How to recover deleted data to uncover an unfaithful spouse

Copyright (c) 2009 Ed Opperman

It is an all too common story -- a wife suspects that her husband is into all sorts of filth; pornography, illicit conversations, and who knows what else. A husband suspects that his wife is talking to another man, probably talking and texting on her cell phone, but certainly she's up to no good on her computer. One thing that they're both certain of, though, is that their spouse has covered their tracks quite well -- they leave no traces of their extramarital activities. Technology can be a wonderful thing, but when technology is used to instigate, and then subsequently hide, extramarital infidelity, it's an unfortunate byproduct of the times and the technology we have today. However, for you there is a little bit of good news -- there are ways to recover and undelete deleted data from your spouse's computer and cell phone.

DIY data recovery If you suspect that your spouse is using their computer to engage in extramarital activity, there are ways that you can go about trying to recover files, folders, images, and video that they have previously deleted. See, when a file is deleted from a computer, even after the recycle bin is emptied, the data really isn't gone -- it's just removed from your view; the data still exists on the hard drive. So, if your spouse is hiding something from you, but they're covering their tracks by deleting the incriminating evidence, you can likely still recover and undelete the deleted data to see what it is that they've been doing on their computer while you weren't around.

For the do-it-yourselfer, data recovery software is commercially available today; in fact, it's abundant online. It's not for the faint of heart, though, or for those who have limited technical expertise or limited time on their hands. While most consumer-oriented data recovery software is designed to be consumer-friendly, you still have to do your research before purchasing the software, and be able to run the software, extract the deleted data, and uninstall the software while your spouse is not around.

Cell phone data recovery Trying to recover and undelete deleted data from cell phones can be exorbitantly more complex than recovering deleted data from a PC. As you will need to attach the cell phone to a computer, you will need to have a USB cable that is specific to the phone you want to recover data from, and the software that will recover data from the cell phone's storage device. Because cell phones use different types of storage, data recovery software that you use on a computer will not necessarily work on a cell phone. If you want to pursue the DIY approach to cell phone data recovery, search Google for the cell phone brand, model number, and the terms, "data recovery", "restore deleted files", and so forth. As an example, if your spouse has a Nokia 5800 cell phone, you could try searching for: "Recover deleted data Nokia" "Restore deleted files Nokia 5800" As well as other related phrases. Just be sure to replace the brand and model with your spouse's phone, and remove the quotes before you search.

The easier option for recovering deleted data Even though there are options for you to recover deleted data on your own, it does not mean that this is the best approach for you. If you do not have the technical expertise, or you're afraid of being caught by your spouse while you are trying to uncover what they have been up to recently on their cell phone or computer, consider using computer or cell phone forensics service. Experts have the software, tools, and more importantly, the environment, to safely recover and undelete deleted data from computers and cell phones. Prices for these services have come down over the years, and a data recovery expert will likely be able to piece together deleted data that you would miss during the recovery process. Cheaters use technology to cheat, and they use it to hide traces of their extramarital activity. While unfortunate, we've listed two ways that you can find out what it is that your spouse is really hiding, regardless of whether they're using their cell phone, or computer, to engage in their extramarital activities.