Computer Forensics For Dummies®

Chapter 12. Mobile Forensics

In This Chapter

• Mobile device basics

• Becoming familiar with mobile acquisitions

• Extracting mobile device data

A computer forensic case in which a mobile computing device is the center of your case is a guaranteed certainty as the computing world progresses. Most people don't realize the capabilities of an iPod, an MP3 player, a BlackBerry, or a personal digital assistant (PDA). To put the use of these popular devices in perspective, a mobile phone or a PDA now has roughly the computing power of a computer manufactured within the past five years. A present-day mobile device commonly comes supplied with a 1 gigahertz (GHz) processor, 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM, and 80 gigabytes (GB) of storage. The secondary factor associated with mobile devices is their steady march toward complete wireless functionality by way of Bluetooth, 802.11, and infrared technology.

If you think that the desktop computer industry changes rapidly, the mobile computing world changes even faster — and offers you challenges because of that rapid change. If you like challenges, this chapter is a helpful primer into the world of mobile computer forensics, where challenges happen daily.

Note

The definition of a mobile device is somewhat blurry because many devices, such as iPods and video cameras, are becoming smaller and more mobile. The majority of mobile forensics is concerned with the mobile phone and PDA device. Although iPods, audio recorders, and other devices of this type are covered ...