Practically, the government has not disclosed CBP’s laptop search practices, despite our Freedom of Information Act lawsuit for these documents. We don’t know what a border patrol agent will do when confronted with an encrypted machine. One possibility is that the agent will simply give up and let the traveler pass with her belongings. Other possibilities are that the agent will turn the traveler and her machine away at the border, or that he will seize the laptop and allow the traveler to continue on. I suspect that on most occasions, CBP agents confronted with encrypted or password-protected data tell the owner to enter the password or get turned away, and the owner, eager to continue her voyage or to return home, simply complies.
You might not realize it at first, but this is in reference to the US border. I like the multiple accounts idea, especially as you can disable an account or even block it from appearing in the login window. Very stealth. One option I did not see is simply to use your laptop as a terminal and store nothing locally. If you absolutely must store files locally, then encrypted USB devices that look like pens, shoes, etc. are an option. Can’t wait to see if the new Get Smart movie tackles this issue.
An AP story suggests students might suddenly change their mind about using peer-to-peer (P2P) software themselves if faced with a simple test:
Missouri University of Science and Technology now requires students to ace a six-question quiz on digital copyright law to get six hours of access to peer-to-peer software they can use to share music and movies online.
The quiz has cut copyright complaints on campus from recording industry to eight this academic year, down from 200 in 2006-07, said Tim Doty, a campus systems security analyst.
I wonder whether they a) simply can’t pass the test b) suddenly become disenchanted with P2P after reading about restrictions c) have no need to bother anymore after using a “mule” to take requests and perform primary downloads from outside the campus network and then distribute files internally without detection.
Faced with soaring prices at the petrol pumps, ecologically-minded Britons are turning to fish and chips to run their cars — transforming the leftover frying oil into “green” fuel.
Deep in the southern English countryside, an environmental group spent last weekend teaching 12 men how to transform the abundant vegetable oil from fish and chip shops, but also pubs and restaurants, into biodiesel.
There is really no need to worry about food crop disruption if people would instead focus on recycling their waste oils. Even if just 10% of current consumption is replaced with oil that would otherwise be used for tallow or sent to landfill, there would be a significant impact to the market (lower emissions from bio-diesel blends and reduced demand for petroleum).
In an added incentive, the government does not tax the production of biodiesel, providing it does not exceed 2,500 litres per person a year.
[…]
“The risks are, you use some dangerous chemicals, you also use electricity so you could have potentially dangerous scenarios but you just have to take care.
“It’s not rocket science, it’s like cookery but on a big scale.”
Beginning in February, UC Irvine graduate students who attempted to submit income tax returns electronically were informed by the IRS that their had already been filed, provoking complaints to the UCI Police Department to solve the identity thefts. To date, all 155 reported victims were participants in UCI’s Graduate Student Health Insurance Program.
The investigation is underway. It seems to touch on HIPAA, but the article makes no mention of health records.