File carving data recovery technique

What is file carving

File carving is a process of detecting parts of computer files from fragments and pasting them together without addressing filesystem metadata. The file carving process is based on general knowledge of file structures, information contained in files and special techniques with a general name “heuristics” analyzing different ways of how filesystems fragment data. Combining these three features, a file carving system derives a logical conclusion of which file fragments belong together.

How it works

File carving is an extremely complicated process with a great number of permutations to be fulfilled before a final goal - solid file is achieved. To perform this task with minimal effort, carving software widely uses models and heuristics, that helps to save time and positively contributes to the accuracy of the outcome. Classical carving techniques employ such methods as sequential hypothesis testing – a type of statistical analysis where a sample size is not fixed in advance, but data are estimated as they are collected and further sampling is stopped as soon as significant results are achieved.

Hard disk drive fragmentation

After hundreds of hard disk drives with different filesystems have been analyzed the following conclusion can be made: general fragmentation of an average HDD is rather low, while the fragmentation of separate file types is relatively high. The following fragmentation rates are considered to be true for most of the cases: JPEG files- 16%, Word documents- 17%, AVI files- up to 22%, and Microsoft Outlook PST files – 58%!

Where we use file carving

As opposed to different types of carving software, each dealing with separate file format types, we present a revolutionary SoftAmbulance's products which uses latest algorithms for detecting fragmentation point and reassembling fragmented files of more than one hundred formats.

Your benefits from file carving data recovery technique

The efficiency and accuracy of the results of the file carving process performed by SoftAmbulance's software, along with the relatively short time spent on data processing is achieved by a specially designed technique, which solves a problem ignoring if the solution can be proven to be correct, but producing a good solution for a simple problem that contains the solution of more sophisticated problem.