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Module XLVIII - Investigating Social Networking Websites for Evidence:

MySpace, Facebook and Orkut

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News: Google Gives Brazil Senate User Info

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/



News: Police Tap Student Sites to Fight Crime

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News: Child Pornography on Social Networking Websites

Source: http://www.ndtv.com/



Module Objective

• Introduction: Social Networking Websites• MySpace• Facebook • Orkut

• Crime Using Social Networking Website• Investigation Process• Investigation in MySpace• Investigation in Facebook• Investigation in Orkut• Report Generation

This module will familiarize you with:



Module Flow

Introduction: Social Networking Websites

Crime Using Social Networking Website

Investigation Process

Investigation in MySpace

Investigation in Facebook

Investigation in Orkut

Report Generation



Social Networking Sites



Introduction: Social Networking

A social network is a social structure made of nodes of individuals and organizations that are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as values, visions, idea, financial exchange, friendship etc.

Social networking phenomenon is rapidly increasing among the youth, since it provides a chance to put forth the ideas and views to other individuals over the web



Social Networking Sites



MySpace



MySpace

MySpace is a social networking site which provides:

Online community to talk with the friends and make a new ones

Helps in creating business network

Private community to share photos, journals, and any of the interests

Internet marketers to advertise their products and services



MySpace: Screenshot



Searching Persons on MySpace



Facebook



Facebook

Facebook is the social networking site which connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them

People use Facebook to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet

About Facebook:

• Anyone can join Facebook• Discover the people around you



Facebook: Screenshot



Orkut



Orkut

Orkut is an online social networking site designed similarly as MySpace and Facebook

Launched in January 2004, by Google search company

It provides a network for friends and businesses with:

• A public profile which can be viewed by anyone within the community• Pictures, messages, and video sharing

According to Alexa, Orkut is the eleventh largest web property



Orkut: Screenshot



Crime Using Social Networking Website

Identity Theft

Phasing

Phishing

Blackmailing

Child Harassment

Child Pornography

Social Engineering



Use of Social Networking Websites in Investigations

Social networking websites are increasingly used in legal and criminal investigations

Personal information posted on social networking sites is used by police and law enforcement agencies to prosecute users of said sites

Information recovered from social networking sites can be used in court to corroborate a case

Facebook is mainly used by law enforcement agencies as a source of evidence against student users



Investigation Process

Search for convict’s account on the social networking site

Mirror the web pages in the CD-ROM

Search on social networking sites

Documenting the evidence gathered



Search for Convict’s Account on The Social Networking Site

Search for convict’s account on the social networking site using the his email address

Email address of the convict can be gathered during interrogation

If the email address is not founded the search him by his name and address in the social networking website

Investigator should also have an account with the social networking site in order to search for the information related to victim



Mirror the Web Pages in the CD-ROM

Mirror the web pages in the CD-ROM using the following tools:

• HTTrack Web Site Copier offline browser • Webcrawl • cURL and Libcurl • W3Mir • Web Copier • Folder Synchronization Tools • File Dog • BlackWidow

Website

Mirror



Investigation on MySpace

• Bulletins: It is the broadcasting method delivering chain messages in the friend list

• Groups: Groups allow to share a common page and message board in the friend list

• MySpaceIM: It is the instant messenger in the MySpace account where the notification of new MySpace messages, friend requests, and comments are delivered

• MySpaceTV: It is the video sharing application in MySpace• Applications: Here users could create applications for other users to post

on their profiles• MySpace Mobile: It is environment in which users can access MySpace

content on their mobile phone

Search for the following in MySpace account:



Investigation on MySpace (cont’d)

• MySpace News: Here, news is displayed from RSS feeds which users had submitted

• MySpace Classifieds: Classified service• MySpace Karaoke: Here, user to upload audio recordings • MySpace polls: Here, users post polls on their profile and share

them with other users• MySpace forums: Community server is implemented for the

MySpace users

Search for the following in MySpace account:



Investigation on Facebook

• Friend list• It is the name and profile of the friends present in the user profile

• News Feed• It highlights information regarding profile changes, upcoming events,

and birthdays, other updates in the user profile

• Wall• It is the space where friends can post messages

• Photos• It is the photo sharing application of Facebook

• Gifts• It is the virtual gift shop

• Marketplace• Here, the users can post free classified ads

Facebook is widely used for the surveillance, the main area of the investigation are as following:



Investigation on Facebook (cont’d)

Pokes

• It is the way of interaction with friends on Facebook

Status

• It inform current whereabouts and actions of a friend

Events

• It shows the upcoming events

Networks and groups

• Facebook have many networks and groups to which many users can join

Video

• It is the video sharing application in Facebook

Chat

• Here, users can chat with their Facebook friends and on a one-to-one basis



Investigation on Orkut

In Orkut account search the following for gathering evidence:

• Profile• Scrapbook• Photos• Videos• Testimonials• View Events• Friendlist• Communities



Investigating Profile

Investigator can find out personal, professional and social information of the convict

Personal information include height, weight, eye color, hair color etc about the person

Professional information include education, occupation, industry etc about the person

Social information include religion, alternative email address, telephone number about the person



Investigating Scrapbook

Scrapbook is the main source of investigation here the messages are received online or offline

The conversation or chatting done by the convict can be easily archived from here



Investigating Photos and Video

The photograph or the video recording of the convict can be gathered here

Photo or video folder are locked in some accounts



Investigating Testimonials

It is the part of the Orkut account where any body can write about the personality of convict

Here, the investigator can learn about the personality of the person



Investigating View Events

The investigator can find the event calendar of the convict

Important dates are found here



Investigating Friend Lists

The friend list contains the profiles of all his friends

It provides a detailed information of who are directly connected as a friend with the convict



Investigating Communities

The communities which has joined shows interest of the person

Community is the group of people where sharing of knowledge is done



Report Generation

Note the name of Investigator

List of evidence acquired from social networking website

Documents of the evidence and other supporting items

List of tools used for investigation

Devices and set up used in the examination

Brief description of examination steps

Details about the finding:

• Information about the files • Internet related evidence• Data and image analysis

Conclusion of the investigation



Summary

A social network is a social structure made of nodes of individuals and organizations that are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency

Web sites providing the social network are referred as social networking sites

MySpace, Facebook, and Orkut are the social networking site which provides online community to talk with the friends and make new ones

Social networking websites are increasingly used in legal and criminal investigations

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