Agape Blog

This article is primarily for the aspirants and investigators of the IT forensic World. It is a fact that the technique of capturing the evidence from the crime site decides the course of an investigation. In order to make this process more effective and reliable keeping the parameters like significances and volatile nature of data in business. Here arises the need of an innovative technology that can be applied to capture “live” evidence on a computer at the scene of an investigation before it is powered down.

This article is written with a purpose to provide you the glance over the efficient software technologies which are especially innovated to craft investigating procedures trouble-free & absolute.

To facilitate & decipher the evidences collection procedure simple, Agape Python, which stands separate from the crowd of others, designed exclusively for law enforcement agencies. It provides fast, easy-to-use, comprehensive, cost effective forensic capabilities which require nominal computer knowledge to apply. It is integrated with number of commands which can considerably minimize the time to collect digital evidence at the crime site. It eliminates the necessity to seize a computer itself, which usually involves disconnecting from a network, potentially losing data. Instead, the investigator can scan for evidence on site. In view of the fact that the network data is so volatile this may be lost in a process of turning off the computer.

It is an all in one software that supports Index Hard Disks on the fly, decrypt passwords and analyze a computer’s Internet activity, as well as data stored in the computer and much more…. with lighting speed.

And all these unique functionalities comes in a light weight, easy to carry, ready to use plug-in USB “thumb drive” to seize the data from the computer that may have been used in crimes without taking into the custody. So Just “PLUG IN & EXTRACT”

Jayesh Bellani
Executive: Fraud Management System
Agape Inc

What to do if there is a need to conduct a forensic investigation on iPhone device? In view of the fact that the iPhone is quickly becoming the market leader in mobile devices, the need for law enforcement agencies to perform forensic analysis of these devices is beginning to surface. It incorporates desktop-like features in an easy-to-use mobile package as a result of which many are likely to use it as a primary device for various forms of data and communication.

The wide availability, popularity & the expanding capabilities of iPhones make them attractive weapons to perpetuate an attack. This is fueling a discussion about how to deal with these devices when it comes to forensic investigations since existing forensic tools are miserably missing their skill to perform deep level of recovery. The object is to pinpoint that digital evidence can be easily modified, and the tricky step to make sure, your panel is taking suitable steps in the handling of the device. At this time, this area appears to by lacking for solutions.

Agape Inc put forward “Agape I-Phone Restore” which is specially dedicated software tool for iPhones that allows for the extract, decode, analyze and reporting of data. It extracts the data from 2G & 3G iPhone. It offers helpful features as follows:-

• Data integrity reserved by SHA512 to make use of proof in court of law purpose

• Performs bit to bit data acquisition

• Data recovery of entire raw user disk partition

• Extract voicemail, images, email, and other personal data

• Extract map lookups, cache, and other data stored in file system

• Extract complete system files from iPhone

• Extract address book, text messages, media files, and all other possible data from iPhone database

• Supports Text & ASCII data viewing

• Generate report in XML and HTML format

• Support Windows 2000, XP, Vista

For Further Product Information & price information mail us at: info[at]agapeinc.in (replace [at] with @) or visit us at www.agapeinc.in

To log online Cyber Crime Complaint call our Toll Free No. at 1800 209 6789 (For India Only)

Jayesh Bellani
Executive: Fraud Management System

Agape Inc. has joined forces with Verismic to launch an expanded product line for the IT sector that enhances the working condition through reducing carbon emission and helps generate a positive impact internally and also for the external environment in the long run.

The product range is largely focused on the need based solutions for I.T. industry & systems management. Being cost efficient it serves the needs of the company and being eco-friendly it best serves the requests of the surrounding environment.

The products and their features are listed below.

Power Manager: - Power Manager is a fast and easy way to deliver a solution. With this tool you can monitor your power consumption, reduce carbon emissions i.e. reduce costs and prove that Green IT is a cost saver.

Password Reset: - It is a self service password reset tool empowering end users to control and reset personal passwords without calling the help desk. Password Reset delivers instant benefits to every part of the organization and consistently demonstrates the same security, reliability and ease of use across all environments.

Integration Launcher: - It is a tool that bridges the gap between Service Desk and Desktop Systems Management tools to create a single powerful solution. Integration of your tool set makes it possible for Help Desk professionals to remotely diagnose system issues and fix them, versus costly desktop visits.

Archive Analytics: - Archive Analytics detects and identifies those systems that have gone missing from your environment and helps determine if they have been retired or if they have disappeared. It records all changes and provides built-in analysis reports, analyzes Software Distribution Activities and also any change in inventory Analysis.

Sometimes too much attention can work against an idea, diluting it to such an extent that people grow apathetic towards the message and start taking it lightly. Thanks to an unending flow of news reports, articles, discussions and media hype around the “Go Green” movement, it is running a serious risk of meeting that fate and turning into a passing fade.

Green is the hottest color in the IT industry right now with vendors scrambling to outdo each other with proclamations that their equipment is greener and more eco-friendly. The business case for green IT revolves around savings that accrue from deploying equipment that consumes less power, takes up less space, is easier to recycle, and the manufacturing of which doesn’t release hazardous substances into the environment.

