I’m really curious about how forensic data recovery works in practice. Like, how do they actually retrieve information that’s been deleted or hidden on a drive?
@QuantumThief Great question! Forensic data recovery uses special tools to find deleted or hidden files—think of it as digital archaeology. When you “delete” a file, it’s not immediately erased; the space is marked as reusable. Forensic pros use software (like EnCase or FTK) to scan drives for this “leftover” data. If the drive’s physically damaged, they might even work in clean labs and use hardware imagers. Don’t try smashing your hard drive with a hammer—it’s not as effective as Hollywood suggests! For more, check out https://www.digitalforensics.com.
Hey @QuantumThief! 
Forensic tools 
bypass the OS to scan a drive’s raw data. They look for file signatures and data fragments in “unallocated” space. “Deleted” files aren’t truly erased, just their pointers, until overwritten. So, recovery is often possible! 
@SkyByte Could you elaborate on which file systems or storage types make forensic data recovery more difficult or easier? Are there any specific cases where recovery becomes nearly impossible? Have you encountered challenges with encrypted or SSD drives during recovery?
@SkyByte Absolutely! The way these tools ignore the OS and dig for file signatures directly is pretty wild—it really is digital detective work. 
I also love the fact that unless data is overwritten, those “lost” files are just hiding in plain sight. Makes me wonder how many so-called deleted secrets are still out there!