Don Y
Sun, 20 Sep 2015 12:49:19 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:

When a friend/neighbor asks me to "fix" their computer/laptop,
there's always some anxiety involved: what might I stumble upon
while chasing down a problem? Imagine opening a folder only to
discover it had been set to "display thumbnails" -- in a brief
instant, you get a glimpse of many photos contained therein (some
of which might not be intended for *my* eyes). Even if the party
has forgotten about those particular items, *when* they get the
machine back, "fixed", they are likely to rediscover them. And,
in the back of their mind, remember that "Don fixed this; did he
see these things? Did he actually go LOOKING for things like
this??"

Would you be willing to describe the general approach you take to
making repairs where you'd find yourself in a position that you might
go someplace they and you wish you hadn't?

There's a lot of trust involved when someone asks you to fix their
computer.

That there is. It has it's pros and cons, too. You will get varied
opinions on this. The following is my own personal opinion regarding
issues like the one you describe.

If I accept a job from a client (new or otherwise), They have trust
in me to do a great job for a fair price. This could be anything from
a banking terminal/small medical facility data on clients to a local
mom and pop shop that has ancient equipment with customer
records/data present on it. That doesn't even begin to include the
various churchs and private individuals I'll consult with/provide
technical support/repairs, etc. At no time are the contents of their
data my business. I have no interest in making it my business.

Whatever you're doing on your own equipment is not my business . I
take client privacy seriously. I have been in situations where the
files (based on their names) most likely did contain nefarious
content. I can't rely on filenames alone and I'm not going to go
opening it to confirm, either. That has absolutely nothing to do with
the reason(s) you called me about.

I treat all interactions with clients in a confidential manner as I
do their information. I've serviced systems that are in medical
facilities, banks, churchs, schools etc. If *any* data is moved by
myself, I do a double check backup beforehand and that backup is
later destroyed while I'm on site before I leave. I do NOT take it
with me. If the client specifically asks me to retain a backup for
safe keeping, It's encrypted with a passphrase they select that I am
not privvy too. Although I don't like the idea because it can
compromise security later, the passphrase is written down for them
and they are told to keep it to the backside of their drivers
license; that way, it's unlikely to get lost or stolen.

If they can't think of a creative passphrase, we take unique contents
as printed on drivers license and make a little sentence. They can
remember those well.

I am NOT privvy to the passphrase they finally generate. I do not
watch them enter the passphrase at the system, either. If I do catch
a password openly available, I make it a specific mental point not to
remember it later.

I take the encrypted image with me and store it in a controlled
environment. It's marked by number/letter system and only I know
(based on a proprietary system I wrote) who it belongs to, should
they ever need it later. As I have no access whatsoever to the
contents, I am not liable for what's stored within.

That all being said, I'm not a supporter of nefarious activities. I
don't want to know if you're involved in such things. If you inform
me, I'll have to drop you as a client. You will have to find someone
else to do your IT work from then on.

If after completing a job for you I suspect you're involved with
something nefarious, I will drop you as a client. I will do the job
to the best of my ability, but, I'll do nothing else for you if I get
several red flags telling me you aren't legit.

Again, the aforementioned is my own personal opinion and how I tend
to conduct business. It works for me, it may/may not work for you.

I've had to fix laptops that belonged to neighbors'/friends'
teenage children -- who knows what sort of stuff I could have
"discovered", there, regarding their "private lives"... things
that their folks didn't know. I had to fix a laptop for a friend
who'd lost his wife, recently. And, *her* laptop as well
(posthumously). Do I really want to see what he was trying to
preserve about their life together?

If I arrive and find the machine to be lojacked, I'll ask you to show
me paperwork or verify in another manner that you own this machine or
have permission from who does to be doing what you're asking of me.

Especially if you ask me to remove the lojack software for you. The
default excuse when I ask why you're willing to pay me to do
something you should be able to do yourself isn't going to work.

I've turned down a lot of laptop de lojacking jobs because I strongly
suspected the machine was stolen and the 'owner' couldn't satisfy my
verification to show otherwise. I've had some ask me if I won't
remove the software and unlock the machine for them (I've yet to see
one that isn't already locked down asking me to remove it for them)
if I'd be willing to 'get around' the lockout and recover their
information for them.

I can get around the lockout, but, I won't do so in those cases. I
don't accept the job and I explain why. I suggest they contact the
people who they owe the rental money to and pay it up. In most cases,
they will happily unlock the machine for them. They can then use that
time to copy their pictures, etc onto something else.

As I'm sure you've noticed servicing as many machines as you have,
normal users are very bad about not maintaining useful backups of any
of their things. That most likely would include those things you felt
were illegal and not your responsibility to retrieve. IE: they're
gone.

I guess I'm just not a voyeur...

Nor am I. I consider myself normal. I'm just not interested in
maintaining a p0rn collection of any kind on any of my systems. The
HD space is better served for other purposes.



--
Optimist: Someone who doesn't know all the facts yet.