Snooping on Our Personal Devices

[Verdinut]

If you get a PC or cell phone serviced at repair stores, is your personal info watched or even copied by store staff? If it happens in Canada, I am almost certain that it is also the situation in the United States. It's as bad as it gets!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/marketplace-tech-repair-snooping-1.7000775?cmp=newsletter_CBC%20News%20Morning%20Brief_10094_1281961

 

[highfigh]

If you get a PC or cell phone serviced at repair stores, is your personal info watched or even copied by store staff? If it happens in Canada, I am almost certain that it is also the situation in the United States. It's as bad as it gets!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/marketplace-tech-repair-snooping-1.7000775?cmp=newsletter_CBC%20News%20Morning%20Brief_10094_1281961

I think it depends on the place & people where it's being repaired but now that my friend no longer manages a computer repair store, I'm very wary of taking anything to a place where it will be out of my sight and control.

I feel like going to Best Buy to ask which monitoring software I should use.....

 

[GO-NAD!]

If you get a PC or cell phone serviced at repair stores, is your personal info watched or even copied by store staff? If it happens in Canada, I am almost certain that it is also the situation in the United States. It's as bad as it gets!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/marketplace-tech-repair-snooping-1.7000775?cmp=newsletter_CBC%20News%20Morning%20Brief_10094_1281961

I read that this morning. Disturbing indeed. I trust the local independent computer shop I've been dealing with the last 25 years.

 

[Trell]

I thought that the content of an iPhone is encrypted and service personnel will not have access to it, unless they were given the password for the phone. They should be able to reinstall iOS but that will clear old data.

It’s similar for Android when I used that but had to enable encryption first.

As for old mobile phones and hard disks that I no longer use, I smash/destroy before recycling them. For privacy reasons I don’t sell or give it away.

Too bad that the article did not go into how to avoid having private data protected from repair technicians.

 

[McC]

I work in I.T. and sometimes "see" various files while actually doing my work. That is normal and expected. However, actively snooping is another matter entirely. Being paid by the FBI to snoop is highly questionable on many levels.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/07/591698708/fbi-used-paid-informants-on-best-buys-geek-squad-to-flag-child-pornography

 

[lovinthehd]

 

[panteragstk]

Really glad I don't have to get people to work on stuff like this for me.

Granted, if I have to get a screen on my phone replaced, I can't do that, but I've also got insurance on my phone so the warranty company would do it.

My phone would get wiped before they get it, so no worries on that side of things.

 

[mtrycrafts]

...

Too bad that the article did not go into how to avoid having private data protected from repair technicians.

Agree.

 

[mtrycrafts]

...

My phone would get wiped before they get it, so no worries on that side of things.

Do you store it someplace first? What can be stored like that for reinstallation after repair?

 

[panteragstk]

Do you store it someplace first? What can be stored like that for reinstallation after repair?

I just use the auto online backup that comes with Android now. Once the phone is fixed, I restore it back to where it was. I may have to log back into some apps, but not a big deal.