It was one of the most sought after applications on the Internet until it was leaked earlier today. And now that it?s out there?and it is all over the place, easily findable by anyone able to use a search engine?we can all move on with our lives. Yes, Microsoft COFEE, the law enforcement tool that mystified so many of us (including Gizmodo~! and Ars Technica~!), is now available to download. If only there were a ?bay? of some sort where, I don?t know, pirates hang out?
I?m not mentioning any names, nor will there be any screenshots, but the resourceful among you will be able to find the application. Not that it?ll do you any good, since this is how Microsoft describes COFEE, which stands for Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor:
With COFEE, law enforcement agencies without on-the-scene computer forensics capabilities can now more easily, reliably, and cost-effectively collect volatile live evidence. An officer with even minimal computer experience can be tutored?in less than 10 minutes?to use a pre-configured COFEE device. This enables the officer to take advantage of the same common digital forensics tools used by experts to gather important volatile evidence, while doing little more than simply inserting a USB device into the computer.
To reiterate: you have absolutely no use for the program. It?s not something like Photoshop or Final Cut Pro, an expensive application that you download for the hell of it on the off-chance you need to put Dave Meltzer?s face on Brett Hart?s body as part of a message board thread. No, COFEE is 100 percent useless to you.
Given that, what makes COFEE so mysterious, so special? The sole reason is because it?s never been available before (unless, of course, you?re a law enforcement official). People get a thrill by having something they?re not meant to have, and that effect is magnified online where you have chat rooms and message boards filled with people who get all excited over the idea of having some super-secret piece of software that was never meant to reside on their hard drive.
So that?s that then; Microsoft COFEE is out there. It?s not too big, either, at around 15MB. I?ve kept this post as cryptic as possible primarily to work y?all, and to put over COFEE as the most amazing thing to have never been leaked onto the Internet? until now!
