All,
Curious on how to access com databases on an Android device. I have been looking at how to access these databases but everything points to "rooting" the device, but everything I have seen online requires the individual to wipe the device prior to "rooting". Those databases store a lot of information outside of what's able to be pulled off using viaForensics logical tool. I know the Gmail database holds the username/password in clear text, the facebook databases scraps cell phone numbers of your friends, all their status, etc.
Rooting a phone does not require wiping the device first. Obviously this might change depending on the model but, as far as I'm aware, the majority of devices can be rooted easily without wiping. Part of rooting on HTC devices is installing a new bootloader. This means that you do not have to boot the Android OS in order to get full access to the file system.
Once you have done this you can use the Android Development Bridge (adb) for pulling items straight from the device or you can put a new SD card in the device and use the modified bootloader to copy the contents of the device (including the databases).
The best place for learning about all of this stuff is over at the xda-developers forum.
It should be noted rooting the device is not particularly evidentially safe because most rooting methods push "Super User.apk" and the sudo binary to the phone as a payload but, as long as you document what you're doing, you should be fine to present your findings in court.
Ahhh ha. It's prob. my model of the phone. I was looking at mine specifically. I'll have to take a look.
I think you've previously mentioned having a G1. If that's the phone you are wanting to root, have a look here
It should be noted rooting the device is not particularly evidentially safe
Do you know of any cases in court where the rooting of a device has caused any problems? I have been looking for an example to back up a project I am doing for University, but I am struggling.
Thanks