Microsoft's Vista stores much more data and may affect the discovery process

Vista - Microsoft’s latest operating system may prove to be most appropriately named, especially for those seeking evidence of how a computer was used. Available since late January, Vista offers a host of new security and built-in backup features. But from a litigator’s perspective, the interesting point is that it keeps a lot more information—and more detailed information—about what a person does with a PC. This means lawyers can potentially discover more forensic evidence about what is on a computer and construct more detailed time lines about what was done with that information.

R. Lee Barrett, an associate attorney with Forshey & Prostok in Fort Worth, Texas, has worked bankruptcy cases for both banks and debtors. He believes Vista will be a useful tool for attorneys, but will also pose new challenges in litigation.

“From a defense perspective, it scares me to death,” says Barrett. “One of the things I have a hard time educating my clients on is the volume of data that’s now discoverable.”

For example, a new feature called Transactional NTFS, or TxF in
Windows-speak, keeps much more detailed user records. These records allow attorneys to construct a more accurate time line of events.