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Geek squad / Best buy Busted!

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Gothi[c]:
i'm wondering if there is something kind of unique about the world of computers. people take software for granted a lot of the time and expect to pay nothing.

--- End quote ---

This is nothing unique to the world of computers, it's more unique to being an engineer. People don't wonder about why big bridges don't collapse under the weight of all those cars and big trucks that drive over it every day, people don't worry about how ANYTHING technical works, it's just there and who cares about whoever designed it.

nudone:
true.

jgpaiva:
Oh, and see what they do with the time your money payed for!

Consumerist catches geek squad stealing pr0n

nudone:
not sure what to say about technicians poking around on a customer's pc (looks like the desktop wallpaper might have tempted them to look further - i suppose that was the point of it).

there's no good reason they should steal files let alone personal photos - there's really no justification for that and i'd expect disciplinary action to be taken if it was reported. but is there a justification for a technician to look through your hard drive?

i'd say not but i'm sure that's simply impractical and i bet it mentions they have the right to do so in the contract you sign.

gary glitter, a uk pop star convicted of owning child porn images on his hard drive was discovered by a technician at PC World (big pc retailer in uk) when they searched his computer. why did they search through his computer during the repair job? i've no idea but i'm sure it's standard practice - especially if the machine belongs to a celebrity.

i think it's a kind of bizarre thing to pretend it doesn't happen. it's very unlikely anyone would tolerate someone coming into their home and searching through their cupboards and drawers just out of curiosity (and maybe a bit of theft thrown in for good measure), and yet this is what routinely will happen with their personal information stored on their computer when they take it in for repair.

i guess most people just think why would anyone bother to look through my hard drive but that video clearly shows how sad technicians can be - they'll take anything for a quick thrill. and i'm sure there will be situations when more valuable information has been taken like credit card and bank details if it's left unsecured in a word document (i've seen plenty of that kind of thing stored in the my documents folder on my friends computers).

really, a technician should be allowed to do just enough to get the machine working and there ought to be a law that made them think twice about doing anything more than that. i know, such a law would be nearly impossible to enforce but if there are routine checks using things like the video above then it might provide good evidence for a case against a thieving techy.

nudone:
you can find out how to set up your own video capturing device before letting the geeksquad get hold of your pc by reading the original article. http://consumerist.com/consumer/investigations/how-to-make-your-computer-catch-people-stealing-your-porns-272458.php

might be a good idea to just make everything secure first - if you think you'll be dealing with the geeksquad, etc. at some time in your future.

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