Free DME & DFIR Resources

The iTwin USB dongle isn’t new: it started life as a easy way to transfer files between two computers without a wire. It looks like two USB drives stuck together at the tail, and its it worked admirably moving files from one computer to another as if there was a hard cable between them. Well, it just added another awesome feature through software, which is real encryption for your Dropbox.

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One of our members notified me yesterday that a file which had been uploaded to our site contained a signature associated with a known Trojan.  As soon as possible, I verified using multiple tools and removed the file from our server (H264Player.zip).  Always scan ALL downloads and attachments for malicious code, regardless of perceived source.

In an effort to make it easier for YouTube users to make changes to their videos after uploading them, YouTube is rolling out a brand new video editor.

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This year I helped Ocean Systems introduce a new 3-Day training class titled "Fundamentals of Video Evidence Recovery & Processing (FVRP)".  The course is designed for anyone who recovers, handles, processes or disseminates Digital & Multimedia Evidence (DME), regardless of prior video evidence training or experience. 

The course is based on industry Best Practices and focuses on obtaining the Best Evidence, and learning how to quickly get accurate images & video out for investigative leads.  It is predominantly hands-on, and will expose students to various Ocean Systems and Open Source solutions that can help.

Join me July 23rd through 25th at our offices in Burtonsville, MD or for one of our future training dates.  Hope to see you in class.  Have a great weekend my friends!

Peer networking and participation in professional associations are both integral components of keeping abreast of your field. The key word in that sentence is participation. Simply joining a group brings little value; volunteering and being actively engaged as time permits increases value exponentially.

There's been a lot of yammering lately about facial recognition in criminal justice. So much noise that developers like IBM have walked away from facial recognition and agencies across the world are getting in hot water over its adoption & use.

Face Recognition Policy Development Template

The DOJ's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) published a policy template for LE agencies back in 2017 that you may find helpful.  Of particular note is the recommendation that the technology only be used for investigative leads, and that facial recognition results on their own do NOT establish probable cause and should NOT be considered positive identification. 

Common sense, many might say, myself included.

Access the PDF - Click here.

Make it a great day, my friends!

Windows 8 will introduce a slew of interesting features, but will they benefit you?

Upgrades, system migration, support headaches -- IT folks are probably dreading the next major Windows rollout. Yet Windows 8, which is scheduled to move to the beta stage in late February and will likely launch in the fall, does offer several compelling new features for both IT and end users.

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The Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Video Association (LEVA) is offering a $200 discount to government employees who sign-up to take two of their most highly sought after courses - Forensic Imaging Techniques and Photographic/Video Comparison.  The courses will be held back-to-back June 9 - 15 at the LEVA DME Lab, which is located at the University of Indianapolis.

Visit the LEVA Web site for complete details!

By Ryan Paul

Developers Ronald Bultje, David Conrad, and Jason Garret-Glaser are creating a native VP8 video codec implementation for the open source FFmpeg project. The aim of this effort is to bring first-class VP8 support to FFmpeg and demonstrate the feasibility of producing an independent VP8 implementation.

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Imagine the following scenario:
You're the first responding officer to a crime scene and have just completed taking the victim's statement. You then tell the victim you have to leave for another call. Before you go you politely ask the victim to take photos of the scene and their injuries, collect all of the DNA and fingerprint evidence, and note that you'll either be back later in the day or maybe tomorrow or the next day to pick it all up. You note that they can just leave the evidence at the front desk for you.

This is exactly how many agencies have chosen to deal with the overwhelming amount of DCCTV evidence available to them today. "Oh, there's video? Okay, have someone export it and we'll come back to pick it up."

Photos from Ford.
Caption by Wayne Cunningham, James Martin

Ford revealed on Wednesday its newest pursuit-rated vehicle--the company's first-ever specially designed Police Interceptor utility vehicle.

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Earlier this evening Jim Hoerricks, author of the book "Forensic Photoshop", announced the availability of a new online training course - "An Introduction to Forensic Photoshop". Jim's new online course is hosted and provided through the American Institute of Forensic Eduction, Inc..

I recently cut the cable TV cord with the assistance of the Tablo 4-Tuner OTA DVR, so I thought I'd share a few thoughts on it.

Over The Air (OTA) HDTV

First I'll point out that I don't watch a lot of TV, maybe a few hours a week; however, my family does, and likes to keep up with several TV shows. We've always been cable TV subscribers, both with Time Warner back on the East coast, and Comcast out here on the West coast. We've used the DVR hardware and services from each since they began offering the option(s).