Alternative browsers pose challenge for cybersleuths | CNET News.com

Alternative browsers pose challenge for cybersleuths | CNET News.com: "The advent of Firefox and other Web browser alternatives to Internet Explorer means cybercops have to learn new tricks for their investigations.
Internet Explorer hides nothing from cops and other investigators who examine PCs to discover which sites the user has visited. They know the location of the IE browser cache, cookie files and history and know how to read those files. Also, popular forensics tools can help out.
But that story changes when it comes to alternative browsers such as Firefox and Opera. These programs use different structures, files and naming conventions for the data investigators are after and files are in a different location on the hard drive, which can cause trouble for examiners. Furthermore, forensics software may not support the Web browsers.
Though Microsoft's IE remains the most widely used browser, these alternatives are gaining in popularity. The open-source Firefox browser in particular has been able to nibble at Microsoft's dominant share of the market. Web browser data can be important in criminal investigations because browsers keep track of a suspect's online activity. "