no way...it's common to cross a laptopbajabound2005 - 5-6-2008 at 06:53 PM
we take ours ALL the time (into the US); never have been asked about it; but then again, we are US citizens.kodiak - 5-6-2008 at 06:59 PM
I crossed with 3 laptops. No worriesCaboRon - 5-6-2008 at 07:48 PM
Just look around the airport ....
I'll bet thirty to fifty percent are toting laptops.
CaboRonRiom - 5-7-2008 at 06:56 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by lencho
Something about customs restrictions. He's so concerned that he's considering selling his laptop for fear that he won't be able to enter the U.S.
with it.
There's no problem at all entering the US with laptops (I'm not an American) but there have been news reports recently about a court case.
In that case, customs were given the right to read anything on your laptop, and take copies of it, even without cause. This has worried many business
people who have company secrets on their laptops (and others who have anything on their laptop they wouldn't want a government to see).
So it's best to enter with as blank a laptop as possible, but the chances of it being even glanced at unless their is something else to check is tiny.Riom - 5-7-2008 at 08:39 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by grover
Just encrypt all your sensitive stuff.
That's one of the things that would encourage them to search further, as it implies (to a paranoid border person) that you have something to hide.
Only older encryption has backdoors.
You're not required to provide your passwords to encrypted files at the border, but if you don't they're not required to let you in (nor give your
laptop back). Here's a couple of stories on the subject:
Microsoft has developed COFE and has distributed 2000 flash-type devices to law enforcement around the world so far. The USB device let's them get
all your info (and they mean ALL) off a desktop or laptop without having to physically take the PC into a forensics lab (which many departments can't
afford).
[Edited on 5-7-2008 by Woooosh]twogringos - 5-7-2008 at 09:48 AM
COFE - one more reason not to use microsoft programs. Try Truecrypt [http://www.truecrypt.org] and encrypt your whole drive.
COFEE
bajaguy - 5-7-2008 at 10:25 AM
COFEE is not available for wide release yet. Here is the latest from the Microsoft Law Enforcement Portal:
New features coming to the Microsoft LE Portal
As announced at LE Tech 2008 we have new features coming soon, including:
Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor (COFEE)
Enhanced Information for Online Services Criminal Requests
Microsoft LE Portal Quarterly Newsletter
COFEE has generated a signficant amount of attention and there has been quite a bit of press. Please note the following per the presentations at LE
Tech 2008.
COFEE is currently in a limited pilot/beta phase
COFEE is not broadly available at the moment, but we're working hard to make it distribution ready
We will be announcing availability via the LE Portal and upcoming quarterly LE Portal Newsletter
Much of the information that is being circulated about COFEE is inaccurate or incomplete
COFEE is essentially the consolidation of many already available command line functions into one packaged suite
COFEE is not software that circumvents security features of any typeWoooosh - 5-7-2008 at 03:04 PM