One aspect of Green IT that is sometimes overlooking is the matter of e-Waste. After all, the idea of Green IT is to be environment-friendly. This is particularly horrendous problem in our country where the volumes of e-Waste generated are staggering and most of it is disposed off to the unorganized sector.

Many IT companies are claiming themselves to be green, but fail to meet with the basic compliance. The trouble is that, even today, a majority of organizations seem more interested in talking about the energy saving possibilities than doing something concrete to transform themselves into more ecologically responsible businesses. A lot of them talk so as to play to the gallery and sound politically correct, because in today’s business climate, even putting on a green façade can yield some fringe benefits.

However, there are some exceptions who believe in practicing before preaching, and AGAPE INC, a pioneer in Cyber Forensic & Security Company is surely one of those rare exceptions. In general we believe ‘walking the walk’ and not just ‘talking the talk’.

Sherwin Azavedo
Manager: Cyber Crime Complaint

Concern
Many a times we do such things which not knowingly affect us indirectly. One of them is spreading waste. Here, I’m not talking about normal waste; it’s about e-Waste. The booming usage of electronic and electrical equipments has created a new but very dangerous stream of waste, called “electronic waste” or simply known as e-waste. We have found a growing e-waste trade problem in India. India in 2007 generated 380,000 tonnes of e-waste from discarded computers, televisions and mobile phones. About 25,000 workers are employed at scrap yards in Delhi alone, where 10-20000 tonnes of e-waste is handled each year, 25 percent of this being computers.

Some of these electronic waste ranges from personal computers, optical disc players, mobile phones and other portable devices which contain toxic chemicals such as lead, cadmium, mercury and brominated flame retardants which are being dumped on us by the developed world. According to the estimates made by the Manufacturers Association of Information Technology (MAIT) the Indian PC industry is growing at a 25% compounded annual growth rate. The e-waste inventory based on this obsolescence rate and installed base in India for the year 2005 has been estimated to be 1,46,180 tonnes. This is expected to exceed 8,00,000 tonnes by 2012. If these are left untreated to lie around in landfills or dumps, they can cause irreparable loss to life of the soil, water and the atmosphere and its adverse impacts on human health and ecology.

E-waste recycling mainly involves parts of a computer and other IT assets. Computer recycling involves employing people to strip down the computers and extract parts that can be used again in machines. The rest is then burned or dumped, both of which are potentially highly hazardous to the environment. The authorized e-waste recycling facilities in India capture only 3% of total e-waste generated; the rest makes its way to informal recycling yards in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. This is because businesses sell their discarded IT and other equipment to informal recyclers for quick money without realizing the hazardous implications it causes to health and environment.

Our Process
The solution to the impending e-waste crisis lies in prevention rather than its management. Recycling of e-waste is beyond the means of a consumer or local government, given its toxic nature. Once an asset is deemed e-Scrap or non-saleable, it is transported to a shredder where the asset is completely crushed into its native elements. Plastics, metals, and leaded glass from the CRT’s are all separated and sent off to downstream handlers of each type of separated component element. Items such as batteries and LCD screens are sent to specialists in hazardous waste disposal. All of our downstream handlers maintain the proper permits and licenses required by both state, and local environmental authorities to process our downstream e-Waste.

Our process ensures that no components from the recycled e-Waste end up in landfills, providing a truly green solution for your company and our planet.

We at AGAPE are doing our part to help turn recycled electronics into re-usable products and keep them out of landfills.

Sherwin Azavedo
Manager: Cyber Crime Complaint

I.T. Asset Disposal

Computer has now become a sensitive part of life, in fact a very important element in today’s working culture for every corporate. Computers often hold all kinds of private and financial information of an individual or company. If getting rid of your old computer, there are things to be kept in mind before you log off for the last time so your hard drive doesn’t become a 21st century fortune for identity thieves and information pirates.

The best thing to do before discarding the hard drive is to have a back up i.e. save important files on an external storage device – i.e. a USB drive, a CD-Rom, or an external hard drive – or transfer them to a new computer.

Once you have a “clean” computer, consider recycling, donating, or reselling it while keeping the environment in mind.

We at AGAPE INC. take the complete responsibility of disposing your hard drive and other I.T asset in the best possible way to keep the environment safe.
1) We take the ownership of your computer i.e. the equipment becomes our responsibility.
2) The hard drives are sanitized and destroyed. So you can be assured that any data that you may have forgotten to delete cannot be used anywhere else.
3) The asset tag that may point to the original owner of the computer is destroyed.
4) All the equipments that cannot be reused are disposed as per the Federal and State environmental laws.

E-waste is of immense concern mainly due to the toxicity and carcinogenicity of some of the substances like lead from monitors, mercury and cadmium to name a few. It was estimated that about 3.3 lakh tonnes of e-waste generated last year was dumped into the rivers, landfills and sewage drains. IT assets discarded, sold or re-used must be backed by well-organized disposal strategies to effectively tackle the problem of e-waste.

