rbdwarf
join:2007-01-21
Montreal, QC
| reply to EGeezer
Re: File stealing techs -
said by EGeezer  :Well, some folks at the Consumerist install a capture program on a PC, then take it to Geek Squad to have them install software. What happens from there on in should make you think twice about leaving sensitive data or even legally owned media on your system when taking it to a shop.
Hell, I figured that most people would be wary of computer repair people after Gary Glitter took his computer to the shop and was promptly arrested for child p0rn.
They do look through your computer. Sending it to a shop is effectively giving away everything on your system.
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Rob |
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brandon
Some truth included in this post.
Premium
join:2003-03-31
Hurley, MS
 ·AT&T Southeast
1 edit | reply to n1zuk
said by n1zuk :said by mers2 :said by swhx7 :They weren't stealing, they were copying the files. Translation: stealing files. No, no, you misunderstood. He was just performing a complimentary off-site backup for you...  I know this is a joke, but if he went to court, this would probably be his defense. I mean, to be safe and all, if something were to go wrong while installing iTunes and the hard drive fails, consumerist (or a real consumer, anyway) would be happy that their valuable vacation photos had been saved.
Otherwise, it's "you didn't install itunes like I said, you broke my computer, and you lost all of my irreplaceable pictures!"
And of course, after he completed the installation, he was going to delete the files off his thumb drive. Of course. |
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x____
join:2003-02-13
____
clubs:
| reply to Sindows 7
said by Sindows 7 :Maybe you should learn to use and maintain your own computer. That's one of the reasons why I learned to fix my own PC. |
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EGeezer
Go Bobcats
Premium
join:2002-08-04
Country!
 ·Callcentric
 ·RoadRunner Cable
·AT&T CallVantage
2 edits | reply to Desdinova
said by Desdinova :They're not; your data is still available for you to use. Now if they used that information and deprived me of the benefits accrued to my identity, then THAT'S stealing from me. Using the data is a completely different process from simply duplicating the data. said by Sundance Kid :
You just keep thinkin' Butch. That's what you're good at.
Now, getting back to topic and off the unrelated P2P kiddie pseudolegal rants, the reality is that many people don't have the skills or tools to repair PCs. Consequently, they by necessity need to have someone else do the work, just as an IT pro may still need someone to rebuild an automobile transmission, install a garage door or remove an appendix.
Customers are not only paying for technical competence, they are relying on IT servicers to be objective in their analysis and recommendations and ethical in their practices.
With this in mind, I believe there is a professional, even a fiduciary level of responsibility associated with those who analyze and repair, upgrade or reconfigure systems for customers. Those who violate the trust or who intentionally allow systemic practices should be accountable for their actions.
In the meantime, PC users need to be educated to be wary, even of "brand name" services to the point of doing homework they shouldn't need to do, since the user may be in effect letting the servicer glimpse into their most private affairs.
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The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes or its theories will hold water.
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bigunk
Gort, Klattu Birada Nikto
join:2001-02-10
Santa Clarita, CA | reply to Lowtarget
That was mine too. I even went so far as to buy a floppy drive, but I took it back because I didn't know what I was doing. Had mine talking (terrible voice). A lot of fun. |
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Sweet Witch
Be the flame, not the moth.
Premium,MVM
join:2003-07-15
Gallifrey
·Comcast
| reply to EGeezer
When I purchased my second computer I went to a local 'Mom and Pop' shop and picked out a 533mhz system. When I got it to the house and connected, I discovered that the previous owner was a guy in New Hampshire, and he had some interesting computing habits. The install was screwy so it went back three times to be 'fixed' (I ended up figuring it out on my own), and it was actually a 466mhz, but that was it for me. When that computer died, I built my own. No one uses my computer let alone works on it!
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"Love is three-quarters curiosity." - Giacomo Casanova |
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MarkAW
Barry White or lil bratt
Premium
join:2001-08-27
Canada
·Bell Sympatico
·Cogeco Cable
| reply to swhx7
said by swhx7 :They weren't stealing, they were copying the files. What's the difference if they where copying files off a system that a customer brought in without the customers permission then that's stealing.
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A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her. - David Brinkley |
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MemphisPCGuy
Senior Systems Engineer
Premium
join:2004-05-09
Memphis, TN
·Comcast
| reply to EGeezer
In some states Porn could be considered illegal due to community standards and the cops/feds/homeland security could have been called. Or, if there where home movies of their young children bathing naked... scary, I know.
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»www.memphispcguy.com |
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Happyrat
Google Is Your Best Friend
Premium
join:2002-07-01
Disneyland
| reply to EGeezer
Personally I used to do tech work a few years back.
