Cyberstalking: Detection, Prevention, and Software Solutions Report

This report provides a comprehensive overview of cyberstalking, examining its various facets. It begins by defining cyberstalking as a form of cybercrime involving online harassment and stalking, and then reviews academic literature to summarize the latest developments in identifying and preventing it. The report explores current criminal trends in cyberstalking, focusing on the technologies employed by criminals, including the use of false accusations and fake online profiles to harm victims. It highlights key technologies for detecting cyberstalking, such as VPNs and antivirus software, and discusses various available software solutions designed to combat cyberstalking, including specialist investigation toolkits and open-source approaches. The report also discusses the differences between these software solutions, including their capabilities to block, squelch, or ignore electronic communications, as well as the challenges associated with complaint procedures and the increasing international scope of cyberstalking. Finally, the report concludes with a discussion on the importance of criminological research in addressing the growing issue of cyberstalking.

Running head: CYBERSTALKING
Cyberstalking
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author Note

1CYBERSTALKING
Demonstration of detection and prevention of cyberstalking:
Cyberstalking is the usage of Online and various electronic ways to harass or stalk for any
organization. Group and individual. It is a type of cybercrime. In the following study, academic
pieces of literature are reviewed to summarize the latest workings in identifying and preventing the
problem.
Criminal trends in cyberstalking and analysis of the technologies to be used by criminals for
committing this cybercrime:
Different trends in cybercrimes are observed recently. This is technologically founded on the
attack on any individual targeted particularly for attacks for no causes of control, revenge and anger.
This has been humiliation, embarrassment and harassment of victim. Further, there have been
instances of emptying bank accounts and various financial measures like ruining the credit score of
the victim. Besides, multiple families, employers and friends are harassed for isolating the victim
and scare tactics through instilling fear and many things (Smoker and March 2017). Various features
have been considered while reporting that to any type of legal authority. There are features or
assimilations of features to consider the actual characterization situation of stalking. This includes
threats, harassments, disregarded warnings in stopping and personally directed, no legitimate
purpose, vendetta, obsession, distress, repletion and premeditation and malice practices. For
instance, any criminal can choose false accusations to harm the reputation of the victim and change
the people against them. They have been found to posting fake data about them over the sites.
Furthermore, they can set up their sites, user pages or blogs and post allegations about the victims in
various sites, that rooms and newsgroups (Frommholz et al. 2016). For example, they have been
posting accusations against the victims of multiple sites, chat rooms and newsgroups allowing
contributions of the public at Amazon.com and Wikipedia.

2CYBERSTALKING
Main technologies for detecting cyberstalking:
The leading technologies for detecting the cybercrime includes using a VPN as it helps in
protecting the personal information and keeps the anonymous online. Top-Notch antivirus software
is installed over the laptops and computers and various devices (Tokunaga and Aune 2017). Besides,
the users must avoid the phishing of emails which is the primary threat over the Internet. Hence, it is
highly vital to prevent them. Again, a security software program like Norton Security can be used in
order to avoid spyware from being installed to the computer through phishing attacks as the infected
web pages. This security software is also helpful to permit the detection of spyware over the device
and reduce the scopes of changes to get stalked (DeMatteo, Wagage and Fairfax-Columbo 2017).
Various available software solutions present in the market to fight against cyberstalking:
There are different types of software solutions to fight against cyberstalking. For instance,
specialist investigation toolkits are seen as an efficient such as PIPA or “Predator And Prey Alert”.
This anti-cyberstalking deployment of proactive hardware and software systems (Ahlgrim and
Terrance 2018). This aid to investigations of digital forensics and its efficiency must be assumed to
counteract the same type of anti-social criminal acts. Its main features include the capability to
record and enforce the integrity of data. This also includes the production and isolation of pieces of
evidence for extending the CoC or Chain of Custody. These forensics tools are not simple to use and
are designed for various professional incident responders instead of everyday users (Berry and
Bainbridge 2017). Besides, the lack of resources can also prevent enforcement of laws in multiple
nations from having proper tools for protecting the community in implications that are fund-related.
Here, in these cases, the approach of open source is highly recommended.

3CYBERSTALKING
Discussion on main differences between those available software:
The software can be purchased by users. They are intended to block, while some [performs
squelch and others ignore the electronic communication. In some software, the ISP or Internet
Service Providers can quickly terminate the service of the offenders in violating the policy instead of
fear or legal resources from the offenders (Kircaburun, Jonason and Griffiths 2018). Besides, most
of the ISPs are concentrated to help the clients regarding virus protection, unwanted type of pop-ups
and avoiding spams. However, the challenge is that in many software the complaint procedures are
complicated to locate and vague. This can result in insufficient following-up of those complaints.
The cyberstalking is an upcoming issue transcending international limits. The number of
cases is increasing and it is intended to continue the rise in the forthcoming decades. This attention
of cyberstalking has gained genuine and warranted and worthy for the future of criminological
research.

4CYBERSTALKING
Research:
Ahlgrim, B. and Terrance, C., 2018. Perceptions of cyberstalking: impact of perpetrator gender and
cyberstalker/victim relationship. Journal of interpersonal violence, p.0886260518784590.
Berry, M.J. and Bainbridge, S.L., 2017. Manchester’s Cyberstalked 18-30s: Factors affecting
cyberstalking. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 4(18).
DeMatteo, D., Wagage, S. and Fairfax-Columbo, J., 2017. Cyberstalking: are we on the same (web)
page? A comparison of statutes, case law, and public perception. Journal of aggression, conflict and
peace research, 9(2), pp.83-94.
Frommholz, I., Al-Khateeb, H.M., Potthast, M., Ghasem, Z., Shukla, M. and Short, E., 2016. On
textual analysis and machine learning for cyberstalking detection. Datenbank-Spektrum, 16(2),
pp.127-135.
Kircaburun, K., Jonason, P.K. and Griffiths, M.D., 2018. The Dark Tetrad traits and problematic
social media use: The mediating role of cyberbullying and cyberstalking. Personality and Individual
Differences, 135, pp.264-269.
Smoker, M. and March, E., 2017. Predicting perpetration of intimate partner cyberstalking: Gender
and the Dark Tetrad. Computers in Human Behavior, 72, pp.390-396.
Tokunaga, R.S. and Aune, K.S., 2017. Cyber-defense: A taxonomy of tactics for managing
cyberstalking. Journal of interpersonal violence, 32(10), pp.1451-1475.