Big Brother?

ScottA · February 18, 2010, 08:59:37 PM

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35461838/ns/technology_and_science-security/?GT1=43001

If this turns out to be true someone needs to go to jail not just settle out of court.

StinkerBell · February 18, 2010, 09:03:51 PM

That is awful.

February 18, 2010, 11:14:28 PM

Just Horrible. How many kids could they have watched getting in and out of the shower or changing? That is just sick.

MountainDon · February 18, 2010, 11:21:01 PM

Jail time!!! What the heck were "they" thinking? There's absoluteky no excuse, no defense for that.

RainDog · February 19, 2010, 09:24:31 AM

Seems to me that federal wiretapping laws would come into play. And, if one of the children's parents just happened to work for one of our fine three-letter agencies, there could be much more. Utterly disgusting, in any case.

One reason, among many, that the first command you enter into any newly acquired computer should be "format c:"

February 19, 2010, 10:01:47 AM

How many pedophiles in the school system there knew about this and took advantage of it?

QuoteHalperin said, "School ends at the end of the school property, so they shouldn't really be in our business at home."

That's the problem. Many teachers and school workers don't think that. They think they have just as much a right to your kids as you do 24/7.

pagan · February 19, 2010, 10:34:11 AM

Stinker,

My thought exactly. I would be checking all of the faculty computers, including personal ones, and scanning for images captured from the webcams.

fishing_guy · February 19, 2010, 11:02:51 AM

I thought we had some prophets on this board...

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=6049.msg78613;topicseen#msg78613

Turns out they didn't even need to be hidden.

Its issues like this that cause distrust in our government.

pagan · February 19, 2010, 11:16:50 AM

These were school issued...who wants to take bets their defense will be they were only checking on how school property was being treated?

February 19, 2010, 11:23:11 AM

That is their position, as I understand it. The web cams were supposedly activated only if the computer was reported lost or stolen.

Way too much room for abuse to suit me.

Glad this isn't my kids...

pagan · February 19, 2010, 12:35:05 PM

I read one of those techno-blogs and the guy was spouting off about how privacy is dead so get over it because technology is so rampant that wherever we go, we're being recorded at some point. He also used that wonderful little phrase..."If you're doing nothing wrong, you've got nothing to worry about."

StinkerBell · February 19, 2010, 12:41:32 PM

Quote from: pagancelt on February 19, 2010, 12:35:05 PM
I read one of those techno-blogs and the guy was spouting off about how privacy is dead so get over it because technology is so rampant that wherever we go, we're being recorded at some point. He also used that wonderful little phrase..."If you're doing nothing wrong, you've got nothing to worry about."

Obviously he is a fool.

pagan · February 19, 2010, 12:55:45 PM

My take on him as well.

RainDog · February 19, 2010, 01:21:13 PM

Quote from: pagancelt on February 19, 2010, 12:35:05 PM
I read one of those techno-blogs and the guy was spouting off about how privacy is dead so get over it because technology is so rampant that wherever we go, we're being recorded at some point. He also used that wonderful little phrase..."If you're doing nothing wrong, you've got nothing to worry about."

When people say that to me, I'm like "Exactly!"

February 19, 2010, 01:33:17 PM

"In a later statement, the district said: "Upon a report of a suspected lost, stolen or missing laptop, the feature was activated by the District's security and technology departments. "

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/84715512.html?cmpid=15585797

pagan · February 19, 2010, 01:53:44 PM

The lawsuit alleges that a student was photographed via the laptop camera for "improper behavior in his home" and that he was confronted by the assistant principal who "cited" the photograph. Nothing was mentioned about this student's laptop being reported stolen. Looks like a whole mess of CYA going on at that school.

Squirl · February 19, 2010, 02:21:51 PM

The district never admitted how many times the feature was activated either.

pagan · February 19, 2010, 02:50:36 PM

I still say search all of their computers, but it's probably too late by now because I'm sure they've all scrubbed their hard drives.

fishing_guy · February 19, 2010, 03:27:29 PM

Nothing is truly gone forever...especially once it has been put in hard storage. Some part of it always remains. Given the possibilities for lawsuits, I see some deep pockets springing to search the district's computers.

One would hope that this feature gest disabled...and quickly.

Besides, some of the kids had the right idea. It's hard to take a photo through masking tape.

pagan · February 19, 2010, 04:08:53 PM

Whenever I use a computer with a built in camera I ALWAYS cover it because I've read how hackers can turn them on without you knowing. Also I've read there are some pretty good scrubbing programs that will destroy virtually everything on a hard drive, or leave so little that nothing can be made of it. Don't know how a good they really are, I don't need one because I don't own a computer.

February 19, 2010, 04:33:51 PM

The cleansing software can work very well. They do multiple overwrites of all unused hard drive spaces. IIRC it's six or more rewites with all 0's and then all 1's and repeating.

I have used recovery software to recover data from ailing hard drives. That stuff can work well too. I recovered data I had forgotten was there.

If the case is worth the trouble and if their computers are seized early enough there's a good chance of recovering data as most people believe doing a delte actually removes data. As many of us know that is not true. The disk data is simply removed from the table of contents, so to speak.

Squirl · February 19, 2010, 04:52:12 PM

I doubt anything will be removed. And if it was being done remotely, this probably goes through some type of 3rd party servers beyond the school's control. Once the lawyers were involved, spoliation and obstruction accusations could result if anything was not preserved.

Squirl · February 19, 2010, 05:03:51 PM

So they admitted it was more than once.

"McGinley released a statement last night acknowledging that the district has occasionally monitored webcams - but only as a "security feature intended to track lost, stolen and missing laptops.""

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20100219_GETTING_THE_CAM_SHAFT_.html

MountainDon · February 19, 2010, 05:31:07 PM

As pointed out in that last article Squirl posted there are ways to locate computers without needing to activate a webcam. I looked into this a few years ago and decided I didn't need/want it, but it was available at a fairly low cost. Somebody there at the school division was sold a bill of goods on this webcam deal or had nefarious deeds in mind. They outa throw the book at someone several times over.

http://www.absolute.com/products/lojackforlaptops

http://www.laptopcopsoftware.com/?gclid=CIOqlLC6_58CFSAkagodXFDNlw

Squirl · February 19, 2010, 06:26:27 PM

The interesting thing is that PA has some of the strictest wiretapping laws in the nation. Almost any sound recording can be considered a wire tap. The DA is looking into it to, although they probably won't have the resources to track or find computer data. Usually only large cities or the Feds has that capability. Or lawyers with deep pockets.