RE: Computer forensics to uncover illegal internet use

["Keenan Smith" <kc_smith () clark net>]

Edmond,

Assuming you have a firewall and the logs are kept for the period in
question, there should be a history of all traffic both to and from the
offending IP.

There are even apps that scan the logs and build reports based on
specified parameters.

Other than that, unless something was installed to specifically track
that traffic, you may be out of luck.

If cookies, temp files, etc. were deleted they may be recoverable with
simple admin tools (check out the recent thread in this newsgroup about
recovery of deleted files and formatted disks)

Keenan


-----Original Message-----
From: Edmond Chow [mailto:echow () gettechnologies com] 
Sent: Friday, August 26, 2005 7:23 PM
To: security-basics () securityfocus com
Cc: Edmond Chow
Subject: RE: Computer forensics to uncover illegal internet use



Dear List,

I'm working on the following project and would appreciate your views:

I have been tasked with finding out if a certain desktop computer was
used to view pornographic sites on the internet.  This user has gone to
great lengths to try to mask his illegal activities by erasing cookies,
temp. files and by installing anti-spyware software on his computer.
Are there any tools that would allow me to still uncover proof that he
had accessed these sites?  So far, the tech department is telling me
that he did access illegal sites on only two dates but I suspect that
this illegal activity started many months or years ago and it will be up
to me to find more proof.

Also, at a network level, we know his IP address but yet my technical
support department is telling me that they cannot (either because they
don't want to or because they are not technically capable of) tell me
what internet sites this IP address has accessed in the past.
Logically, there must be a point in the network (on some piece of
hardware) where I can consult log files to track his activities?  Or, is
there a log file that I can consult that will tell me what sites all my
users have accessed and from what IP address?

In terms of access to the desktop in question, I will have full access
as the computer will be in my possession in the coming days.

Thank-you and any help that you can provide would be most appreciated.

Regards,


Edmond