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No Right to Privacy When Your Computer Is Repaired
Billosaur writes "ZDNet's Police Blotter bring us the interesting story of a Pennsylvania man who brought his computer into Circuit City to have a DVD burner installed on his computer and wound up being arrested for having child pornography on his hard drive. Circuit City employees discovered the child pornography while perusing Kenneth Sodomsky's hard drive for files to test the burner, then proceeded to call the police, who arrested Sodomsky and confiscated the computer. Sodomsky's lawyer argued in court that the Circuit City techs had no right to go rifling through the hard drive, and the trial court agreed, but prosecutors appealed and the appeals court overturned the lower court's decision, based on the fact that Sodomsky had consented to the installation of the DVD drive."
I just brought my machine to an Apple store for repair and they wanted my password.
When the perp has a name like "Sodomsky", I really gotta wonder if this is for real...
Cheers,
"What in the name of Fats Waller is that?"
"A four-foot prune."
If this is true (what are this guy's first and middle names? Paedo Fill?) Then this guy is a moron. Giving a computer with stuff like that to whoever? His other charge should be 'being a moron'.
You can't handle the truth.
Yeah. What the fuck kind of name is "Kenneth"???
then you get to sue people -- come on, this is america!
Ten minutes to fix the DVD. Five days to go through your media looking for bank info, pictures of the missus to post on www.lonelyhearts.com etc.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
-The Car Analogy (obligatory): take to mechanic for repair, leave illegal material in an unlocked glovebox. Fuses are in the glovebox, mechanic finds illegal material. Arrested, trail court dismisses on evidentiary grounds, prosecution appeal currently pending. Al Sharpton somehow becomes involved in media coverage.
-The Kitchen Appliance Analogy: take mini fridge in for repair. Leave severed hand of (former) roommate in freezer. Hand is found when test of ice cube tray attempted. Convicted to 30 year sentence, paroled in 9 years. Begin anew with career as tech security consultant.
-The Post Office Analogy: Take large, heavy package to post office. Deliver using media mail rate, the cheapest shipping option. Miss sign claiming that any media mail package is subject to inspection by any PO employee. Box is lined with child pornography. Arrested, sentenced in federal court, killed in prison after 2 years.
-The 19th Century Tech Analogy: take daguerreotype plates in for annual silver halide tune up and focus lens coal-cloth polishing. Leave illegal woodcuts of "ladies of the night" wearing bloomers and baring arms and shoulders(!) underneath stack of plates. Illegal woodcuts & etchings located when technician reaches bottom of stack. Immediately jailed, lynched by angry torch-bearing mob by evening. Grave marker doubles consonants and adds "e"s to the ends of first and last names.
"when you get arrested because the mechanic notices the 5 kilos of coke in your back seat." ... especially if your last name happens to be Peruvianmarchingpowderski
expectation and guarantee are two different things. i have an expectation that he won't rifle through the papers in the trunk but i have no guarantee. that it's too important to chance that is really a different story, and doesn't excuse people messing about where they have no business. if he was so stupid as to leave it easily in sight, like in the back seat then it's a different story but my impression is that too many like to snoop. the chances of getting caught are slim to none and if you do stumble on something like this noone is going to ask too many questions. on the other hand, if i had something like that i'd probably guard it as top secret - you'd be in less pain if charged with treason than kiddie porn. p.s. lack of capitalization is because my shift keys sudddenly stopped working, time for a reboot...
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
He looked like the stereotypical pedophile.
He looked like a Catholic priest?
Freedom is a right. You don't earn it, you protect it.
And this is why, when you have a locksmith open a safe with a dead body stashed in it, you kill the locksmith and put his body in the safe as well--and then you damn well better remember the combination, or someone is going to eventually wonder where all the locksmiths went!
Constitutional rights may be respected, repealed, or modified; but they must never be ignored.
Sodomsky?
Are you serious?
That's like....occuponymous.
-Styopa
Well, in my case, they wouldn't have to worry so much about the smell, but they would wonder about my excessive collection of those little pine tree air fresheners.
Constitutional rights may be respected, repealed, or modified; but they must never be ignored.
I would give you a link to goatse, but I don't want to run the risk of subtly corrupting you.
I had but a simple dream, to destroy all humans.
yes they probably broke the law, and he could sue them in between violent sodomy and beating sessions in state prison.
Snowden and Manning are heroes.
I had a job working for Computer City in Canada back in the day when it was owned by Future Shop. Did we "peek" at what people had on their computers when it was in service? Sure.. sometimes we did, sometimes we didn't. If he had a folder on the desktop called "here's me having sex with my wife" - who wouldn't want to open it and see what's inside?
And yes sometimes there was porn (typical 18+ stuff), but even if I had found child porn I would stay out of this affair. It's really none of my bussiness of how he got it or what the circumstances are. It his is private property and I have no right to help myself into his files, that's an illegal search, and I would never want it done to myself by someone else.
The magical number is: 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
Sodomsky! No, wait, don't tell me: he has an accomplice called Gomorransky.