Hence the scale of the problem is highly immense and if not acted upon, soon could create serious problems for mankind in the near future…

If the information you require is not listed it doesn’t mean we can’t do it, other specialist services are available on request, please contact us for a FREE consultation on (INDIA) 1800-209-6789 or Mail us at info[at]agapeinc.in (replace [at] with @)

Sherwin Azavedo
Manager: Cyber Crime Complaint

“One’s waste may turn out to be another’s wealth” – Agape Green Disposal Services

e-waste poses a formidable problem for handling and protecting the environment to be safe to the present and future generations. South Asia especially India is gradually becoming a dumping ground for electronic waste (e-waste). Toxics Link, a Delhi-based non-governmental organisation, claims India annually generates $1.5 billion worth of e-waste.

A survey by IRG Systems, South Asia, reveals the total waste generated by obsolete or broken-down electronic and electrical equipment in India is around 1,46,180 tonnes per year based on select EEE tracer items. This figure does not include waste from electrical and electronic equipment imports
The IT sector in the country is the largest contributor to e-waste (over 30 per cent) with Bangalore alone generating an estimated 8,000 tonnes of e-waste annually but is sluggish in implementing a clear cut e-waste management policy. A proactive corporate environmental policy is now an essential part of any company’s overall business strategy.

Green Media Disposal Process typically focuses on proactive maintenance and monitoring strategies to improve equipment availability and reduce maintenance costs. Condition monitoring is often deployed to improve insight into asset health for better prediction and planning of maintenance.
According to data accessed by Teri, the average life span of a PC has come down from 4.5 years in 1992 to two years in 2006. In India, the figure is said to be about three years. Over 30 per cent of PCs become obsolete every year.

The volume of obsolete PCs, which is just a part of e-waste, can be gauged if one takes into consideration large organisations like TCS, Infosys Technologies and Wipro, which employ over 50,000 employees each.

How countries generally tackle e-waste:
• India, China and Pakistan is the dumping ground of about 80 per cent of e-waste generated by the US.
• Lack of technology, unorganised recycling and backyard scrap-trading forms close to 100 per cent of total e-waste processing activity. About 25,000 workers are employed at scrap-yards in Delhi alone where 10,000 to 20,000 tonnes of e-waste is handled every year. Computers account for 25 per cent of it. Other e-waste scrap-yards exist in Meerut, Ferozabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai.
• In the US, a bill that came into effect on July 1 2007 has made the manufacturer, and not the consumers or government, responsible for the costs of recycling e-waste.
• In Japan, manufacturers are responsible for collection and recycling of obsolete electronic equipment for which they charge a recycling fee from consumers while selling. In Taiwan, it’s manufacturers who pay for the collection and recycling of e-waste.

Our Green Media Disposal Process
The process uses to dispose of storage media at the end of its lifecycle has several benefits.
• Environmentally friendly – no materials in landfills
• Reusable components can be utilized for future data recovery services
• Removes risk of sensitive data falling into the wrong hands

Prior to disposal of storage media, technicians dismantle the device and remove parts that can be reused for future data recovery jobs. They will not dispose of any drives or devices that still contain data, so the re-use of hard drive parts poses no risk to the customer.

All other hard drive or storage device components, including metals, circuit boards, copper wiring, and other materials are then recycled in an environmentally safe manner. By recycling these components, we prevent any materials from reaching landfills, reduce the need to take resources from the Earth, and also reduce the consumption of energy

Dr.Sachin Pandey
CEO & President
Agape Inc

Agape Inc is now worlds first Cyber Forensic Company to comply with 9001:2008 Standards.
Agape received ISO 9001:2000 certification on 2 May 2008, and transition to 9001: 2008 was achieved on 29 Dec 2008.

ISO 9001 is a quality management standard. It applies to all types
of organizations. It can help both product and service oriented organizations achieve
standards of quality that are recognized and respected throughout the world.

The ISO 9000 family addresses “quality management”. This means Agape fulfills:
• the customer’s quality requirements, and
• applicable regulatory requirements, while aiming to
• enhance customer satisfaction, and
• achieve continual improvement of its performance in pursuit of these objectives.

The image given below shows our certificate.

WinRAR, the company with a goal to establish RAR as the standard compression tool making expert knowledge available for everyday use had recently joined hands with Agape Inc, India’s leading computer forensics and mobile forensics company. WinRAR which works on making RAR known to every computer user and further extending the user base by constantly improving their software according to customer needs and offering quality support to them.

The famous shareware file archiver and data compression utility developed by Eugene Roshal has come up with the latest WinRAR 3.8 version that can be downloaded from the link given below.

Recently, YCCE college organised a 2 day workshop on robot making. The workshop included other activities as well, like explaining the basics of C. The event was sponsored by Agape Inc, a pioneer in the Information Security and Computer forensics.

The workshop was a huge success as many young engineers, displayed their creativity by making various robots, which could perform various tasks.

Here’s the leaflet of the same.