4 ms·

I sometimes have to go to the US for business purposes but from now on will only do so with a wiped computer with just enough installed to look like a normal us

I sometimes have to go to the US for business purposes but from now on will only do so with a wiped computer with just enough installed to look like a normal user's data.

MentallyRetired 9y ago
wait, so you're actually a spy? What kind of user are you if not a normal one?
- saurik 9y ago
  The wiped laptop certainly doesn't look like that of a normal user without adding stuff.
  - easytiger 9y ago
    > normal user The normal user browses the web and almost nothing else.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
    - Kirth 9y ago
      It always amazes me what a "normal user" collects on their device when all they really do is use it as an internet machine.
    - saurik 9y ago
      ... but this laptop hasn't even been browsing the web, and so it will have no history and no cache and no saved passwords for websites and wifi hotspots ...
      - nicolas_t 9y ago
        That's actually a good point. Might be a good idea for a software there: something that generates fake browsing history for the different browsers.
- koonsolo 9y ago
  This works the other way around you know. I knew some programmers who worked for a EU company that had a military contract. When they traveled to US (talking around 2005 here), their entire harddisk was encrypted and they got a short education on how to handle certain suspicious situations. US is known to use intelligence data any way they want, including economical gain. So if your laptop contains any confidential data of any big European company, it's already a good idea to not make that data available. The whole Edward Snowden debate was only an issue because US was collecting data of their own citizens. Let's be honest, nobody cared who they were spying on abroad. It's really sad to see how "friendly" nations treat each other like that. So to answer your initial comment: The one who has the confidential information is not the spy. The spy is the one who wants to get access to it.
  - swiley 9y ago
    The US border sounds so much like the Chinese one! :(
lethargic_meat 9y ago
Just have multi-boot and before crossing set the auto-boot timeout at 0, then change it later. If you want to be safe, you can also copy and delete the boot details for your actual partition. I leave a dummy partition with Windows, office and other shortcuts and a wallpaper of a cat during my US visits. I also have both a facebook and a gmail subscribed to all the spam you can get. Not because I have any criminal activities but my customers deserve to have their information protected. If authorities want to check my private and work data, they can ask nicely through a judge.
- ATsch 9y ago
  If your computer can boot from it, I can recommend using an SD card with a bootable partiion.
  - netsharc 9y ago
    As the decoy, or as the main OS? I suppose disconnecting the SATA-cable would make the hdd/sdd invisible to the system...
    - cesarb 9y ago
      > I suppose disconnecting the SATA-cable would make the hdd/sdd invisible to the system... On a laptop? All laptops I've seen have the hard disk plugged directly into the motherboard, with no cables in between. Having a SATA cable is more of a desktop thing.
      - rozenmd 9y ago
        On a macbook there's still a SATA ribbon cable between the HDD/SDD and the mainboard
        zbentley 9y ago
        On much older MacBooks that is true. MacBooks since around 2015 have had mSATA "RAM-style" connectors, and I've heard that some more recent models have soldered-on drives, though I haven't seen this myself.
yorby 9y ago
If they plug it in their system, wouldn't you be afraid to bring back some kind of malware? I'd try to bring no electronics when crossing the border...

I sometimes have to go to the US for business purposes but from now on will only do so with a wiped computer with just enough installed to look like a normal user's data.

MentallyRetired 9y ago

wait, so you're actually a spy? What kind of user are you if not a normal one?

saurik 9y ago
The wiped laptop certainly doesn't look like that of a normal user without adding stuff.
- easytiger 9y ago
  > normal user The normal user browses the web and almost nothing else.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - Kirth 9y ago
    It always amazes me what a "normal user" collects on their device when all they really do is use it as an internet machine.
  - saurik 9y ago
    ... but this laptop hasn't even been browsing the web, and so it will have no history and no cache and no saved passwords for websites and wifi hotspots ...
    - nicolas_t 9y ago
      That's actually a good point. Might be a good idea for a software there: something that generates fake browsing history for the different browsers.
koonsolo 9y ago
This works the other way around you know. I knew some programmers who worked for a EU company that had a military contract. When they traveled to US (talking around 2005 here), their entire harddisk was encrypted and they got a short education on how to handle certain suspicious situations. US is known to use intelligence data any way they want, including economical gain. So if your laptop contains any confidential data of any big European company, it's already a good idea to not make that data available. The whole Edward Snowden debate was only an issue because US was collecting data of their own citizens. Let's be honest, nobody cared who they were spying on abroad. It's really sad to see how "friendly" nations treat each other like that. So to answer your initial comment: The one who has the confidential information is not the spy. The spy is the one who wants to get access to it.
- swiley 9y ago
  The US border sounds so much like the Chinese one! :(

lethargic_meat 9y ago

Just have multi-boot and before crossing set the auto-boot timeout at 0, then change it later. If you want to be safe, you can also copy and delete the boot details for your actual partition. I leave a dummy partition with Windows, office and other shortcuts and a wallpaper of a cat during my US visits. I also have both a facebook and a gmail subscribed to all the spam you can get. Not because I have any criminal activities but my customers deserve to have their information protected. If authorities want to check my private and work data, they can ask nicely through a judge.

ATsch 9y ago
If your computer can boot from it, I can recommend using an SD card with a bootable partiion.
- netsharc 9y ago
  As the decoy, or as the main OS? I suppose disconnecting the SATA-cable would make the hdd/sdd invisible to the system...
  - cesarb 9y ago
    > I suppose disconnecting the SATA-cable would make the hdd/sdd invisible to the system... On a laptop? All laptops I've seen have the hard disk plugged directly into the motherboard, with no cables in between. Having a SATA cable is more of a desktop thing.
    - rozenmd 9y ago
      On a macbook there's still a SATA ribbon cable between the HDD/SDD and the mainboard
      - zbentley 9y ago
        On much older MacBooks that is true. MacBooks since around 2015 have had mSATA "RAM-style" connectors, and I've heard that some more recent models have soldered-on drives, though I haven't seen this myself.

yorby 9y ago

If they plug it in their system, wouldn't you be afraid to bring back some kind of malware? I'd try to bring no electronics when crossing the border...