Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
for. your. particular. application.. In. the. case. of. Microsoft.
Outlook,.for.instance,.that.back-end.database.ile.is.stored.as.
what.is.known.as.the.PST.ile..It.is.a.hidden.ile.that.contains.
all.of.the.information.from.your.e-mail.application,.stored.in.a.
proprietary.programming.language.that.Outlook.is.designed.
to.access.and.interface.with.
However,.there.are.other.programs.available.that.allow.a.
user.to.access.and.open.up.a.PST.ile.and.search.for.e-mail,.
calendar,.contacts,.or.task.items..These.are.specialized.tools.
that.are.probably.most.often.used.by.forensics.or.other.inves-
tigative.organizations..Some.law.irms.are.also.likely.to.have.
tools. to. open. these. and. other. back-end. e-mail. databases.
because.it.is.not.uncommon.for.a.discovery.request.for.e-mail.
data.to.be.produced.as.the.back-end.PST.ile.
Other. applications. might. have. a. SQL. database,. or. an.
Oracle. or. other. database. system. backing. them. up.. This. is.
especially.often.the.case.with.Internet-based.applications.
If.that.is.the.case,.there.are.many.tools.and.applications.
available.that.will.allow.you.to.open.and.query.those.databases.
to.ind.the.relevant.evidence..Of.course,.the.eficient.use.of.
those.tools.will.require.expertise.and.experience.that.not.all.
of.us.can.claim..Once.again.you.are.well.advised.to.consult.
with.an.expert.or.the.kid.across.the.street.
5.2.2 Hidden or Restricted Access Data
Another.place.that.important.information.can.be.stored.is.in.
log.iles.or.data.iles.that.your.computer's.operating.system.
might.hide.from.view..As.noted.in.my.example.of.my.parent's.
mistaken.“cleanup,”.there.can.be.very.good.reasons.for.hid-
ing.these.iles.from.the.normal.computer.user.
These. types. of. iles. and. folders. are. called. “hidden”. or.
“system”. iles,. and. most. operating. systems. have. some. spe-
cial.storage.space.just.for.them.that.is.inaccessible.to.users.
without. the. correct. privileges. on. the. device.. Yet. they. may.
have.information.that.could.be.important.to.you.in.a.court.