Atola Blog

Which forensic file format to use for the maximum acquisition speed? AFF4 or E01?
Atola TaskForce 2

E01 vs AFF4: Which image format is faster?

How to spend less time clearing the backlog? And which forensic file format to use for the maximum acquisition speed? Those questions are not easy to answer. But OK, challenge accepted! Let’s measure and find out! If you’re into spoilers, jump to the “Final Results” part. If not, read on. And if you want to dive deeper into AFF4, the history behind its creation, its compression and hashing methods, as well as its advantages over other forensic file formats, check out this episode of our “Plug, Image, Repeat” newsletter! Setting things up How can we compare the productivity of two different file formats? Let’s design our experiment. We’ll need our Read more…

By Sergiy Pasyuta, ago
Atola TaskForce

Image Synology NAS RAIDs with TaskForce 2024.6

At last! The newest version of TaskForce firmware introduces an improved RAID module with support for Synology NAS systems, Btrfs, and LVM (Logical Volume Manager), along with other top-shelf features such as the ability to group ports in Express mode and assign different imaging settings for each group. Also, we’ve added built-in user hints and an offline help system to ease your learning curve and provide instant advice. Let’s take a closer look at the main improvements and tweaks we’ve prepared for you in the new TaskForce update! Reassemble Synology NAS RAIDs automatically TaskForce forensic imagers now offer system-wide support for Synology Network Attached Storage, including SHR RAID management system, Read more…

By Sergiy Pasyuta, ago
Reassemble Synology NAS RAIDs automatically in Atola TaskForce.
Atola Insight Forensic

Script to automatically create iSCSI targets

iSCSI network protocol allows remote access to physical or logical devices. In the DFIR domain, it is primarily used for imaging drives that are soldered into a motherboard, working servers that couldn’t be turned off, or devices for which you have legal warrant to access but not seize. In the enterprise segment, iSCSI also could help with replication of an image to multiple computers over a network. However, to expose a physical or logical drive via iSCSI on a network, you need to set up an iSCSI target correctly. And that is a tedious, multi-step task. To help you with that, we created a Python script named iscsi-targets. As its Read more…

By Sergiy Pasyuta, ago
Atola Insight Forensic

Insight Forensic 5.5 – Image 3 iSCSI drives in parallel

A new software update for Atola Insight Forensic is ready for download! Version 5.5 brings support for the iSCSI protocol and makes it possible to image drives that are soldered into a motherboard, working servers that couldn’t be turned off, or devices for which you have legal warrant to access but not seize. Use iSCSI for remote image acquisition Before, the remote imaging option in Insight Forensic was only available for specific models of MacBooks Pro and Air released in 2016-2017 by using a Thunderbolt extension module. Now, thanks to iSCSI support in Insight Forensic, you can add up to 3 remote network drives simultaneously and image them in parallel. Read more…

By Sergiy Pasyuta, ago
Imaging an iSCSI device in Atola Insight Forensic 5.5
TaskForce 2024.1 update ‒ Verify segmented hashes
Atola TaskForce

TaskForce 2024.1 update ‒ Verify segmented hashes

You remember segmented hashes, right? They’re what you want to use to verify an image of a damaged drive: after multipass imaging of a damaged drive in TaskForce, these hashes are calculated only for the good areas of a drive. Segmented hashing also does its job when the classic linear hashing fails. By verifying all segmented hashes in a set, you can prove that the entire image has not changed over time. Even if the hash of one damaged segment becomes invalid, you still have all the other good segments with their valid hashes. But how do you verify segmented hashes? Previously, you could do it using our open source Read more…

By Sergiy Pasyuta, ago
Company news

2023. Year in Review

In 2023 Atola Technology celebrated 20 years since it was founded by Dmitry Postrigan and his partner at the time Fedir Nepyivoda. Our core team has just given an interview to Forensic Focus about some of our history, our process today, and Atola’s plans for the future: So, what else happened? In 2023 we launched our new flagship product, released 6 software updates, held a record number of meetings with customers, hired great new talents, and are already working on something new to share with you in 2024! Now, let’s take a closer look at what’s what. Atola TaskForce 2 No doubt, our most exciting project and accomplishment of 2023 Read more…

By Yulia Samoteykina, ago
Atola TaskForce

Customize the Taskbar in the TaskForce 2023.11 update

Using some TaskForce features more often than others and want them at hand? Now, with TaskForce 2023.11 firmware update, you can customize your Taskbar as you like to have quicker access to the functionality you use the most. And hide features you rarely utilize under the Others button. It is as easy as dragging and dropping icons on the Taskbar where you want them. Here’s how it works now: Go to Other. Click the new Customize taskbar button. Drag and drop task buttons on the Taskbar and Other page. All changes are stored in your browser only and do not affect other users. And if you want to go back Read more…

By Sergiy Pasyuta, ago
Customizing the Taskbar in the TaskForce 2023.11 update
Atola TaskForce

TaskForce 2023.10: now with RAID 6 support

And there it comes! A long-awaited support for RAID 6 is finally here with new firmware updates for Atola TaskForce and TaskForce 2. Now you can automatically detect, reassemble, and image that popular RAID type, even with two missing members. New updates also bring more convenience when working with NVMe drives: a new status bar and enhanced diagnostics report. And, of course, there are the whole bunch of minor tweaks and fixes. Let’s learn more about each of these features! Rebuild and image RAID 6 In addition to JBOD, RAID 0, 1, 10, and 5, TaskForce now lets you automatically reassemble RAID 6 and then create its bit-by-bit forensic copy. Read more…

By Sergiy Pasyuta, ago
Atola Insight Forensic

Insight Forensic 5.4 – the new Disk Editor for easier byte-level analysis

We are happy to announce a new firmware update for Atola Insight Forensic. For version 5.4, we’ve thoroughly overhauled our Disk Editor module to make byte-level analysis much easier. The new update also includes more than 35 new features and bugfixes. And, a nice bonus: Insight Forensic can now detect two and more file systems intentionally squeezed into a single file system partition. The new Disk editor: find, read, or edit bytes quicker and easier The Disk editor module for analyzing device data on the byte level has got a fresher look and feel.  Here are the main improvements: Navigate faster. Insight Forensic now seamlessly reads device space in infinite Read more…

By Sergiy Pasyuta, ago
Data inspector tab in the Disk editor.