ComputerForensicsDigest.com

SurfRecon, an Orem, Utah-based software company, has announced an upgrade to its SurfRecon Home Edition that "allows a parent or spouse to quickly scan a home computer for pornographic digital videos and accurately categorize those files."

According to SurfRecon president Matthew Yarro, the online adult industry is migrating to digital video, and in particular, to the Flash Video format typically stored with extension [.flv]. Many computer owners, Yarro says, are unfamiliar with the new format and may not realize that a hard drive contains pornographic videos when in fact it does.

The SurfRecon software can now compare videos found on a hard drive with the company's growing database of known videos. The software generates a list of located videos, along with a classification for each one as "Safe", "Sexual" or "XXX Rated." According to Yarro, SurfRecon now has the world's largest database of " known-pornographic-image-and-video signatures," a database that he says is regularly augmented by new digital signature submissions from software owners and law enforcement.

In an effort to protect its users, the SurfRecon software comes equipped with a Blur tool that offers three levels of blurring for suspected pornography images or videos. If a spouse or investigator wants to check the details of the image, he or she can use the software's Digital Keyhole to clarify portions of the image without clarifying the entire scene.

The software is available in home, business, enterprise, and elite editions. The latter is a version specifically designed for law enforcement, that SurfRecon says can be stored on a USB stick and used to quickly determine if a given computer system contains identifiable pornography.

An inquiry to the company about the operation of SurfRecon in the context of a criminal investigation is still pending.