What is Private Eye?
Private Eye is an open source digital forensics application designed to analyze local storage devices and memory for investigative purposes. It provides a graphical interface for browsing file systems, viewing and exporting files, scanning for deleted data, and analyzing RAM to extract artifacts and evidence.
Some of the key features of Private Eye include:
- Disk imaging - Create full forensic disk images for analysis
- File carving - Scan unallocated space for deleted files and fragments
- Hex editor - View and edit file hex code
- File browsing - Explore file systems like FAT and NTFS
- Hashing - Generate cryptographic hashes for files
- Reporting - Export detailed reports suitable for investigations
- Bookmarking - Bookmark files and areas of interest
Private Eye runs on Windows and uses native Windows APIs for many of its capabilities. It can be used by cybersecurity analysts, law enforcement, military, and private investigators for analyzing storage media seized during investigations and incidents. Its open source nature allows it to be customized for specific needs as well.