Passware Exposes Private Data Indexed by Windows Search

Search Index Examiner lists all the documents, emails, and spreadsheets, as well as providing creation and modification dates, author, recipients, summary content, and other information for each item. The only data it needs from the target computer is a Windows Search database. A quick scan of a Windows Search Database can find documents relevant to a case, and even preview of files and items which have been deleted, deliberately or not…It takes under 10 minutes to perform a full scan – extracting over 150,000 items. As an average personal computer stores far fewer items, a typical extraction is almost instant. The wizard interface makes the process easy as ABC.

“The Windows platform is not as secure as it might seem,” states Passware President Dmitry Sumin. “A single file from a computer is enough to expose all the documents and emails for all users on that particular PC. And it takes just a few minutes to get the job done. This is long-awaited news for computer forensics and IT professionals, but may raise privacy concerns.”

With the release of Search Index Examiner, Passware has provided computer forensics with a tool that successfully recovers data that, heretofore, has been hidden from forensics investigators. In time-critical cases, the performance of this evidence discovery tool is invaluable.

System Requirements and Availability

Passware Index Examiner supports Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, and Server 2003, both 32 and 64 bit. The software can be downloaded immediately at www.lostpassword.com. The suggested retail price is $295.00 for a single-user license. Free trial licenses are also available. For additional information, visit: lostpassword.com/search-index-examiner.htm.


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About Passware

Founded in 1998, Passware, Inc. provides help desk personnel, law enforcement, forensics agencies, IT professionals, and business and home users around the world with security tools to ensure data availability in the event of lost passwords. Passware’s top selling products – Passware Kit Enterprise and Encryption Analyzer Professional – are widely used by law enforcement agencies and are included in Certified Computer Examiner training. As a global company, Passware, Inc. has offices in the United States and Europe. Current clients include: Microsoft, Adobe, Apple, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Deloitte & Touche, Ernst and Young, KMPG, PW Coopers, Department of Justice, U.S. Senate, NASA, FBI, IRS and many more, including Fortune 50 companies. www.lostpassword.com.

All trademarks are property of their respective owners.

NEWS SOURCE: Passware, Inc.

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