Laptops with torrent files in an airport

[Rovian]

This is for anyone who has downloaded files from torrents such as pdf, anime, whatever onto their laptops and carried them to an airport.

Do they search your laptops? and what do they do if they find the illegal files?

[richvh]

So far as I know, they scan for explosives, they don't access your files at all.

[Chris Hart]

When I've flown, (only within the US) the most they checked your computer for files was making sure it started. They only did that check once. I wouldn't recommend having any
obviously illegal images as your wallpaper, and you'll pass TSA.

They could care less about copyright, which seems to be all you are concerned about.

[ghosthacker]

They don't search your computer, they simply scan it for explosives.
As a side note when I went to Japan (and also when I went to Costa Rica) they did not even search my bags at either the US airport or at the Nagoya/San Jose airports.

I guess the old fashion baggage search has been replaced by more modern tools.

( EDIT: if you think about it why would they. If you want to move electronic files around you can simply FTP them to a FTP server of your choosing anywhere in the world. No need to "smuggle" it aboard a laptop )

[Mike Cash]

Japan has recently introduced sniffer dogs for torrent files.

[tanuki]

Mike Cash wrote:
Japan has recently introduced sniffer dogs for torrent files.

Ah, one of these guys?

[Mike Cash]

No, real dogs that are trained to sniff for the unique odors given off by hard drives when certain file extensions are present. Particular arrangements of binary info on the storage media cause chemical reactions and scientists have isolated the unique scent released when bit torrent file extensions are present on hard drives. Dogs have been trained to spot them.

The sad thing is that somewhere out there is at least one person who read that crap and at least halfway believed it.

[flammable hippo]

Well Mike you are one very convincing person who's sarcasm is usually very subtly added to your posts

[Axlen]

Torrents are not a problem anyway. They are merely a file for coordinating the sharing of a file using a bit-torrent client. Now if you are talking about the content you downloaded that's another story. Be afraid, very a~f~r~a~i~d...

Seriously, let us know how it goes for you.

[zengargoyle]

Mike Cash wrote:
Japan has recently introduced sniffer dogs for torrent files.

lol...

i've never even been asked to turn on my laptop when traveling, but this is U.S. only and on the California business commuter type flights (up and down the coast on day trips).

and it's probably good luck, since i run linux with a custom boot screen... this is the first thing you see when turning on my laptop:


if you're paranoid, learn to make an encrypted filesystem partition that doesn't automatically mount during boot. if you're really paranoid, remember the start and end cylinders and remove the partition from your partition table before you travel, you can add it back later, then you can pretend that it's just unused disk-space for future needs.

muahahaha.

[keatonatron]

If you really wanted to smuggle data, it'd be so easy in the modern age.

For example, you could carry a discman with a CD-binder full of audio CD's--except half of them could be data CD's labeled as audio CD's. No one would go through the trouble of sticking every one of your 300 CD's in a computer to see if they really only contain audio!

(and if you need even more storage space, replace a few with DVD's. They look the same.)

Or, better yet, just use your iPod as a portable hard drive.

[Infidel]

CDs? bleh, flash rams all the way.

[two_heads_talking]

Mike Cash wrote:
Japan has recently introduced sniffer dogs for torrent files.

yeah sniffer dogs are awesome, torrent in an attempt to keep these dog files at bay have incoporated brat cat files to keep the sniffer dogs occupied while the torrent file can be deleted.. at which point the sniffer dog pees itself and licks it's masters ears...

[ghosthacker]

zengargoyle wrote:

Mike Cash wrote:
Japan has recently introduced sniffer dogs for torrent files.

lol...

i've never even been asked to turn on my laptop when traveling, but this is U.S. only and on the California business commuter type flights (up and down the coast on day trips).

and it's probably good luck, since i run linux with a custom boot screen... this is the first thing you see when turning on my laptop:


if you're paranoid, learn to make an encrypted filesystem partition that doesn't automatically mount during boot. if you're really paranoid, remember the start and end cylinders and remove the partition from your partition table before you travel, you can add it back later, then you can pretend that it's just unused disk-space for future needs.

muahahaha.

They only want to see that it functions. A laptop with explosives would not be able to boot, so once the screen came up you would be fine. ( they use to ask you to do the same test with your cell phones too since most folks did not send them into the scanners).

Still say the best way to move files, for those who are not aware of such fancy things as streams, slack or partition table fun and games, is to simply put them on a thumb drive and store them in your baggage or better yet just encrypt them, place them on a FTP server and download them at your final port of call.

The best way to hide data is to store it on someone else computer and then wipe away any traces that point back to you but that can be very time consuming to setup and keep running. But if the risk your trying to offset is worth it well.....

Of course I would wonder just what you are moving that needs this kinda "security".