Random Inspection of Your Laptop’s Content at U.S. Border

1. Sofar
   June 29th, 2008 at 1:41 am

   Normally I’m more on the side of “if you’ve got nothing to hide . . .” but my obsession with architecture has gotten me into the habit of collecting photographs of buildings from the various places I go, I have at least a thousand from every city I’ve been to with a camera. I wonder if all that could lead someone to believe I were planning an attack.

2. Neatoramawontsendmeapassword
   June 29th, 2008 at 1:49 am

   And what if your computer is part of your job? Do they reimburse you for lost earnings if you can’t work for two weeks?

3. caitlin13
   June 29th, 2008 at 1:55 am

   Or a student! All of my work is on my laptop, *everything* is on my laptop. Sure it’s backed up but that’s not the point.

4. kusito
   June 29th, 2008 at 2:20 am

   for me, living in switzerland are things like that unbelievable! where is the right for privacy?

   and yes, very good plan to make the USA a friendly business country! i worked for a company, which is now avoiding meetings in the usa! before there was a quarterly meeting with up to 20 people in the USA! now it’s in europe!

5. Nostra
   June 29th, 2008 at 2:37 am

   Bullshit!

6. fluff
   June 29th, 2008 at 4:49 am

   Yeah; land of the free…

   Don’t all you US guys get the feeling that there is something utterly wrong? Or do only people from “the outside” realise that such things are terribly off limits?

7. BikerRay
   June 29th, 2008 at 6:16 am

   As a Canadian, I generally love Americans; hate America. When we go to the States, we try to drive or take a train, as security hassles are still less than flying. Crap like this, plus the cost of travel, will keep a lot of visitors at home, though, for both business and vacation.

8. Orjan Morjan
   June 29th, 2008 at 6:34 am

   Can you avoid being raped by their homeland “security” agents if you first fly to Canada and then take land based transport to the USA?

9. ted
   June 29th, 2008 at 7:47 am

   You’re still crossing the border, Orj.

   Reminds me of the rather weird groping I got at Heathrow Airport en route to Italy one year. He told me he was a security guard…

10. Christophe
    June 29th, 2008 at 8:05 am

    I have the same concern as Neatoramawontsendmeapassword. Business impacts could be huge…

    @Orj : yes, there is plenty of opportunities to cross the Canadian border nearly hassle free : the border is very long and there no wall, yet.

    I wonder if cars with US plates entering from canada still escape most border controls…
    I had my very redneck ‘Massachussets Terrorist Hunting License’ bumper sticker too..

11. CheeseDuck
    June 29th, 2008 at 12:09 pm

    The hell?

12. Neatoramawontsendmeapassword
    June 29th, 2008 at 12:41 pm

    @Christophe:

    “yes, there is plenty of opportunities to cross the Canadian border nearly hassle free : the border is very long and there no wall, yet.

    I wonder if cars with US plates entering from canada still escape most border controls…”

    There are no walls, but there are cameras on poles. You can drive along the border in some areas and see them. Drug runners try to jump the border all the time. A lot of them get caught… ’cause they were being watched.

    And as far as I know, if you’re driving, you have to go through the border crossings. Unless you want to drive across someone’s yard (which would probably arouse suspicion).

13. Thebes
    June 29th, 2008 at 12:54 pm

    Searching and randomly seizing property are two different things. I disagree with the searching to begin with, in so much as the Right to be free from unreasonable search is clearly a Natural Right and not something bestowed by the US Government. But to SEIZE someones property and hold if for weeks! That is an outrage!

    Of course, we will be told its for our “security”, while at the same time putting foreign corporations in charge of our airport and sea port security.

    I wonder if customs will claim the power to SEIZE and hold our internet packets as they try to cross the border?

14. sushirama
    June 29th, 2008 at 4:08 pm

    Of course remember to comply to the letter of the law only. Don’t give them your boot password or login password. You can always say that you’re not the corporate systems administrator and you don’t have the passwords and that the admin will reset them when you get home. IF they question you its a protection scheme where the passwords are scrambled before transit to keep the data from being compromised should the unit be lost or stolen when traveling internationally. Get hard drive encryption that’s mated to your hardware. Its a third level of passwords. If the drive is removed it is unusable. Plus you can keep your data on an encrypted USB drive and put it in your checked baggage before you board(its not on your person) Or even better get a notebook with easily removable hard drives. Keep one with DOS and wordperfect 5.1 for travel(and still keep it locked and encrypted just to make them work for it) and then put your regular one in checked baggage or FedEx it to your home location.

