On Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:41:21 +0000 Elwyn Davies <elwynd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: >Dean Willis wrote: >> >> On Mar 2, 2009, at 12:51 PM, Samuel Weiler wrote: >> >>> Also consider used laptops: I just picked up a used Dell Latitude for >>> about the same price as a netbook (and half the price of IETF >>> registration), and I'm delighted. >> >> Given that sometimes the border goons use some aggressive data >> recovery approaches, used laptops are somewhat interesting. Are you >> SURE that some erased sector doesn't contain a vestigial image of >> something embarassing? If it does, can you prove it wasn't you that >> left it there? >> >> Note that some of the "secure" facilities I've worked in dispose of >> used drives by software erasing, beating them with a sledgehammer, >> degaussing, baking in a ceramics kiln, degaussing again, and then >> beating with a sledgehammer again. Worried about what might be >> recoverable from those drives? >I suspect (but cannot be certain) that solid state disks are probably a >better bet if you want to erase your drive just with software. I like >my Eee PC 1000 with 40G of SSD. Light and quiet. > >For most people, I believe the risk of having your laptop snatched and >aggressively interrogated is not significantly different from what it >has been for a while. Although the border goons don't have to give you >a reason they do have limited resources and unless they have reason to >suspect that they might get a positive result from spending large >amounts of time dismantling your drive they are unlikely to hit on you >at random, always provided you don't irritate them unnecessarily at the >time. OTOH if your employer or your good self has already come to the >notice of some US law enforcement entity already, then the chances of >having your laptop snatched may go up close to a certainty, which I >suspect is why Chris Dearlove has this problem. For the rest of us, it >remains a small risk along with the possibility of being mis-identified >or triggering some stupid profiling filter. A general level of paranoia >is probably justified, but I shan't be going over the top . Famous last >words? Of course, Your (personal) MMV. Based on the address used in the message that kicked off this thread, the individual that started this thread works for a company that has a significantly greater reason for concern than an average traveller. Scott K _______________________________________________ Ietf@xxxxxxxx https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf