Challenge To US Government Over Seized Laptops

angry tapir writes "The policy of random laptop searches and seizures by US government agents at border crossings is under attack again: The American Civil Liberties Union is working with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers to find lawyers whose laptops or other electronic devices were searched at US points of entry and exit. The groups argue that the practice of suspicionless laptop searches violates fundamental rights of freedom of speech and protection against unreasonable seizures and searches."

Re:Border crossing and the fourth

[hellfish006]

why should any search be "reasonable" at a border? Maybe to help cut back on the spread of diseases we should have a holding bay at each border and run blood tests. We could deem them biological weapons until proven otherwise!

Oh! that. I thought the laptops have become obese

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

I read Challenge To US Government Over Seized Laptops as Challenge To US Government Over Sized Laptops and imagined laptops with 32 inch screens getting stuck at the XRay machines!

Back in the days of DOS, Penn Jillette...

[RevWaldo]

Back in the days of DOS, Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller fame) used to write a computer column. Basically back then all airport security would ask you to do is turn your laptop on, just to confirm that it is a working laptop, and not, say, a laptop packed with C4 where the battery and hard drive should be.

He suggested that when traveling you should NOT, DEFINITEY NOT put the following in your laptop's AUTOEXEC.BAT file:

ECHO READY
ECHO ARMING....
ECHO ARMED
ECHO *** DETONATION IN 00:30 ***
ECHO Press 'x' to abort.
CHOICE /C:x /T:x,30 > NUL
ECHO GOODBYE

Re:Back in the days of DOS, Penn Jillette...

[Rockoon]

Remove the 'Press x to abort' part and it seems to me that after they see this... after they all run away... you can pick your laptop up and walk away.