Well done is better than well said.

2012 was a great year for me, I started my first career job, moved to Washington, D.C., made a ton of new friends, traveled around the US, and learned a lot about forensics. However, I didn’t learn enough and I’m going to fix that with a set reading list.

1. Hello World! Computer Programming for Kids and Other Beginners by Warren Sande
2. The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus, Book 3) by Rick Riordan
3. Windows Forensic Analysis DVD Toolkit, Second Edition by Harlan Carvey
4. Incident Response and Computer Forensics, Second Edition by Chris Prosise, Kevin Mandia, and Matt Pepe
5. Windows Forensic Analysis Toolkit, Third Edition: Advanced Analysis Techniques for Windows 7 by Harlan Carvey
6. Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer
7. Real Digital Forensics: Computer Security and Incident Response by Keith J. Jones, Richard Bejtlich, and Curtis W. Rose
8. File System Forensic Analysis by Brian Carrier

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The Official EnCE: EnCase Certified Examiner Study Guide by Steve Bunting is a well written and informative text with the goal of preparing a computer forensic examiner for Guidance Software’s EnCE certification. The book’s author, Steve Bunting, writes that the book will give you more knowledge than you need to pass the exam, rather than merely covering the basics to pass the certification process. Before you read any further, a quick disclaimer: I am not EnCE certified and thus cannot truly testify to the preparedness that reading this book provides.

I do believe this book provides solid information and will help someone new to EnCase get a better understanding of the program, its capabilities, and the process EnCase takes to retrieve the data. As a forensic analyst without much EnCase training, I know how to perform some key functions, such as using the Case Processor to perform LNK file analysis, how to mount a file to view the file structure, etc. However, I knew EnCase was a powerful program and that there was much for me to learn about this wonderful piece of software. This EnCE study guide by Steve Bunting is great for fellow examiners similar to myself, looking to further their knowledge of EnCase. I wanted to learn about EnCase, how to use it, and understand what this application is truly capable of. This book is great for that purpose, but not entirely great at the other goals the text sets out to accomplish.

The Review
Before you start out to read this book, you’ll need to ask yourself a few questions:
What are you looking to get out of this book, an EnCE certification, knowledge on how EnCase does what it does?
How well do you know EnCase?
Are you hoping to learn more about the forensic process than the capabilities and how to use EnCase? Read more

When I wrote my original Nike Plus (Nike+) article about the device not syncing my runs, I never thought that it would become so popular and help scores of people. With that in mind, here is another how-to fix your Nike+ sensor guide for runners that are ending runs with 0.00 miles.

I’ve used Nike+ for a few years (at least) now and love using it; seeing the progress I’m making and the stats I’m putting up are motivation enough, not to mention the competitions you can compete in, friends you can race against, etc. I love the device, but it isn’t without flaw. The Nike+ support team has always been very pleasant, but not the most helpful. Luckily, I have kept notes about how to solve some of the issues I’ve encountered with it so I can follow the same steps the next time the problem arises or teach you how to solve it yourself.

Most recently, Nike+ was not tracking my distance. This issue has occurred multiple times, in some cases it was tracking my history fine just the day before, and then stopped recording how many miles I covered. It kept note of the pace I was running and the time I ran, but not the mileage, which means it’s not tracking the calories either. Workout completed: Total Distance: 0 miles. Yay me, I ran nowhere! Just a heads up before we get started, one method may not work, but I’ve fixed it with different solutions, so be sure to try each one until your Nike+ app shows the miles or kilometers you’ve run.

Method 1: Soft Resetting Your Apple iPod Touch and Nike+ Sensor.

1. Push and hold down both the Top Power Button and the Middle Home Button for about ten seconds until the Apple symbol appears. Once the Apple appears, you can let go, and your iPod will reboot itself (like a computer).

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