A security tour of the ISPs computer facility is normally the recommended first step for a law enforcement agency. If the facility doubles as the headquarters for the local thugs, it might be wise to move on to the next provider. But again, most Internet security concerns can be eliminated through the use of rock-solid file encryption. Many times a local ISP will also make a Web site available free of charge to law enforcement agencies that have purchased e-mail services. Such Web pages are easily created by using any one of the popular word processing programs that have HTML export capabilities.
Online services are essentially huge computer networks of diverse computer users.
These networks are self-contained, but also provide Internet connectivity. However, because of the nature of these large networks, there is a substantial security layer between the end user and the Internet. Online services are owned and managed by huge corporations that are security-oriented. This can be a real plus if physical security of the computer network is a concern. Online service companies like CompuServe and America Online can be compared with television cable service providers.