The ATS Investigative Tool Box

Hey all; thought I might share some resources which have some pretty useful tools. If anyone else has anything to contribute, please do!

VirtualBrain (Databases, Mailing Lists, Map Sources, Phone/Emails, Identifying #'s -- Social Security, Drivers licences-- etc.) ---> link broken, use this address www.virtuallibrarian.com...

Journalist's ToolBox (A Wide Variety of useful tools and links to other sites)

INFOCROSSINFOCROSS is an online cross tab program. Results are displayed through a table in under one second, even when running millions of records. Perfect for large sample sizes or for when you have users that need to access specific data points without the need for analytical features you get in a program like HARMONI.-----> This link only sends you to a demo (You will have to find the full version yourself)

and finally, my personal favorite The Investigative Dashboard (This is my favorite because of the layout, it's assortment of tools, and the relative ease of use. Of particular interest, is the World Wide Company Data page, seen here.; this is particularly useful, as it is a list of databases where you can get information on the shareholders, management board or the financial situation of companies from various countries.

Enjoy everyone, and happy hunting

Here are some more links;

DataVisualization

Tool to Create an InfoGraphic

The "Top 20 Data Visualization tools/websites"

And just as a sort of fun side not, Daily Infographic can be an interesting browse

Here is an interesting site that I just found; it allows you to Investigate domains and IP addresses. Get registrant information, DNS records,a Browser Mirror to see what your browser reveals about you, Traceroute, NsLookup, Get Whois records automatically for domains worldwide, analyze path ( simple graphical traceroute), among other things. ---->CentralOps

Historical Library for US Newspapers

Another link forHistoric Newspapers

Here is a site which has "World Wide Web Research Tools". There is a very large directory of information collected here, it is worth a look.

Please, if anyone else has online tools for investigation/research, post them here!

reply to post by anon4m05


404 on virtualbrain link.
But, kickass !
Thanks for sharing
SnF

reply to post by randyvs


Thanks! I'm not sure why the link doesn't work; tried to fix it but nothing happened. Anyway, another solution is there and the site is now accessible. Thanks for the heads up

Great info. S&F

For those of you who wish to be informed via Video;

Top Documentary Films --> Browse and watch full Documentary's for free

Ted Talks --> Great talks to stir your curiosity. Browse by subject, length, or rating; this is one of my favorites.

Another site which should be included (not video) is the all too familiar PasteBin ---> often utilized by anonymous. One may see current events unfold here before they are reported in the news.

EDIT; Should I just include all these links in the first post instead of having these separate posts?

reply to post by anon4m05


Greetings:

A stellar effort and we star & flag you!

The separate posts are fine with us, and keep 'em coming!

Good on you, mate!

Peace Love Light
tfw
[color=magenta]Liberty & Equality or Revolution

Thanks, Will do!

Alright, one more addition for now;

Library of Congress The Library of Congress offers a wide variety of online databases and Internet resources to the public via the Web, including its own online catalog. In addition, LC provides an easy-to-use gateway for searching other institutions' online catalogs and extensive links to resources on the Internet.

EarthCam ---> Pretty self-explanatory.
Live Worldwide Webcams ---> Again, self-explanatory.

LiveStream --> I'm sure many on ATS are familiar with this site, which allows you to watch live streaming events, but I'll include it just incase.

USGS ---> Interested in seismic activity? Check this site out.

That's all I can muster at the moment; I'm off to the pub! I hope this thread grows, and with it, our collective ability to research and investigate the many topics on ATS! Cheers

Some more links;

This is a 254 page pdf that, although somewhat overwhelming, undoubtably has a few useful resources. It says that "

Online Research Tools is a white paper link compilation of various online tools that will aid your research and searching of the internet."

take it as you will.

Free Internet Research Tools ---> This website has been updated this year, and with a collapsing menu with a wide variety of tools, is surely to have results for your curiosity. This is one I just found and will be exploring. After 5 minutes or so clicking around, it seems to be fairly legit.

I came across this just now, using some of these Investigative tools. just a blog, but rather informative;

How to be Completely Anonymous Online

This is what happens when you visit slashgeek.net. It informs three other website of your presence. This is not something I consciously and intentionally did to track you down and record all your steps and every little clicks you make. This is the end result of having a mid-level, somewhat functional, website. Yes I could remove all the analytic/social media codes and it would stop tracking you but it wouldn’t make the site much functional for majority of the users.

But this is nothing compare to amount of tracking and sharing of information some of the big sites do. Try it yourself with Collusion for firefox. As you visit more site you will soon find yourself stuck in web of trackers which knows your every step and click; and by the end of the day probably knows more about your habit and patterns than you yourself do.

And goes on to state that

When you visit a website, the site can have your location based on the ip address of your ISP (Internet Service Provider). The ISP has logs of your internet connections and browsing data which they sell to the highest bidder. The websites you visit usually have (at the minimum) analytic that logs your browsing pattern; which includes the search term you used to visit the site, the browser you are using, your IP, your operating system, your location, your time, the outgoing links you are clicking, the duration you spent on the site, when was your last visit. Among other things. The social media widget track the contents you are reading and the people you are sharing it with (among other things). The dynamic ads knows the search term or the incoming link you used to visit the site and the contents you are reading and then gives you ads based on these information.

