computer help kindly requested

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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here's the problem: the house of our aunt was broken into. luckily no one was home and not many things were taken but the thieves f**ked up the security system, so to speak, and they cleaned up the HD that stores all recordings of security cameras.
now, it is clear that whoever broke into the house knew there were cameras rolling and where was the computer HQ of all operations and they did not want the data to be recovered.
miesposo was working on getting all info back but so far - no success. any suggestions what else he can do?
he used: test disk, photo rec, easy data recovery, linux.
you can do nerd type qestions and suggestions, he will understand.
please, help!
 

imfromda305

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Dec 9, 2011
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I don't know if your security is linked to a company, because some companies store whatever is filmed on their network as well.

So if that is the case, call the company. If not, then you're just out of luck.

Or, what do you mean by cleaning up the hard drive?!

- They actually took it away!?!? - Then you're out of luck.

- They just deleted the stuff that was on the hard drive!?!? - You can recover all deleted files even if they've been deleted in the bin.

But if you say miesposo was doing his thing to get the inf. back and he couldn't do it.. I bet that's about it.
 

Chip

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Jul 25, 2007
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I think you meant to say they erased everything on the hardrive of the computer that was used for the security video storage?

If that is the case, they probably formatted the hardrive. This will delete files but will not remove all of the information. A disc cleaner program is needed to do that and it can take hours.

What I recommend is if the computer can boot up to buy a program like R-Undelete to do the recover any "deleted" files. I have the program and used it to get files off of a failed hardrive.

If the computer will not bootup that could be more difficult but maybe you could pull the hardrive out and put it into another desktop computer to see if it will show up as an additional drive. From there you can run the r undelete program
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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not connected tp any company.
the HD was not phisically removed.
info is stored on DVR.
HD was cleaned out. miesposo has it connected to his laptop and it does not even detect the HD when operating with windows. when computer was operated by linux and test disk was used it did detect HD but it was unaccessible.
 

imfromda305

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Dec 9, 2011
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not connected tp any company.
the HD was not phisically removed.
info is stored on DVR.
HD was cleaned out. miesposo has it connected to his laptop and it does not even detect the HD when operating with windows. when computer was operated by linux and test disk was used it did detect HD but it was unaccessible.

I'm gonna stop acting smart and leave it to the real megabytes. The reason why I said your files can still be traced even after they've been deleted in the bin.

A while ago in The Netherlands there was a guy who was caught with child porn, he claims he wasn't into that and the 4 files they were talking about he was aware of. He deleted them, then he also deleted them from the bin.
The police still recovered those 4 files.

So, if you know a store around you that deals with all the technical stuff.. just ask them if they can do it. And I don't know if the skills of the police here are up to date but since it is a crime that has been commited there should be a task force that's into digital crime and they could help you out.
 

Chip

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Jul 25, 2007
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not connected tp any company.
the HD was not phisically removed.
info is stored on DVR.
HD was cleaned out. miesposo has it connected to his laptop and it does not even detect the HD when operating with windows. when computer was operated by linux and test disk was used it did detect HD but it was unaccessible.

It looks like they formatted it. I'm no expert but I think the next step is to install an operating system so that you can run an undelete program.
 

belgiank

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Jun 13, 2009
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I suppose those guys were in a hurry, so formatting does not really sound like a secure option for them, as this takes time, and can be cancelled. My guess is they magnetized the disk, destroying all info.... (just holding a strong magnet against the disk will do it....), so they sound like pro's

My advice... contact Marco at Rocky's and ask him... if he cannot do it, forget it...

BelgianK
 

Givadogahome

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Sep 27, 2011
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Pretty considerate delinquents really, most would have battered the thing to death and set it on fire then thrown it in the bath and then burnt the house down if they knew they were on camera.
 

Alyonka

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Jun 3, 2006
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There are companies in the US that can try to recover data from a broken/damaged/cleaned up hard drive for a fee. I am not sure if there are such services in the RD. Success is not guaranteed, but they do have the technology to at least try. Good luck!
 

southwardbound2

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Jun 5, 2008
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I have seen something about a place on the web that INSTANTLY stores data. I saw this in connection with some people protesting in the streets. Citizens were trying to document brutality and government was grabbing their cell phones in the street. However, some pictures got out because they were uploaded to the web as they were taken! So the government had not stopped the information, even though they took the phones nearly immediately.

A bit of web research could maybe find out about this service and see if it would work for security video....seems like that could be a solution for this kind of thing in the future. Not something you want to tell everyone, but just quietly do. It would require an internet connection and it may cost some money. But the folks I saw using it were not wealthy.
 

cobraboy

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Jul 24, 2004
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There is numerous forensic software available. It's not cheap, and every LEA with a computer crime unit has it.

Unless physically removed or DoD wiped, if it on the disc it can be found.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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thank you guys. we will follow the videos. miesposo is working a lot these days but he will try to visit sosua if the time allows.
thanks again.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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hi guys,
anyone knows if marco is available today? we would like to come to sosua in search for advice of the elder :)