Many companies use "pop-up banners" to help remind employees of the rules and policies governing their systems. These banners are also intended to add a degree of legal protection by noting that the employee has limited rights to privacy when using company computers and networks.

Logging onto your computer, you are greeted with a screen full of statistics in easy-to-read bar and pie graphs. One graph in particular quickly catches your attention. Out of hundreds of users, one computer is being flagged for sending large amounts of data to a server in Iran.

The internet is no stranger to crime. From counterfeit and stolen products, to illegal drugs, stolen identities and weapons, nearly anything can be purchased online with a few clicks of the mouse. The online black market not only can be accessed by anyone with an Internet connection, but the whole process of ordering illicit goods and services is alarmingly easy and anonymous, with multiple marketplaces to buy or sell anything you want.

We have all heard the phrase, "When all else fails, try, try again." But in an investigation, when your own skills aren't enough, your professional network can't support you, and your leads go cold, what is next? You need to try again, yes, but try a new approach. One new approach is to turn to the 'wisdom of crowds' for answers.

All too frequently a peer will contact me in a panic about recovering deleted files from a suspect's hard drive--after my peer has trampled on the digital evidence like a rookie police officer at his first crime scene. Often valuable evidence is lost for good,or unusable in court; or worse, the suspect knows he is being investigated.

After posting 5 Free Ways to Track Online Leaks of Information, I received numerous requests asking how to identify the online source leaking the confidential company information. Here are some techniques a corporate investigator can use to identify anonymous users online.

Whether it is for an investigation, a whistle-blower statement, a prank or just extreme paranoia, you may have a need for anonymously sending messages. The following five tools provide an easy to use way to communicate incognito with Internet surfing, emails, phone calls and text messages. While these tools have their limitations, they do provide an Investigator a great way to hide his identity, gather intelligence, and communicate secretly when needed.