Empire Pacific Investigative Services
by Licensed California Private Investigators
by Licensed California Private Investigators
When your natural reaction is to call your neighborhood “computer guy”; hang up that phone and call the experts at Empire Pacific Investigative Services, Inc.
People across the Los Angeles, California area are using computers for everything, many reasons of which are less than moral, including, but not limited to, cheating on you, stealing your companies property, hiding assets and funds, and just about every other dishonest thing you can conceive of.
In most cases, these same characters attempt to clean out the computer before they depart by deleting everything or “reformatting” the computer.
Your natural instinct is to call your “computer guy” who will likely report that all is lost. In reality, your computer guy probably has very little or no knowledge of exactly what it takes to conduct a forensic computer evidence recovery investigation or how to recover what is still on a hard drive. He or she has probably never conducted a California computer forensic investigation before, which makes their recommendation less reliable, at best. They are not California private investigators, they do not understand computer forensics or evidence collection and they cannot stand behind you in court. In short, they are not your answer for help with computer forensics in California.
The evidence is still there, waiting to be discovered. More often than not, we are able to retrace their steps to prove the lengths they went to in order to destroy evidence.
Why hire a Licensed California Private Investigator to be involved in your computer forensic investigation?
Choosing Empire Pacific Investigative Services, Inc. for your computer data recovery needs means that you have an expert as a partner.
You can rest assured that we can recover computer evidence where few others can and we do so in a legally privileged and protected manner.
Keep your affairs private.
Computer forensics is a specialty field. In involves a lot more than some specialized software and some free time. You need the experience that comes from a private investigator’s perspectives and training. Computer Forensic examinations originated from more traditional investigations, such as e-mail tracing, locating web site/domain ownership, identifying I.P. addresses and computers on the internet, etc. Only a handful of Private Investigators concentrated on this particular area of investigation and they became progressively more involved in recovering information and data from computers and other pieces of media or hardware.
Here at Empire Pacific Investigative Services, Inc., we are proud to announce that we have unmitigated access to court recognized experts and certified private investigators who can locate evidence you need from a computer or piece of media that has been thought to be “cleaned”.
Forensic Data Recovery
conducted by a Licensed California Private Investigator
Forensic Data Recovery is the science of recovering information from a computer that may have been deleted or otherwise damaged or hidden.
One of the key elements in every data forensics procedure is time. Users may unintentionally or inadvertently overwrite evidence simply by continuing to complete their daily tasks.
Our forensic specialists collect and preserve data and/or evidence quickly and cost-effectively. Our experts can ascertain whether information does exist and, if so, where it can be located. When the data storage media or hard drive is recovered, either on location or at our lab facility, an accurate audit trail commences in order to protect the integrity of the chain of custody. The media will be immediately recorded onto a tracking system and a legal log is produced. This log, right and proper for all legal proceedings, accompanies said media or hard drive throughout the data recovery process.
E.P.I.S., Inc. will subsequently ensure the continuity of evidence by including the investigator’s legal name, signature, date and a detailed description of exactly what was done.
This stage of the recovery process is crucial as Federal Rules of Evidence apply. Our company’s expertise in magnetic media storage devices begins to play a crucial role. First - the media is replicated exactly through a bit-by-bit acquisition process, ensuring the integrity of the subject media is intact, and evidence preserved. Our specialists then work only with duplicate copies ensuring that no contamination of the original data takes place.
Empire Pacific Investigative Services, Inc. offer services including electronic discovery consultation; onsite seizure of evidence; thorough processing of evidence; interpretation of results; reporting of results in a comprehensible manner; and court recognized expert testimony.
During this preliminary examination, Empire Pacific Investigative Services, Inc. provides the client a detailed report outlining the file structures, media integrity, and recoverability of deleted files. This report can be used to determine if the files present will be of assistance in the investigation. Our specialists then make a recommendation on how to proceed if additional information needs to be retrieved. This report allows our clients to make an informed decision on the various options that may be available to them. Our client’s needs augmented with our recommendations assure that the time spent on the analysis is focused at all times.
Computer Forensic services
The following is our list of services:
- Recovery of deleted computer files and data
- Data recovery when a hard drive has been reformatted or repartitioned
- In many cases, decryption when a file has been encrypted
- Determination of web sites that have been visited
- Determination of what files have been downloaded
- Determination of when files were last accessed
- Determination of when files were deleted
- Discovery of attempts to conceal or destroy evidence
- Discovery of attempts to fabricate evidence
- Discovery of hidden text that was removed from the final printed version of a document
- Discovery of faxes sent or received on a computer
- Discovery of email messages and attachments even if previously deleted
Recovery of financial records and other documents
We can provide:
- Analysis of Computers and Data in Criminal Investigations
- Onsite Seizure of Computer Data in Criminal Investigations
- Analysis of Computers and Data in Civil Litigation
- Onsite seizure of Computer Data in Civil Litigation
- Analysis of Company Computers to Determine Employee Activity
- Assistance in Preparing Electronic Discovery Requests
- Reporting in a Comprehensive and Readily Understandable Manner
- Computer Forensics on Both PC and Mac Platforms
Counted among our clients are law firms, corporations of all sizes, as well as Provincial, State and Federal Agencies.
