Sunday, April 22, 2018

Cell Phone Forensics On Cleaning Data

By Gary Cook


Mobile phones hold some of the most treasured secrets. Everyone wants to wipe out data from the handset before selling or giving it away. In the age of data recovery, you might be surprised years down the line when your secrets are displayed in public. Cell Phone Forensics experts have given their tricks on clearing data to eliminate worry about unnecessary exposure. Here are some of these tricks.

Reset your handset to factory setting. Most people would go for this option before trying others. This will clear any information that was entered since you began using a handset as brand new. There are phones that give the option of locking some functions like retrieval. Unfortunately, the new owner will not use the handset effectively. This functionality depends on phone model and limits the extent to which you can safeguard your information.

Resetting factory settings does not wipe out data. It only locks it in a place that is irretrievable through your handset. With advancement in technology, such information may be retrieved with ease. If someone employs off-the-shelf techniques and technology, your secret information will be retrieved leading to compromise. You therefore need more advanced ways of concealing the information and erasing it completely from the system.

Data encryption is part of modern technology and a way of protecting information. There are phones with this as a default option. For other models, the option has to be activated. Encryption requires you to provide a code or retrieval key in order to access the files. To maintain the secrecy or security of such information, you must not share the code with third parties.

While encryption is default for certain handset models, there are apps with encryption options inbuilt. All information transferred through these apps is usually protected. However, hacking has made it uncertain to claim safety through encryption. With widespread hacking even of highly protected platforms, encryption provides protection only to a certain extent.

Overwriting the existing data is also an option. The phone provides this option when you are about to save files. This creates more space for new files that need to be saved. It is also a way of damaging the existing data. This approach will allow you to skip the deleting element and head straight to saving data. It will still be possible for someone to retrieve information using advanced software despite overwriting.

Remove any external memory devices attached on the handset. These devices include SD cards and memory cards. They add to the memory of your device and will therefore carry information you might consider confidential. By removing them from your handset, all information that they carried cannot be accessed until the cards are put in other devices. The external memory devices will only work if you had chosen them as your storage option.

Technology advancement regarding information retrieval has complicated concealing. Even leaving a handset clean does not guarantee permanent hiding. The only guarantee most of these methods offer is inability to access by ordinary users. Phones provide directions on deleting information. Follow these directions to be on the safe side. However, the ultimate option when considering information security is to avoid having it on your handset if it posses any danger.




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