Shocker! PC repairmen aren't to be trusted
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted July 22nd 2009 12:23PM
posted July 22nd 2009 12:23PM
Sure, it seems like a no-brainer, but when Sky News in the UK dropped a brand new laptop off at several repair shops in London (equipped with a key logger and sneaky video recording software) they caught employees accessing personal data, hacking accounts for banking and social networking sites, and charging for unnecessary work. Who would've thunk it, right? For their next report, the news team is going to investigate whether or not the iPozh is actually manufactured by Apple.
Update: Now with video!
Update: Now with video!
oh man that dude looks like he's up to no good.
Looks like a terrorist to me.
Still can't beat Best Buy agent recording an underage girl taking a shower a while back. (that's my best buy store @ City of Industry, CA)
Stealing SS# & personal information will only do temporary damage, but having a video/picture of your naked body might ruin your life someday, at least for a girl.
And this is why I learned how to fix my own computer ten years ago.
Never. Trust. Anyone. (cue techno beats for heart pumping hacking action!)
@katiecheng: Link? Er... to the article, not the video...
@katiecheng: I'm from City of Industry and want to see a link to this.
That's not a shockah. |n||
Sky chose the pic to use, not engadget.
@katiecheng
Females with bodies should be ashamed of themselves! Only omnipotent energy beings are truly pious.
here's the link to Best Buy peeping tom
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2007-04-12-geek-squad-arrest_N.htm
Maybe that's why they have girls working for geek squid now.
Now every time when I use the bathroom I check for hidden cams :(
that's terrible.
@Quantumphysics You look like a terrorist.
@Ethan: I stand corrected. Thank you. Sky News is the one to be blamed here.
@murmermer: I am not playing the race card. I thought Engadget left the other two white associates. Notice that I want all of the three (the brown and the other two whites) to be present in the image; not just the brown guy. Moreover, you and Quantumphysics are ignorant. Because the guy is brown and looks Middle Eastern or Indian, now all of the sudden he is a terrorist. Trust me, as much as there are brown terrorists there are white terrorists. Did you forget the terrorist act of all time? Slavery! Did you forget the white Christians extremist terrorists who committed the Oklahoma City Bombing? or the Irish republicans who committed Kingsmill massacre? The list goes on.
Look at those eyes! Those must be some pretty good pictures in that computer!
@katie
Please explain to me why a video of you showering while you were under 18 is more likely to ruin your life than identity theft and fraudulent use of your money.
@Quantumphysics: "Looks like a terrorist to me."
Really? Why?
@Exile
Don't you know that girls are supposed to be ashamed of their bodies? They should be even more ashamed if someone happens to see their body because it means they are a horrible person and deserve to be socially outcast. It's common knowledge. **Taliban music here**
i95 sit the f uck down. slavery isn't "terrorism". And whites didn't invent slavery you racist scum bag.
@D
isn't it obvious?
I can imagine a big file called "BANK ACCOUNT DATA.docx" and a folder called "PRIVATE PICS" on the desktop. OMG OMG OMG THEY LOOKED IN IT!!!! It's a setup, that's what it is.
Reminds of the Best Buy employee (article on engadget) who was caught copying personal data from the broken computer to his personal thumb drive.
Doesn't everyone just know somebody like us that will fix their computer for a case of beer and a burrito? Why would you trust these guys?
Shoot, just give me the burrito and I'm there!
Seems like a no brainer.
Carne estada por favor?
Fixed one on monday for some bbq... it was worth it!
my pricing works as follows
i work on it: 1 beer/hr
you watch me work on it: 2 beer/hr + burrito
you worked on it first: 6 pack + 2 burritoes
@thatrotierkid
LOL! We have the same pricing plan...
I work for beer & pizza. Both are required and I'm picky regarding brew and toppings..
@thatrotierkid I need to raise my rates
Looks computer repair men are viewed as the shady car mechanics of the 21st century
@thatrotierkid:
I hate it when they watch me too. And that usually means lots of questions, which just slows the process down.
Exactly. And we've seen too much shit to care what's on your computer.
One time I went to this woman's house and she couldn't get online cause the phone cord was unplugged from the DSL modem. I charged her a fish taco. What a deal.
@katiecheng: Is that a dirty reference?
@ryuji
nice
@katiecheng: I'm interested in your response as well.
Just be transparent about it. Let them know you accept payment in the form of personal sex tapes and nude photos. Then everyone is happy.
well, I'd have taken the fish taco literally or figuratively =P but no, it wasn't what you think.
I say free since I love working on PC's so much but my wife charges because it pulls me away from spending time with her. :)
Personally for me, it's..
Some sort of edible food to munch on or 1 soda an hour.
You watch? 2 sodas an hour, or a soda and something to nibble on an hour.
You fucked with it first? Better set up that goddamned air mattress. :|
I fixed my friends for his 42" flatscreen. I and do love it!
"shocking"
Where's the vid?
video : http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/video/Computer-Repair-Shops-Illegally-Accessing-Personal-Data-From-Customers-Hard-Drives-Sky-News-Investigation/Video/200907415343630?lpos=video_Article_Related_Content_Region_1&lid=VIDEO_15343630_Computer_Repair_Shops_Illegally_Accessing_Personal_Data_From_Customers_Hard_Drives%2C_Sky_News_Investigation_
Scumbags....
Good video. They're dodgy f**kers...
rape eyes.. it seems hes got an unhealthy obsession for laptops
I was thinking they could've picked a better picture to lead this story... right now it's not doing any good for people with a middle-eastern background.
Silly misinformed usual Sky news nonsense. This is not hacking. And what kind of idiot would put passwords onto text files, and lewd images in a folder labelled 'private'? Anybody who does so deserve to have their identity stolen and their images fapped upon.
Hmmm.. The same kind of people who buy Celine Dion albums. Cheers for making me laugh..I shall try to use the word Frap and frapped as often as possible tonight.
Fully agree with you about Sky News...
The same kind of idiot who would have to take their computer to a repair shop rather than fixing it themselves?
actually the privacy issue is only part of the story. The other part is charging 200 quid to pop a memory module back in place.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/video