    They say its to stop terrorist from bringing terrorist data that’s a load of BS they’re looking for movie and music pirates, pederasts, and tax cheats. Terrorists use google apps, net meeting and webkinz to communicate, they should look at that.

15. gryt
    June 29th, 2008 at 4:08 pm

    I’m beyond appalled.

16. Geekazoid
    June 29th, 2008 at 4:12 pm

    Obviously this is necessary for our safety and the safety of the entire universe. If we don’t allow this kind of preemptive striking, then the terrurusts will have won.

    Or something.

17. CJ
    June 29th, 2008 at 4:16 pm

    Sounds similar to the customs inspection in North Korea. … hhmmm

18. Adam Stanhope
    June 29th, 2008 at 4:42 pm

    fluff:

    We’re definitely aware. Don’t forget that HALF of us live in “blue states.”

    What kills me about this sort of thing is how information like one’s photographs or browsing history or even what books you have on the shelf can be abused and distorted to fit a negative profile.

    If they find visits to porn sites in someone’s browsing history they conclude that he is either a “pervert,” or, as seen in a recent homicide case here in Massachusetts, that the accused was “unhappy about his sex life.”

    There is a .pdf document that I’ve seen a dozen times here and there online that is supposed to be the “al-Qaeda manual.” If somebody downloads that to check it out and it is later found on their computer, what do you think the chances are that this person will be accused of being a “member of al-Qaeda” or “sympathetic to al-Qaeda.”

    I remember seeing somebody undergoing “trial via the press” when in the course of searching his house the police found a pair of night-vision goggles. Night vision = terrorist, of course - even though the COLEMAN company that makes camping equipment sells cheap, consumer-level night vision equipment for camping, hunting, fishing, etc.

    Another one - a book about “how to make your own fireworks” once became “instructions for building bombs” or “bomb making material.”

    Pushing back against this sort of lunacy seems so difficult and frightening in these strange times. What can one do?

19. Peeves
    June 29th, 2008 at 4:49 pm

    To any Europeans who think that Americans aren’t upset..we definitely are. What’s Bush’s approval rating currently? 23fuckyouassholewearenosaferandtransportationisamessalongwiththeeconom y%?

20. "A.J."
    June 29th, 2008 at 5:30 pm

    Uh oh, wouldn’t want them to find my stash of black on blonde midget porn. And no, the blacks ain’t the midgets.

    Tear those blonde little people in half with your horse wangs, Oh yeah!

    I bet border security love spending their breaks looking at sick confiscated porn.

21. JamesM
    June 29th, 2008 at 5:38 pm

    If you’re traveling, get a basic laptop. Buy an Eee for $200 if you can get away with it. If you take pictures, use a hotel or airport wifi connection and upload EVERYTHING you want off your laptop for when you get back home in case it gets confiscated.
    The seizure of laptops across borders is absolutely pointless considering real criminals (their excuse for this kind of BS) would be keeping things online anyway.

22. Ddog
    June 29th, 2008 at 9:57 pm

    All of these comments show how complacent the world has become about terrorism and crime in general.

    You who whine about freedom are ALWAYS the first to criticize “the other guy”.

    Here’s a fact, U.S. Customs derives it’s power from the U.S. Constitution, dated two full years BEFORE the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights applies ONLY to U.S. Citizens AFTER they have crossed the border. This includes airports, seaports and land boders. When you apply for admission to the U.S as a non-immigrant traveler or a U.S. Citizen, you are agreeing to the laws of the land BEFORE the Bill of Rights existed.

    My final .02 cents on this, you don’t like the laws, don’t subject yourself to the inspection. Stay in your country and fix your own problems. We have enough broken systems without your help. U.S. Citizens, quit whining about too hot coffee and too high gas prices and do something about corporate America and the media screwing you while you are wide awake.

23. Johnny Cat
    June 29th, 2008 at 10:34 pm

    wow, Ddog, what an insightful addition to this conversation.

    Get the software that messes with customs programs, even if you’re an American. Because we are next.

24. prophet
    June 30th, 2008 at 1:11 am

    That is stupid. There are infinite ways to hide files.

25. Xinavera
    June 30th, 2008 at 4:47 pm

    And stuff like this, ladies and germs, is why I encrypt my laptop.

