a lot of time on the Internet late at night chatting, web surfing, instant messaging (IMs), sharing files or e-mailing people. The usual attention you are used to receiving from your lover is now not there and you fear the (s)he is up to something. You may have said something or voiced your concerns about 'why are you looking at porn on the Internet?' or 'who are you chatting with online?' to your significant other only to be told that nothing is going on and there is nothing at all to worry about.
In situations such as this, computer forensics can help discover what exactly is going on. Computer Forensic Investigators can uncover the truth by examining the computer's hard drive and see what websites, e-mails, chat logs and other pieces of useful information to help you. Once the information is collected and you have had time to go over the data, you will then have the evidence you need to either believe that your relationship is still solid and there isn't any lying and cheating occurring. Or, that there is and now you will need to evaluate your options and possibly file for a divorce.
The types of information that can be collected by a Computer Forensics Investigator include:
plain text and documents
images
calendar files
databases
spreadsheets
digital faxes
audio files
animation
websites If you are in a situation where you feel that your partner or spouse is lying and cheating on you, it is up to you to take action. A computer forensics investigation can help you take those steps to collect the evidence you may need to protect yourself and your family.
Domain Name Theft
Are you losing visitors to your domain? Are your search engine rankings still yours?
Other people might hijack your search engine rankings and they might steal your web site visitors. The worst thing is that you might not even notice it.
Imagine your domain URL is listed in search engine results on Google, MSN and Yahoo. In the search engine results, most people that click on your domain URL are sent to your website. However, some people that click your domain URL are sent to a totally unrelated website that has nothing to do with your site and although your website domain name URL is displayed in the browser, people see a completely different site that has literally nothing to do with you or your company.
How do these hackers steal your Visitors?
Hackers exploit a flaw in the software some domain name servers use and by sending incorrect information to these particular domain name servers, hackers compromise the domain name server to redirect the traffic for the URLs to another site.
If domain name servers do not use a method to validate that the information has come from valid or authoritative source, it will send visitors to the wrong pages. This means that people who enter your domain name URL in the web browser will be sent to the hacker’s pages instead of your pages.
How can you protect you website?
It is extremely important that you use a reliable host that does not use an open DNS server. To check this, go to www.dnsreport.com and enter the domain name URL of your website. You should see PASS in the Open DNS servers line. If your domain name fails the test, you should contact your web host. If you don’t want to expose your website to hackers, it is critical that you use a secure DNS server. If your web host cannot fix the issue, you should change to another web host
Other people might hijack your search engine rankings and they might steal your web site visitors. The worst thing is that you might not even notice it.
Imagine your domain URL is listed in search engine results on Google, MSN and Yahoo. In the search engine results, most people that click on your domain URL are sent to your website. However, some people that click your domain URL are sent to a totally unrelated website that has nothing to do with your site and although your website domain name URL is displayed in the browser, people see a completely different site that has literally nothing to do with you or your company.
How do these hackers steal your Visitors?
Hackers exploit a flaw in the software some domain name servers use and by sending incorrect information to these particular domain name servers, hackers compromise the domain name server to redirect the traffic for the URLs to another site.
If domain name servers do not use a method to validate that the information has come from valid or authoritative source, it will send visitors to the wrong pages. This means that people who enter your domain name URL in the web browser will be sent to the hacker’s pages instead of your pages.
How can you protect you website?
It is extremely important that you use a reliable host that does not use an open DNS server. To check this, go to www.dnsreport.com and enter the domain name URL of your website. You should see PASS in the Open DNS servers line. If your domain name fails the test, you should contact your web host. If you don’t want to expose your website to hackers, it is critical that you use a secure DNS server. If your web host cannot fix the issue, you should change to another web host
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