Obviously some people might have a problem with this.

Here, some information on the "Darknet" --> www.rogerdavies.com...
and relevant to this this, an ATS topic titled "The Secret Internet".

Social Media Analytics ; has "realtime insight from billions of conversations".


I'm sure there are many more tools out there that we could all benefit from utilizing. I Strongly encourage those who have access to these tools to post them, and those who don't, to find them; If anything, we will all be that much more informed.

Cheers,

Anon4m05

Now for some real world investigative techniques;

Surveillance Techniques/Tips -- This appears to be someone giving their own advice to would be investigators. Take it as you will.

How to Conduct Surveillance -- A more or less in depth look at the techniques found in the above link.

Vehicle Surveillance; Basic Tactis of the FBI....-- This is an interesting read. Details of vehicle schematics, tactics, complete with diagrams, diversions and decoys, etc. A good read.

CIA Audio Surveillance ---> This appears to be more of a history of the evolution of Audio Surveillance; not exactly a how to, but some useful information perhaps. Keep in mind, it is from the CIA's website, and obviously, their not going to give their secrets away. Thus, we can assume that nearly everything here is either out of date techniques, or simply a red-harring.

Last but not least, the Wiki for Surveillance; a lot of information, many useful links to visit from there.

And obviously, I will now include Counter-Surveillance measures;

Simple and Effective Counter-Surveillance Techniques ---> Self Explanatory, this website offers a short, free guide to counter-surveillance measures.

PDF Guide for Counter-Surveillance Measures ---> This is a lengthy read, but highly informative. Information includes methods, tactics, history, and even equipment, such as tracking devices, ariel and night surveillance, informants and infiltrators, case studies, etc. Check it out!!

Counter-Surveillance Equipment --- This is simply a list of different gadgets that can be used to detect wireless/non-wireless cameras, GPS tracking systems, audio bugs, etc.

I really would like the rest of the ATS community to weigh-in here, and contribute some links to the vast amounts of information we all have access to. I'll keep adding thing in that I think is useful, but undoubtably it would be better if I was not the only one!

What do they know? --- This is a site where you may make public freedom of information requests (though it may be specific to the UK....I am unsure)

How to Find People --> this is a wiki, or how-to, for finding persons of interest.

Guide for Private Investigators --> The title is rather self explanatory, and the guide seems to be geared towards Ontario, but nonetheless some important information in here.

Worldometers --> now this site is very interesting. It provides up-to-date real time statistics on World population, Government & Economics, Society & Media, Environment, Food, Water, Energy, and health.

World Statistics --> Like the site above, this site provides various stats about the world. Unlike the site above, it is not realtime.

Projectile Trajectory Simulation ---> an online simulation program for projectiles.

Wild-Fire Simulator -->NOVA Online has developed its own version of a fire-growth computer simulation. Its purpose is to show how conditions such as wind speed and direction can affect a fire's spread and to show how firefighters use firelines and backfires to control a wildland fire.

That's all for now, folks.

TrueCrypt ---> Free open-source disk encryption software for Windows 7/Vista/XP, Mac OS X, and Linux

Free Encryption Software --> This link directs you to a site where you can download encryption software

Decrypting Text -->Deciphering encrypted text can be challenging and time consuming. These programs will reduce some of the hack work allowing you to look for patterns. In most cases there is a form with example text for you to experiment with. Conversely, you can paste your own ciphertext into the form for decryption.

Secret Code Breaker ---> Online Cryptanalyst's Handbook

HideMyAss,Public Proxy Servers, and ProxyNova ---> A list of Proxy servers at your disposal

Live Police, Fire, EMS, Aircraft, and Rail Scanners ---> Self Explanatory, and I am sure many ATS users are aware of this resource. Here is another.

World By Map --> this website presents several world statistics and charts by tables, maps and diagrams. It was last updated this year, and is highly interactive. Definitely worth checking out

I came across this article while browsing, and it opens by stating

Twice a year (in June and in December), social media strategist Vincenzo Cosenza updates his ‘world map of social networks’, in which he shows what the most popular social network is in now 137 countries worldwide – at least according to a combination of Alexa and Google Trends for Websites traffic data.

So now, here is a Mapping of social networking; this site allows you to see which social media sites (although limited in choices) are currently blocked/allowed world wide.

I'm currently browsing to see if there are any maps which have overlays showing network communications/social networking around the globe, but I can't seem to find any, except for one that is similar to that above, titled "YouTube Censored; A Recent History.

EDIT; I just found these so I might as well include them. From This Article, an Interactive Population Map, and an Interactive Business and Demographics Map

Ya S & F
will be using a lot of these thank

No problem, my friend. While I'm posting here, is there anything (tools, applications, resources) specific anyone would like to me find? Just post it here, and I'll do my best.

EDIT; Come to think of it, I have a request myself lol. Would anyone like to compile a list of trusted news sources??