26. Miranda Vink
    June 30th, 2008 at 5:48 pm

    Old news: See

    Laptops give up their secrets to U.S. customs agents (Oct 25, 2006)

    http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/10/24/business/laptop.php

    Nevertheless, this is worrying. I’d like to visit the states sometime soon, but those horror stories about US customs and Border Protection agent kinda ruin it for me. I don’t want to step on a plane wondering if some paranoid customs agent is going to give me grief once I step down on US soil.

27. rougy
    June 30th, 2008 at 10:24 pm

    It’s just the American police state, thanks to the Republicans.

28. Ddog
    July 3rd, 2008 at 1:23 am

    I feel the need to reply to each, individual post here. Here goes, no offense intended.

    Sofar - Yes, it leads to a more inquisitive interview.
    Neatoramawontsendmeapassword - No
    caitlin13 - Yes it is.
    kusito - There is no privacy at the U.S. Border. We have the duty to look at EVERYTHING coming in. (9-11)
    Nostra - Whaaa. Deal with it.
    fluff - That’s the inherent problem with a beurocratic society. We all see it but are, for the most part, too dumb to change it.
    BikerRay - Yep. You’re correct.
    Orjan Morjan - Nope. We don’t rape here. We will, however, delay your travel until you prove you are NOT a threat to the security of this Nation.
    ted - Security guards need an official police officer to do anything more than hold you at stick point!
    Christophe - Doesn’t matter where your plates are from, you WILL be questioned. And, oh, by-the-way, TRY to get across without being noticed. Big Brother is alive and well all across the OPEN PRAIRIE!
    Neatoramawontsendmeapassword - FINALLY! An intelligent answer.
    Thebes - There are no rights at the U.S. Border. Foreign corporations are in charge because it’s more cost efficient for U.S. businesses. And yes, we’re working on it!
    sushirama - Do you REALLY THINK we don’t have the capability to crack you pathetic personal security codes? So young!
    CJ - No. We have weapons for personal security, not to shoot you because you are stupid.
    Adam Stanhope - Obviously educated. We are not searching for your free or hacked porn sites. We don’t care. We are looking for Morally ILLEGAL things. Generally takes no more than a few minutes. You’d be surprised what your average laptop can release about things you don’t even have a clue you were doing. Here’s some FREE education for you. Believe NONE of what you read and only half of what you hear or see.
    Peeves - Why does someone ALWAYS have to point at the Whitehouse when something is screwed up? Try pointing at Wall Street or Madison Avenue or California. 99% of the problems in this Country start there.
    “A.J.” - Funny. Stupid, but funny!
    JamesM - Criminals ARE stupid. We already know that. It’s you SMART folks we like to harass because you THINK you can get something by us. Makes my job that much more fun!
    Johnny Cat - Thanx for the compliment. Appreciated! We don’t need “Special” programs, we know what we’re doing!
    prophet - No there aren’t. Not too prophetic!
    Xinavera - And we appreciate it. Let’s us bone-up on our special skills.
    Miranda Vink - Good article. Which side of the political aisle do you think it came from? Quit worrying. We’re not all paranoid. If you provide a reason, you’ll be detained.
    rougy - It’s thinking like that which got this country in the horrible political shape it’s in now. This is NOT a Republican OR Democratic issue, it’s a Security issue. Just suppose the next laptop we seize contains detailed plans on the next 9-11 attack. We catch the guy and his cohorts and you and your family live another day. Is that OK with you?

    If you haven’t figured it out yet, I am a Customs “Agent”. AAnd for those who didn’t catch the subtlety in my last post, if you don’t like the rules, go play the game in some other Country. Make my job that much easier.

29. DOJ
    July 8th, 2008 at 3:34 am

    @Ddog - i’m curious, what have you ever found in a laptop that posed any risk to the United States?

30. Ddog
    July 8th, 2008 at 6:10 am

    DOJ
    July 8th, 2008 at 3:34 am
    @Ddog - i’m curious, what have you ever found in a laptop that posed any risk to the United States?

    To know the answer to that, you would have to be a Customs Officer.

31. Sefton
    July 22nd, 2008 at 8:12 pm

    It’s only a pathetic waste of time. Of course, a terrorist will plan their attack in a different way. In a way that couldn’t be stopped by a guy called John in a routinary inspection.

    The only thing you get doing this is to annoy normal people and make the people “feel” safe.
    Oh, well, and also it gives a job to people like Ddog, useful to make him be only annoying, but not dangerous.

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