Data Recovery
We are one of only a handful of companies worldwide which specializes in the retrieval and restoration of computer data. Our forensic specialists have recovered data from many types of medium including:
- Desktop Computers
- Laptop Computers
- PDAs
- Compact Disks
- Floppy Disks
- Zip Disks
- Thumb Drives
- Portable Storage Devices
- All Manner of Digital Camera Storage Cards
- Tape Backup
- RAID Sets
Call EPIS, Inc before you do ANYTHING else.
We can help when it appears that all is lost. The concept of losing mission critical data is terrifying, but the data recovery process should not be. Our free estimates and "No data, no charge" policy ensure that you are protected from surprises at all times.
Fees
- Email Tracing $155.00 per hour
- Specialty Email Tracing Flat rate from $250.00 - $600.00
- Covert System Monitoring $450.00 for setup. $100.00 per hour for analysis
- Internet Profiling $155.00 per hour
- Data Recovery $155.00 per hour
- Data & Information Security Consulting $155.00 per hour ($1200.00 retainer)
- Forensic Computer Analysis $200.00 per hour ($2500 retainer) See Note Below
- Expert Testimony $250.00 per hour ($1500 retainer)
- Expert Consultation $250 per hour ($1500 retainer)
- Technology Related Investigations $155.00 - 250.00 per hour ($1000.00 retainer)
Note: Fees for services, travel, and expenses are deducted from the retainer. Any unused portion of the retainer will be returned to the client. When the retainer is exhausted, billing for further services and travel will be done weekly and is due upon receipt. If payment is not received within 10 days, all work will be discontinued until payment is received. EPIS, Inc. reserves the right to require replenishment of the retainer. All of the above retainer amounts are for engagements lasting no more than three (3) days; for engagements involving substantial hours of work, please contact us for the retainer amount.
There is a three (3) hour minimum billing for testifying in a deposition, hearing, trial, etc that is local to our jurisdiction. Outside the jurisdiction our daily rate of $1500 shall apply. We must be paid in advance for all depositions.
The Data Recovery rate is only applicable in those situations where there is no possibility of the recovered data being involved in any type of litigation. All other data recovery work is billed at our Forensic Computer Analysis rate.
All rates, terms, and conditions are effective June 2004 and are subject to future change without notice.
Read the BBC article “Uncovering a computer’s secrets”.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Your Process?
Upon contacting our office, you will be placed in contact with a data recovery specialist who will provide a very basic synopsis of your situation and potential for recoverability. Once you have decided on a plan of action, we will advise on the best method of receiving your media. Upon receipt of your media, we perform an initial analysis and estimate, providing you with a step by step outline of what is wrong with your media and what we are going to do in order to recover it. Should you accept the terms of the estimate, we will then move ahead with the recovery. Upon completion, we will return your data to you in whatever format is most convenient.
How Much Does It Cost To Look At My Drive?
Nothing. Our estimate is absolutely free and will not change once work commences.
What If You Can’t Recover My Data?
Then you pay nothing.
Is Recovery Guaranteed?
No one can guarantee recovery of data from a medium. There are a vast myriad of things that can go wrong with computer media. In the case of a head crash on a hard drive, a piece of equipment actually gets dragged across the platters that store data, physically gouging it away. The data residing on that physical space would now be irretrievable. Fortunately, this is not common.
Why Can’t I Download A Free Program From The Internet To Recover My Data?
There is no shortage of free and low priced utilities available on the internet to recover your accidentally deleted files. Unfortunately, if you don’t know how to use them properly, you can do more harm than good. If these programs aren’t designed to address your specific data loss situation, you could be rendering the files unrecoverable. For every moment that your hard drive is on while you attempt recovery, you could actually be overwriting the very data that you are trying to retrieve. If the data is mission critical, or of the utmost importance, you do not want to run the risk of losing it forever.
What Should I Do if My Data Goes Missing or My Drive Fails?
Stop what you are doing immediately. Shut the computer off. Contact our office. The number one cause of failure to retrieve data is because the client used the computer for any number of days after the data went missing, or attempted various methods of recovery on their own.
How Much Does It Cost?
Data Recovery is not cheap. In many instances, it is cheaper to redo work that has been deleted. Our fee is $155.00 per hour, with a minimum 1 hour charge.
Some Repair Shops Claim To Do Data Recovery. Can I Use Them?
The choice is certainly yours. We caution, however, that an A+ certified technician, or an MCSE is not a data recovery specialist. While they do possess more skills in this arena than the average person, they do not possess the skills and specialized tools that our company has. Just one of the many programs we use in this field is worth well over $3000.00. They may dabble in it, but we specialize in it. If you absolutely NEED your data, don’t trust it to someone who will just be throwing a few good tries at it. Few people in the world specialize in this type of work. There are no courses on this type of work at your local college. The folks that do this work correctly do not grow on trees.
Why Are The Repair Shops Cheaper?
Because they don’t have the specialized tools or the success rate that we have. We caution that their hourly rates may be cheaper, but many don’t have a "no data, no charge" policy, and they also have things like 3-4 hour minimum charges. If it only takes an hour to get your data, why pay for 3?
Los Angeles computer forensic experts and California private investigators proudly serving clients throughout all of southern California, including in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills,, Santa Monica, Woodland Hills, Burbank, Glendale, Hollywood and beyond..