Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a forensic exam and a non-forensic exam?
A forensic exam for wireless devices must follow certain protocols that ensure the data integrity is maintained. One way for data to be affected is through the receiving of wireless signals (such as text messages and voicemail messages). To maintain the forensic integrity of a device, it must be kept free of signals. Paraben does this by using Wireless StrongHold Bags. Other steps such as proper custody tracking and data verification through hash values along with other procedures keep your evidence safe and admissible in court.

Can you really get deleted data from cell phones and SIM Card readers?
Yes. Typically, information that is deleted in handheld devices remains on the device until it is overwritten by new data. Text messages can be stored on SIM Cards and, until deleted messages are overwritten, portions or the entire message can be recovered. The same is true for data such as photos, text messages, and multimedia messages on a number of cell phones and some PDAs. Some devices use dynamic storage and therefore, when something is deleted, it is gone but for the majority of handhelds, at least some deleted data can be recovered.

What data can you get from a device?
There is more information on cell phones and PDAs than meets the eye. In fact, there's more information than you can view from the device. The actual data that can be acquired and analyzed differs by model (for a list of models we can examine, CLICK HERE). For the most part, we can get call logs, contacts, images, text messages, deleted data (including messages and images), owner information, and more.

Can you do an exam on any cell phone model?
Yes & No. For advanced forensic cosulting jobs, we can get some evidence from any device that can be used in court (sometimes, this evidence is not in the form of data but physical images of the phone screens). For our basic and non-forensic consluting services, we are limited to certain manufacturers and models. There are a number of cell phones that have no data connections (such as inexpensive pay-as-you-go phones). Other models have no software that can access and analyze the data in a forensic manner. For a list of models that we can perform exams on, CLICK HERE.

How long will a consulting job take?
That depends on the type of service you choose and the shipping methods you pick. For a complete forensic examination performed on an hourly basis, it can take days or even weeks depending on how much analysis you need. For our basic and non-forensic exams, we will process the device and ship it back the same business day.