Data Storage in Computers

Data Storage in Computers

We live in a digital society in which most people have access to at least one computer or device capable of storing data. Think about the devices you have in your home or are using to access this material right now; whether it is a Smartphone, tablet, laptop or personal computer, it all counts! Because so many people rely on their devices for daily tasks such as scheduling appointments or email, as well as more sensitive documentation such as medical or legal paperwork, computer devices have become an important component of forensic investigations.

Computer Parts Interactivity

 

Social Media

Social media in recent years has demonstrated the enormous impact that it has in many facets of society including that of crime and criminal behavior. An important area of Computer Forensics outside of basic data storage is that of social media. Think of all of the things that you may have posted on a social media site such as Facebook, Snapchat or Twitter in the past year. That information never truly goes away and can be obtained and used by law enforcement when investigating a crime. A picture and post of a person bragging about a crime they just committed can be used against them as has happened numerous times in recent years! On the flip side of that, sometimes social media can be used in more positive ways such as broadcasting amber alerts for kidnapped children or missing persons. Social media in recent years has demonstrated the enormous impact that it has in many facets of society including that of crime and criminal behavior.

Social networks are also used for specifically criminal purposes such as phishing, fraud, scams, as a way for child predators to find new victims, and cyber bullying. Phishing is a technique in which a person attempts to extract personal information, such as login details for a bank account, for the purpose of identity theft. This is often done by email or links on social networking sites in which you are taken to a different site that may look identical to your actual login site, but is at a different web address as set up by the phisher. Once you "log in" on the fake site, the phisher has your personal information and can log in as you on the authentic bank site!

While you are probably familiar with child predators and scams such as email forwards stating you won unbelievable prizes, you may not know as much about cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is a growing concern among young people in your age group. Cyber bullying is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones.

What should you do if you or someone you know is a victim of cyber bullying?

  1. Do not delete, forward or respond to messages of cyber bullying.

  2. Save evidence of the incident with dates, times, screenshots, pictures, emails, texts etc. Document the incidents as well as possible.

  3. Block the person.

  4. Report the person to the administrator of the website or to the internet service provider. There is often a specific clause in user agreements about abusive practices not being tolerated on the site.

  5. If it concerns something occurring at school; you and your parents may need to speak with school officials about the issue.

  6. Know when to call law enforcement such as in these cases:

a. Threats of violence

b. Child pornography or sexually explicit content is involved

c. Photos or videos made in some place where a person would expect privacy

d. Stalking issues

e. Hate crimes

Georgia Virtual, Handwriting Analysis and Computer Forensics, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0