Patriot Act Fanbois, still nothing to hide

[ClakarEQ]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25960741/

I guess we've been here and done that but seeing as how I've got a trip to St. Thomas ONT coming, I'm seriously thinking about encrypting my HD before I go or possibly installing a fake HD in place of my real one and hiding the real one in my anus (j/k but still LOL).

Harri posted about this a while back I think but it appears to be an up and coming common place policy.

For those non-IT folks, don't think for 1 second that anything of value, a picture, a song, etc won't be taken off as a copy. You must know that if 1 out of every 3 IT folks snoop on laptops and such at your company, then know most of these boarder guys are most likely less ethical and more in a position of power, feel more "justified" to take what isn't theirs.

In my younger days when I was less ethical, I was working as a service guy at Inacomp computer, I will say there were a few pictures, some games, etc that I scavanged off peoples systems when they brought them in. Yeah I know bad bad boy LOL, that was like 20 years ago when IBM PCjr were all the buzz

[Sithos]

Encryption won't help. They will crack it fast and it'll make them think you have something to hide.

[ClakarEQ]

Encryption won't help. They will crack it fast and it'll make them think you have something to hide.

While "fast" I'm not so sure about, there is a bigger trend, not a new one really, but for the company I work for, HD encryption will be the defacto standard in a couple years time in worst case.

I'm going to be "shocked" if they have the horsepower to crack all the different HD encryption programs. It's one thing to have the person just cough up the info but to actually "quickly" break it, not so sure about that.

In many ways the GOV will open themselves up to a ton of possible lawsuits, from book writers, to artists, patent makers, etc.

[Evermore]

fast is relative. depends on the encryption

[ClakarEQ]

fast is relative. depends on the encryption

I didn't mean to say they "can't" or even that they can't do it quickly, but it is where they will do. I doubt they will have the hardware at every "post" to do it quickly however I'm sure if they take your laptop for a few weeks, even though the hardware to crack the stuff only takes an hour, they'll still keep your shit for weeks because of paperwork, red tape, etc etc

[vonkaar]

They most likely wouldn't even attempt to 'break' the encrypting, per se... it's much more effecient to assume the end-user is stupid and used a simple passkey. Brute-force dictionary attack the key and the encryption is easy. I saw a Word document that was AES 256-bit encrypted and I broke it in like 45 seconds because the password was "Jamie007." Utility tells me the password and sure enough, all password protected documents and drives on the system opened RIGHT up with that pw.

That's why my keys are something like, "1dayIplayedDiabloAndThenIkicked900eskimosOutofAla$kA!"

Of course, I also have a bad habit of having my passwords written in my wallet...

[10sun]

I'd be tempted to encrypt a bunch of gibberish on my HDD. Maybe complex data as to how many African swallows it would take to carry a bomb made of dirty underwear large enough to contaminate the water supply of Bumblefuck, Iowa traveling from Timbuktu.

[brinstar]

In my younger days when I was less ethical, I was working as a service guy at Inacomp computer

Initech?

[Arlos]

I actually use a set of the same passwords, that are variations on the same thing, but it's not a dictionary term, and has no connection to me whatsoever unless you knew the same guy I did in my freshman year of high school, and what the variation on his name got turned into his nickname. In any case, it's got upper and lower case, numerals and alpha, and in cases where I want to be extra careful, I throw a %*^# or something on the end.

-Arlos

[Evermore]

i like password phrases myself.

[ClakarEQ]

In my younger days when I was less ethical, I was working as a service guy at Inacomp computer

Initech?

Small derail:
No, not initech, I think they may have come after, once Rick Inatome (sp) parted wtih "Inacomp". Inacomp was one of the larger US based retailers for business re: IBM, HP, Compaq, etc.

They, as most other tech retrails of that breed had short lived histories.

[Naethyn]

http://keepass.info/

[Martrae]

In my younger days when I was less ethical, I was working as a service guy at Inacomp computer

Initech?

Small derail:
No, not initech, I think they may have come after, once Rick Inatome (sp) parted wtih "Inacomp". Inacomp was one of the larger US based retailers for business re: IBM, HP, Compaq, etc.

They, as most other tech retrails of that breed had short lived histories.

/flyby

[Eziekial]

Why wouldn't a terrorist just e-mail the secret files over or FEDEX a CD with them on it? I mean seriously, does anyone want to guess how many international FEDEX or UPS packages get inspected?

[Diekan]

Why even bother snooping. They can just send the storm troopers in to haul your ass off to Git-Mo under the premise of suspecting that you're involved in terrorism some how. And, you don't get a lawyer either.

Hitler would be very proud of the "Patriot Act."