If you have been reading the last few entries, you will note I have been sharing information from the KySTE Spring Conference. It was a very valuable conference and I hope if you have never attended, you are encouraged to do so next year. There are so many sessions to choose from and very simply, the connections you will make with other educators across the state is invaluable.
Jim McKinney led several sessions on technology and I learned a great deal from him. This last session I will cover was entitled "Hiding in the Web". McKinney explained that the Internet is self-sustaining, paid for through the purchase of IP addresses and therefore, no one technically "owns" the Internet. In 1969, Arpanet was begun and is considered the early forerunner of today's Internet. The body with the driving force is the United States through the Department of the Interior, however there is an issue now about the United Nations taking over the "control" of the Internet. Since the Internet is pretty much a "free" entity all its own, it is very difficult to take cases to court. As McKinney pointed out, sometimes a subpoena for records in Kentucky is hard to execute because the Internet company may be in California or even Canada or Mexico or somewhere else in the world.
Lots of factors complicate researching cases involving the Internet. Wireless connections create problems, encryption creates problems and several Internet companies are out there just for the purpose of making it easier for people to "hide in the Web". Here are some examples shared by McKinney: Spoofing - allows the user to put false information in an e-mail header; Telnet - allows for remote access which enables your computer to be taken over and used remotely (known as a Zombie); Anon Remailer - is a service which enables the sender of an e-mail to send the e-mail to them and then they forward it with a new header; Anonymouse - can delay the delivery of e-mail up to 12 hours; and Crazybone - a free tool used to send e-mails which appear as if they are coming from others. McKinney also noted Web browsers can "leak" information about where you are going on the Web, what you are doing on the Web, etc.
Law enforcement use every tool available to track criminals on the Internet. However, many of the tools are free for anyone to use. The American Registry of Internet Numbers is one of five regional Internet registries providing Internet resource allocations, registration services and coordination activities and is a great place to start if you are wanting to find out more about IP addresses. ARIN is a non-profit corporation which manages the distribution of IP v 4 and IP v 6 addresses. ARIN serves Canada, many Caribbean and North Atlantic Islands, and the United States. Simply type an IP address in the SEARCH Whois box at the top right of the ARIN homepage and search to find out more about the address. Also, ARIN has information about IP v 6, ARIN at a glance, IP addresses and Domain Names, etc. Go to the site and see what you can learn. (There is also an equivalent for Europe called RIPE. They, too, have lots of information to help you understand IP addressing and much more.) Check it out - go to ARIN and search for 170.185.50.19. It should show as an IP associated with the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE). Interesting, right?
McKinney also shared some ways to check your computer to make sure it is not being used without your knowledge. Check your processor periodically - if you're not doing anything and it is really running, that may be a clue. To check this on a Mac, it's very simple. Go to your Applications folder and look for the Utilities folder which should contain the Activity Monitor. This is what will show you how your computer is being used. One way to check performance on a Windows computer is to go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Performance. This provides a nice graphic, too, about how your computer is being used.
Another good Web site which has an abundance of free tools is CentralOps. These tools are free for everyday, interactive use with no login required. If you want more features, you can register for a paid account, but you get 50 free service units every 24 hours as an anonymous user. Some of the tools available are Domain Dossier (which allows you to investigate domains and IP addresses); Email Dossier (which allows you to validate and troubleshoot email addresses); Browser Mirror (to see what your browser is revealing about you); and more. For example, go to the Domain Dossier and type in "caldwell.kyschools.us" and click Go. The IP address will show as well as all sorts of information like the Registrant Organization being the Kentucky Department of Education.
The last piece I want to cover is about documentation. If you receive a suspicious e-mail or see something posted on the Internet which is incorrect and perhaps inflammatory or derogatory, you should document it. You can use the print screen feature of your computer or use screen capturing shortcuts to preserve what is showing on the screen. You can also print e-mails which contain the expanded header information. There are also paid services which can be useful when documenting, such as Camtasia, Snagit, etc. One caution - if you use a camera or cell phone to take a picture of a screen, make sure you save the image on a removable media card. Otherwise, if the case goes to court, law enforcement may confiscate your entire camera or cell phone as evidence. If it's saved to a media card, you can just deliver the media card and not lose the use of your camera or cell phone. Another issue - if you are investigating something like child pornography, be extra careful, because as you document instances, you may be preserving the image on your own equipment (your computer, your cell phone, your digital camera, etc.). Make sure you completely and permanently erase such images after they are obtained or used by law enforcement or attorneys in court.
Again, I hope you have learned something over the last few weeks as I've shared the information from the various sessions I attended at KySTE's Spring Conference 2012. It was a very valuable three days and I encourage you to attend next year and even consider presenting a session yourself! We can all learn so much from each other, so don't be afraid to share your knowledge.
