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Putting Stickers On Your Laptop is Probably a Bad Security Idea (vice.com)

Posted by msmash on from the how-about-that dept.

From border crossings to hacking conferences, that Bitcoin or political sticker may be worth leaving on a case at home. From a report: Plenty of hackers, journalists, and technologists love to cover their laptop in all manner of stickers. Maybe one shows off their employer, another flaunts that local cryptoparty they attended, or others may display the laptop owner's interest in Bitcoin. That's all well and good, but a laptop lid full of stickers also arguably provides something of a red flag to authorities or hackers who may want to access sensitive information stored on that computer, or otherwise cause the owner hassle.

"Conferences, border crossing[s], airports, public places -- stickers will/can get you targeted for opposition research, industrial espionage, legal or investigative scrutiny," Matt Mitchell, director of digital safety and privacy for technology and activism group Tactical Tech, told Motherboard in an online chat. Mitchell said political stickers, for instance, can land you in secondary search or result in being detained while crossing a border. In one case, Mitchell said a hacker friend ended up missing a flight over stickers.

6 of 260 comments (clear)

  1. Safety sticker by Nidi62 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I just put a sticker with the Compaq logo over my Apple logo. Never had my laptop messed with.

    --
    The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  2. Re:Not all bad by arth1 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The sticker covering your laptop's camera might be a good security idea ;-)

    I wonder...
    Do anyone make laptop camera stickers that look like laptop cameras?

  3. Freeze Peach by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I guess I should think about taking off that "My other computer is an AR-15" sticker, huh?

    I thought this was America. Isn't this America? I'm sorry, I thought this was America.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
    1. Re:Freeze Peach by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The police literally just make shit up, lie until the video surfaces, and do whatever they like -- at this point they're so incompetent and unaware of the law I assume they're also all on the take.

      Probably true, but it's enough for them just to be assholes. If they knew the law, then they could be held accountable for arresting people when they haven't broken it. By maintaining ignorance, they have plausible deniability.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:Freeze Peach by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The US Constitution protects the rights of US Citizens.

      Sorry, but you're full of shit:

      Noncitizens undeniably have a wide range of rights under the Constitution. Indeed, within the borders of the United States, they have most of the same rights as citizens do, and longstanding Supreme Court precedent bans most state laws discriminating against noncitizens. There is little if any serious controversy among experts over this matter.

      And much of what he is advocating requires violating the Constitutional rights of people before establishing if they are citizens or not. Like violating 4th ammendment to search people without probable cause to check their ID.

      Trump is a thug, and what he's advocating are the policies of a thug, which completely ignore the law.

  4. Re:Mine has.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    You seem to fail to understand that "the authorities" have more guns and bigger guns and more people and jails. It's cute that you want to display your bravado but that will only get you targeted and will not end well.

    And what is very disturbing to this thread is that we're talking about a dystopian police state and nobody seems to notice, or care. And I'm living in a South American country that seems and feels far more free than the US.

    My only advice for you: RISE!