Investigators face the daunting task of analyzing vast amounts of digital data to uncover critical evidence. Customizable search profiles are a game-changer in the field of digital forensics. By allowing investigators to fine-tune their search criteria and focus on the most relevant data.
To streamline this process, Mobile Device Investigator (MDI) offers an indispensable feature known as "Search Profiles." These profiles empower investigators to tailor their search criteria, ensuring they focus on the most relevant information, thereby saving time and resources. In this blog post, we’ll guide you through conducting mobile setup, so you have the ability to customize, create, or edit search profiles. 
Step 1: Select Setup Scans
On the MDI Home Page, select Setup Scans. Search profiles will collect the information within the profile. Default Search profiles are categorized as mobile devices: Screenshots, General Profiling, and Child Exploitation. Setup scans allow you to customize, create, or edit search profiles.
Step 2: Select Copy on Desired Profile
A search profile can be customized by selecting “Copy,” which appears when you hover over a search profile. The search profile is a combination of the tasks you are requesting to be carried out, such as selected artifact captures and file capture appropriate for the search profile objective.
For instance, if you are performing a child exploitation investigation, you can either use the Child Exploitation Search Profiles, or you can customize one by viewing what makes up the Child Exploitation Search Profile and then customize it by selecting "Copy" within the MDI software.
Step 3: Customize your Profile
Select the captures you want to be incorporated into your scan. Fine-tune your search parameters to ensure the software focuses only on the relevant data. Enable the collection of files based on creation or modification dates, file types, or other attributes.
Step 4: Select Action
Select to search for files by properties, keywords, hash values, or visual similarities. You can then choose where the files are collected from. Either a specific location, the entire file system, and embedded files.
Profiles can be customized to collect files based on your custom keyword list and edited to search file and folder names, artifact records as they are parsed, file content, and hash-specific sets of files, importing your hash list or importing project VIC.
Mobile Device Investigator's (MDI) ability to create, customize, and edit search profiles significantly enhances the efficiency and accuracy of digital forensic investigations. Investigators can choose the scope of their searches, whether to collect data from a specific location, an entire file system, or even delve into embedded files within documents or archives. This flexibility allows for a more targeted and efficient investigation. Using MDI, investigators can optimize the search criteria to match the specifics of each case, maximizing the chances of finding crucial evidence while minimizing the time spent on irrelevant data.
