Quote:
Originally Posted by Jurrr
Can you elaborate, please?
The first problem arises when the federal agent asks you for the password and if you lie to him/her, you can be prosecuted...the penalty for lying to a federal agent is up to 5 years in prison and $50,000 fine...now, you can argue that 'technically' you didin't lie, but rest assured that the prosecutor/judge won't see it that way...
secondly, as another poster aptly pointed out, no cryptography makes the content of your hard drive 'invisible'...yes, makes it harder to find, but not impossible...and the CBP agents are constantly updated on the latest methods that can be used to hide items, whether it's in a suit case, in your body, or on your computer/electronic devices...although you may get lucky and a couple of times this systme may work, in the long run it will be a very risky proposition...better to think of other ways to circumvent the government's snooping of your electronic devices...
lastly, in many cases, the CBP agents take an IMAGE of your hard drive, which is analogous to taking a 'photo' of your entire drive...that image is sent to their computer forensic lab/technicians and they will be able to see everything that you have on your drive....also, there are times when CBP agents take your laptop and or other devices, and send them to their labs directly... they then comb through your laptop, get an image of the drive, and seevral days/weeks later will send you back your laptop...and in such cases, the technicians are more than capable to see the content of your drive, no matter how you try to hide them
P.S. when they do ask you about your passwords, the question they will ask is whether that is the ONLY password you have on this laptop, or they ask whether there are OTHER passwords that you use to get into other applications...they mainly do this because some people have passwords for their sensitive documents and applications, i.e.; .pdf, excel, etc....and if you lie to them...well, just don't... the consequences can be very severe...remember, Martha Stewart didin't get convicted and go to prison for insider trading (although that was the initial charge)...she was prosecuted and convicted for LYING to a fedearl agent....