Atola Blog

We are launching version 2018.1.3 of Atola TaskForce. This release includes access to password-protected servers. It allows saving image files on such servers, imaging or calculating hash of the files located there, etc. To create an image file on a password-protected server: 1) Click Image button in the left-side menu 2) Select the source device 3) Click SELECT FILE in FILE section of the target device menu and click Continue. 4) In the file dialog, click the server from the list. If the server does not appear in the list, click Refresh icon to search for all available directories. If the server still does not appear in the list, click Read more…

TaskForce automatically creates reports for every single action applied to each drive connected to it. Whether it is a source drive or a target drive, any action, be it imaging, wiping or physically switching write protection on or off, will be documented and stored in the system. To find a case, click Cases in the top left corner, it will redirect you to the case management system. Search for a specific case or device in the Search bar (by case ID, investigator’s name or device details) and sort results by any column. To open a case, click the respective line in the list. A case page contains case details, information about Read more…

When an evidence drive lands on investigator’s table for the first time, there is always an uncertainty when it comes to the drive’s condition. A broken head or scratched surface of the media require different imaging tactics. That’s why it is strongly suggested that before imaging, each drive should first be diagnosed.  TaskForce has Atola’s unique diagnostics module which checks all systems of the drive: Hard drive’s motor and electronics (PCB) Head stack Media surface All firmware/system areas Partitions and file systems At the end the system produces a report which sums up all issues. The process will take only 2 – 5 minutes.  To start, click Diagnostics button in the Read more…

So how exactly does Atola TaskForce perform 12 or more imaging sessions or other long-running tasks (hashing, wiping, etc.)? Multiple processes can run in parallel thanks to TaskForce’s high-capacity hardware. TaskForce is a forensic hardware that has a 8-thread Xeon CPU. Each of the threads backs imaging at the speed of 550 MB/sec (or faster on SAS and extension ports). Should a drive’s native speed be lower than that, the respective thread’s capacity is freed up for more workload. It means that you can launch more than 8 tasks at a time: 10, 12 or 15 with no negative affect on individual performance. For instance, if one of the eight Read more…