The need for multiple forensics tools in digital investigations

Preservation of evidence is of the utmost importance. Using commercial and open source tools correctly will yield results; however, for forensically sound results, it is sometimes best if more than one tool can be used to produce the same results.

Another reason to use multiple tools may simply be cost-effectiveness. Some of us may have a large budget to work with, while others may have a limited one or none at all. Commercial tools can be costly, especially due to research and development, testing, advertising, and other factors. Open source tools, while tested by the community, may not have the available resources and funding as with commercial tools.

So then, how do we know which tools to choose?

Digital forensics is often quite time-consuming, which is one of the reasons you may wish to work with multiple forensic copies of the evidence. This way, you can use different tools simultaneously in an effort to...