An examination into AOL Instant Messenger 5.5 contact identification

With the advent of new legislation in the United Kingdom – as well as several high-profile criminal cases – the issue of Internet grooming has been the subject of much recent focus. Of particular interest to the forensic examiner is the ability to trace back from a known suspect's computer system to identify contact with his alleged victims. Specifically, when an allegation of grooming is made, one of the first things the examiner should do is determine that the suspect's computer system was used to contact the informant's account in the first place. This a strong evidential link between victim and suspect and clearly demonstrates that the suspect was responsible for that contact rather than a third party who may have taken control of the suspect's chat account.This article illustrates some methods of proving such a link where the suspect and victim have been in contact on the Yahoo Messenger chat service.