Understanding WebMail analysis 

Web-based email has become increasingly popular as we transition from the twentieth to the twenty-first century. It provides ease of access, requires little to no configuration from the user, and is available from any computer. In the simplest terms, WebMail is just another internet artifact for conducting browser analysis (we will cover internet artifacts in Chapter 9, Internet Artifacts).

The service provider maintains the user's email and may provide additional services, such as address books and calendars. Users have the option of using a client to access web-based email, but I have found that those users are in the minority. When content is being hosted by the service provider, that provides additional obstacles to the digital forensic investigator. The only artifacts relating to the content may be in the user's internet history, and that may be fragmented. If a digital forensic investigator wants to access the content...