Golden Richard III, a professor of computer science at New Orleans University and a digital forensics expert, has been experimenting with using distributed computing to recover lost computer files. By harnessing the number-crunching power of several computers to work on a single chore, he has been able to crack cases that once took 45 minutes in only eight seconds. Mr. Richard said that distributed computing is especially time-saving when searching a hard drive for a single name or word. It also helps computer forensic specialists find photos that have been cropped or resized. Distributed computing in the service of solving steganographic codes—images concealed in other images—is also very helpful, said Mr. Richard…
