Chapter 9 - Understanding E-mail and Internet Crimes

Abstract

This chapter highlights wide range of tools that are used to access illegal materials and expose victims to cybercriminals and illegal materials. The most common tools used on the Internet are e-mail clients and Internet browsers. E-mail clients are used to send and receive messages, and they can be used as a source of evidence to see whom a person has contacted, what was said, and what files were sent and received by that person. Internet browsers allow people to access both legitimate and illegal materials, and can expose a machine to a wide range of threats. Most people send and receive e-mails using e-mail client software such as Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Thunderbird, Eudora, or others. These programs are installed on a computer, and they store the messages in files on the local hard disk. These messages are stored on the e-mail service's servers. Before examining e-mail archives, one has to understand the special language that is used when talking about e-mail. Just like the police and other professions use acronyms in everyday jargon, e-mail technology has unique words that are used to describe the smaller-scale ingredients of e-mail. By tracing e-mails and Web sites to the people who own them, one can arrest the culprits and stop their involvement in cybercrime. Individuals and organizations can protect themselves in a number of ways. Security settings can be configured to prevent someone from being victimized by phishing scams, malicious code, or vulnerabilities that can be exploited in browsers and e-mail clients.