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

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.

9 of 260 comments (clear)

  1. Remember by HarryCaul · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Keep your opinions to yourself if you don't want to be targeted.

    1. Re:Remember by avandesande · · Score: 5, Informative

      Getting past the age of 19 and believing that people need to know what you are thinking is a form of mental illness....
      https://tech.slashdot.org/stor...

      --
      love is just extroverted narcissism
  2. Re:Mine has.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    his penis is very very tiny

  3. 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?

  4. Re:Stickers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    got a sticker of your mom on my machine, you're right, it is ugly

  5. Part of security is stealth. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And much of stealth is just blending in. This isn't really anything new. One key to not getting robbed is to not wear all this flashy stuff that identifies you as someone worthy of being robbed. Who's the pick-pocket going to target, the guy with the $20,000 Rolex, or the guy with the $20 Timex?

    Similarly, If you're doing things governments don't like, you'd far smarter just blending in rather than sticking out. People have this odd idea that they need to TELL EVERYONE who they are. Be Proud, Be Loud! Get over yourself. You can still make changes in the world and not have to stick out like a sore thumb.

  6. Re:Not all bad by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 5, Funny

    No, but you can make your own out of some old-fashioned shiny clear Scotch tape.

  7. 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.

  8. Re:This is why by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 5, Funny

    I put this sticker on my laptop. Two times now security theatre performers have gingerly handed it back to me, and wiped their hands afterwards with sanitiser.