Paraben's Forensic Sorter

Paraben's Forensic Sorter, latest version 2.0.1, is an innovative software designed by the esteemed Paraben Corporation. This tool stands out in the System Utilities category, more specifically under File Managers. With various aliases, including Parabens Forensic Sorter, this program is a game-changer for computer forensic examiners.

This advanced utility is engineered to help organize and speed up the examination of hard drive contents, allowing the categorization of files into videos, audios, spreadsheets, and more. Paraben's Forensic Sorter sorts the files by header rather than file extension, a feature that ensures accurate sorting regardless of file renaming.

Supporting drive images in RAW, PFR (Forensic Replicator), Safeback, and EnCase image files, this program is fully compatible with Paraben's P2 Forensic Examination Technology. Additionally, it offers sophisticated capabilities such as filtering out common Windows files, recovering deleted files or file fragments from slack, deleted, and unallocated space, and identifying encrypted files for easy recovery using Paraben's Decryption Collection.

Paraben's Forensic Sorter supports a wide range of functionalities, including detection of EFS files, reading NTFS compressed files, NTFS streams, HTML reporting, Ext2 & Ext3 partition support, and sorting of compressed archives like ZIP and RAR. The software is also highly versatile, with features such as removable disk support, OLE storage support, Palm OS file detection, chat log file detection, and compatibility with E-mail Examiner & Network E-mail Examiner supported file detection. Furthermore, the program's output is non-proprietary, allowing the use of any tool for post-sorting analysis, and its XML output validation ensures consistent accuracy.

The download of the latest version 2.0.1 is straightforward, and the program is offered for free, making it an accessible option for all forensic examiners. Previous versions, including 2.0, and 1.0, have proven the reliability and continuous improvement of the software.

Pros:

• Efficiently sorts and organizes hard drive contents
• Supports a variety of drive image formats and file types
• Flexible analysis with non-proprietary data output
• Detects and recovers deleted and encrypted files
• Free download available

Cons:

• Requires familiarity with forensic tools for optimal use
• Advanced features might have a steep learning curve for beginners

You may want to check out more software, such as Oxygen Forensic SQLite Viewer, which might be related to Paraben's Forensic Sorter.