Navigating the cyber forensics landscape a review of recent innovations

Abstract

The extensive relevance of digital forensics in today's data-driven environment has been emphasized in this article. The free software and the commercial software community are debatable, despite users and developers often differing views on important topics like software safety and usability. This article primarily uses pre-defined criteria and a platform-oriented approach to examine promising freeware (Magnet Forensics and Sleuth Kit) vs. profitable (ProDiscover and Oxygen Forensic Suite) mobile forensics tools. Under diverse settings, the tools' capacity to develop and analyze forensically sound digital forensic media sources is validated. After erasing data, each media type was tested again after formatting. The study concludes with a comparison matrix that may aid in determining the best-fit option for the investigation's requirements among the tools. The findings indicate the potential for freeware to supplant numerous proprietary applications, as users can opt for freeware instead of incurring costs associated with proprietary software. Furthermore, this perception can be put into practice.