My policy was to generally ignore anything I found on a customer's machine. To be honest, if I'd had to call the cops and file paperwork and testify against every yutz out there running a pirate copy of MS Office, I wouldn't have any customers left.
Fortunately I never ran into anything really nasty like kiddie pron, but even then I'd think long and hard before turning them in.
When it comes right down to it, we're techs people. We're not cops. Any tech who's seriously just trying to earn a buck couldn't care less about what your files are. That's simply the nature of the business.
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Help save Netradio from Impossible Royalty Rates... »www.savenetradio.org/ |
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SnowyOne
Premium
join:2003-04-05
Kailua, HI
·RoadRunner Cable
 ·Clearwire Wireless
| reply to Happyrat
Re: File stealing techs -
said by Happyrat :Fortunately I never ran into anything really nasty like kiddie pron, but even then I'd think long and hard before turning them in. When it comes right down to it, we're techs people. We're not cops. I truly hope something was lost in my translation of that. |
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Happyrat
Google Is Your Best Friend
Premium
join:2002-07-01
Disneyland
| My point is that I'm NOT Dudley Doright. I don't start working on a customer's machine looking for illegal stuff to report. Unless the guy has wallpaper or a screensaver depicting a 9 year old performing fellatio, chances are I'm not gonna find anything illegal and I'm certainly not going to invade anyone's privacy browsing their image and video files for "kicks."
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Help save Netradio from Impossible Royalty Rates... »www.savenetradio.org/ |
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SnowyOne
Premium
join:2003-04-05
Kailua, HI | Mahalo for the clarification!  |
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EGeezer
Go Bobcats
Premium
join:2002-08-04
Country!
·Callcentric
·RoadRunner Cable
·AT&T CallVantage
| reply to Happyrat
Re: File stealing techs -
said by Happyrat :My point is that I'm NOT Dudley Doright. I don't start working on a customer's machine looking for illegal stuff to report. Neither am I. But if, in the course of my assigned duties I discover child pornography, it'll be reported as required by law. If discovered in a customer account, any illegal items will be reported to my management contact. None of my customers want or need illegal content, unlicensed applications or other things that create a potential liability to them.
In my customers' environment any CP will result in the immediate sequester of the entire system, peripherals and physical location. The system(s) will remain powered up until certified analysts arrive to collect the evidence.
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The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes or its theories will hold water.
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jaykaykay
4 Ever Young
Premium,MVM
join:2000-04-13
Scottsdale, AZ
·Speakeasy
| reply to EGeezer
In all due regard, to do or not to do re: KP, that isn't the point to the OP, IMHO. The point is that anyone that cannot, for whatever reason, build and/or take care of their own system, is SOL. That is me and most technically knowledgeable, but not enough so to really handle the tough stuff. The unfortunate part of technology is that it has led to less and less privacy and the feeling of being one's own person. It has allowed for world wide and quick communication, but it has also resulted in those that will to have bits and pieces of our lives, and to maybe steal our IDs. It is, indeed, a sick world we live in when the very people we turn to for help are those people that just may heist our lives and sell to the nearest buyer. 
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JKK
Age is a very high price to pay for my maturity. If I can't stay young, I can at least stay immature!
»www.pbase.com/jaykaykay
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keith2468
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-03
Winnipeg, MB
| reply to EGeezer
Some people choose to work on their own computers.
Some people choose to work on their own cars.
Some people clean their own apartments.
Other people are busy (having social lives) and get some of that work done for them.
That people make these choices is no excuse for the "tradesman"/"professional" to violate the customer's privacy.
As a tradesman or professional, working unsupervised, making your living doing this work, you are in a special position of trust. And that is how the courts would view it if it came before the courts.
The only excuse would be, if in the course of your work, you stumble across something clearly illegal, like kiddie porn, you would notify the authorities so they could investigate.
Just like my fellow programmers and our managers should ban blackhats from future employment in our profession, and should campaign for stiff criminal penalties against them and their violations of public trust, the hardware end of the business should seek stiffer laws and codes of conduct for technicians.
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(Virus&Hijacking FAQ + Submit suspected malware + Backups FAQ + Security FAQ TOC) |
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Oleg
Bellsouth Fastaccess
Premium
join:2003-12-08
Birmingham, AL | reply to EGeezer
LOL Internet Is full of free porn |
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alkaseltzer
join:2007-02-06
Palm Bay, FL
| reply to EGeezer
I think invasion of privacy.Fraud,theft and losing your tech job throughout the industry is a small part.Ethical behavior is ingrained in some and absent from others.I'm sure these asses would copy money if they thought they would get away with it.Knowing what is right and choosing not to do it is a shame.Some people can justify anything.The ways of the world. |
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