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  1. Member
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    Hi all,

    I'm not sure if this is the right sub-forum, so if it's not please direct me to the right one.
    I'm working for a non-profit organization that fights against animal abuse. We were given by the local police video files taken from the security cameras of a factory suspected of abuse. The police did not give us any information about the format of these files, or even which company installed the security system.

    The files are located in hundreds of directories, and there are both files that look like data files ( whose encoding I could not figure out ) and database files which I guess relate metadata such as date and time to offsets within the data files.

    I uploaded an example of one of the directories to our server, and you can download it from there. I would really appreciate if anyone here can try to figure out how to view this video.

    Here is a link to a page with links to the files I uploaded: http://anonymous.org.il/CMS/content/video-temp/0/index.html

    Thanks in advance,

    Oded.
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  2. Or are you animal liberation fanatics about to release a deadly plague upon the world?
    What type of 'factory' has hundreds of directories of CCTV records of animal abuse?

    Or are you a member of a criminal fraternity who gained access to a private server and are wanting help to 'case the joint'?

    etc...etc....

    Anyway, it looks like an encrypted security system. Without the manufacture's help you're not likely to get anywhere.
    The police forensics lab would know that. If you are the police forensics lab, well, get the manufacturers help.
    I don't want to be implicated in the next Fort Knox heist. Know what I mean?

    Why did you post anonymous? Ah, I see. It's the organization name. Sorry. The rest still stands.
    Get back in touch with the police and ask them for help in tracing the equipment manufacturer.
    Last edited by transporterfan; 3rd Feb 2014 at 08:59.
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  3. Member
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    Hi transporterfan,

    Thanks for the quick response.

    I'll try to address your concerns,

    >> Why did you post anonymous?

    It's simply my first post on this forum ( I registered for the purpose of asking this question ). My real name is Oded Streigold.

    >> Or are you animal liberation fanatics about to release a deadly plague upon the world?

    Haha we aren't the The Army of Twelve Monkeys or anything like that You can read about some of our activities on the English version of our site: http://anonymous.org.il/english

    >> What type of 'factory' has hundreds of directories of CCTV records of animal abuse?

    It's a large factory-farm slaughterhouse. It has several security cameras working 24/7, so it's reasonable that there are hundreds of files, even for a limited time span. We suspect some of the footage shows violations of the local animal welfare act.

    >> Or are you a member of a criminal fraternity who gained access to a private server and are wanting help to 'case the joint'?

    If we were trying to rob Fort Knox, we could afford to hire professional video experts, not post on a public forum...
    As it is, we just can't afford professional help at this time, so we decided to ask for help in forums.

    >> Anyway, it looks like an encrypted security system. Without the manufacture's help you're not likely to get anywhere.

    I understand that if it's encrypted there is nothing we can do without the help of the manufactures. But my hope is that it's not encrypted, just encoded.

    >> The police forensics lab would know that.

    Unfortunately, it's very difficult to penetrate the police bureaucracy here. They gave us the files but now they just ignore our requests for help.

    Many thanks!

    Oded.
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  4. Lol. I realized the organization link later. Thought your link was to an anonymous file host for a while. I rectified my mistake. The problem with CCTV manufacturers is that they tend to record in their own proprietary format.
    Most will only playback with their own supplied players. I did a quick scan of the video file you supplied and could not find any video information which could be easily read. This usually indicates encryption of some sort or they were saved in a special format.

    The only good news I can give you is if you can find the supplier of the equipment; if the files do require a special player they may be able to help you if they are encouraged to do so by the police, or if you can prove an investigation is being conducted. They may even post a link to the software player on their site.
    Last edited by transporterfan; 3rd Feb 2014 at 09:29.
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  5. Member
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    OK, many thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it.

    Oded.
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  6. Member
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    Buffalo surveillance server using bundled novabackup (files relate to backup type, non playable)
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  7. Member
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    Originally Posted by Bjs View Post
    Buffalo surveillance server using bundled novabackup (files relate to backup type, non playable)
    Hi Bjs,

    Can you elaborate a bit? Are you saying that it's impossible to view these files? What if we can Buffalo to help us?

    Thanks!

    Oded.
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