goldstar46 Loc: Tampa, Fl

To any "Forensic" type out in the UHH Land
....... I have a question regarding "Photo Analysis"

Does anyone know of an "up-to-date" version of software and/or website URL that does a good job of helping to "analysis" any image, and help an investigator to come to a conclusion that the image has been "altered" and actually more specify, how and to what degree the image has been altered...

Historically, in my 'search', I have actually submitted the question to "ChatGPT A.I." and got the following:
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• ExifTool: This is free and open-source software that can extract metadata from various file formats, including digital photos. It can be downloaded from the following URL: https://exiftool.org/

• Forensic Image Analyzer: This is a software developed by Salient Sciences that can be used to examine digital photos and video files. It includes tools for analyzing metadata, image authenticity, and more. More information can be found at the following URL: https://salientsciences.com/products/forensic-image-analyzer/

• Amped FIVE: This is a software developed by Amped Software that includes a variety of forensic tools for analyzing digital photos and videos. More information can be found at the following URL: https://ampedsoftware.com/five/

• Photoshop: Although primarily used for image editing, Adobe Photoshop can also be used for forensic analysis of digital photos. It includes tools for examining metadata and other image attributes. More information can be found at the following URL: https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html

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I have done a lot or 'testing' and found the above to be less than 'stellar' in the objective of 'identifying' A.I. style images and/or images with 'extensive' alteration strongly showing the lack of ability to 'finding composite creations..

With the above said, I thought I would post here in the "Photo Analysis" section to learn if anyone other there have more up-to-date or better-quality programs.

Thanks in advance...


Cheers........
GoldStar46
George Veazey

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Looking at the metadata is extremely simplistic. But, quite effective for one editing the image content, but failing to address the file attributes and EXIF. This command uses EXIFTOOL to dump an image file's EXIF into a sorted list as <output-file>.txt. Knowing the camera model and the expected EXIF values, it's easy to identify anything that doesn't belong in the file, indicating edit actions or otherwise, not the original file from the camera. Some editors will overwrite camera values or even remove existing EXIF data, all signs of manipulation.

EXIFTOOL.exe <some-file>.JPG -list -EXIF:All -sort > <output-file>.txt

You just need EXIFTOOL.exe in the PATH of the PC, or update the command to 'point' to the EXE location. The input file <some-file> can be any image format, including RAW files.

goldstar46 Loc: Tampa, Fl

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Yes..... That has been one of my main go-to for years.....
.... Knowing we are in the era of A.I., I am advancing my search for a smarter device.

But, always love your input...

Cheers
George

jaredjacobson

There’s often a significant difference between your goals of identifying altered photos and generated photos. Certain types of alterations are fairly easy to see, though even this is becoming more difficult.

As Paul says, checking the EXIF is a good start. If it identifies a photo editing program, chances are the photo has been edited or modified. If the resolution of the photo doesn’t match the output resolution of the camera, chances are that the photo has been modified.

Historically, cloning tools did a simple pattern replacement of the pixels at the source to the pixels at the destination. There were software packages that could identify this type of cloning. But cloning has come a long way, so I don’t believe these tools are as reliable as they once were.

For identifying composite photos or copyright infringement, Google’s Image search can be useful. Upload the photo into Google and it will find similar photos. If a photo is basically identical or has significant elements reused in the photo, you have your answer.

Part of the challenge with your started goal is defining what you mean by modified. The camera modifies the image it takes when exporting a JPEG . Are cropping, contrast adjustments, white balance corrections and the like forensically interesting?

Identifying AI-generated pictures is a whole different problem. Again, EXIF might help. But in a generated image there’s no obvious single source that has been copied from.