UPDATE: Why We’re Not Telling Geek Squad CEO Which Agent Stole The Porn
To investigate claims by current and former Geek Squad techies (see “The 10 Page Geek Squad Confession – “Stealing Customers’ Nudie Pics Was An Easter Egg Hunt“), we loaded a computer with porn and rigged it to make a video of itself. We captured every cursor movement, every program opened, every file accessed. Everything that the user saw and did, we recorded.
We took it to less than a dozen Best Buy Geek Squads and asked them to perform simple tasks, like installing iTunes. Most places were fine, sometimes doing the job right on the counter, sometimes even for free.
Then we caught one well-seasoned Geek Squad Agent copying personal and pornographic images and video from our computer to his company-issued thumb drive (see video above, or the logfiles).
Reached for comment, Geek Squad CEO Robert Stephens expressed desire to launch an internal investigation and said, “If this is true, it’s an isolated incident and grounds for termination of the Agent involved.”
This is not just an isolated incident, according to reports from Geek Squad insiders alleging that Geek Squad techs are stealing porn, images, and music from customer’s computers in California, Texas, New Jersey, Virginia and elsewhere. Our sources say that some Geek Squad locations have a common computer set up where everyone dumps their plunder to share with the other technicians.
If our techie readers were right about the Geek Squad doing this, then perhaps they’re right in saying it happens at other computer repair places as well.
And by the time your computer breaks, it’s too late to hide anything you wouldn’t want someone to find, and steal for their own purposes. It might not just be the photos and videos you got online, but also the ones you made with your partner for intimate purposes. Or it could be passwords, credit card information, bank accounts. The only thing stopping a potential peeping tom is the bounds of their curiosity, and how much and how secure is the information you keep on your computer.
We advise encrypting sensitive files in advance with a program like TrueCrypt (WIN) or making an encrypted disk image (MAC, be sure to skip step 6). Or, keep it all on an external hard drive and/or zip all the files and password protect them.
Who knew that when you hand over your computer to a repair technician, you could be giving a stranger a veritable Pandora’s box?
NEXT: How To Make Your Computer Catch People Stealing Your Porns
PREVIOUSLY:
Geek Squad Confession: “Stealing Customers’ Nudie Pics Was An Easter Egg Hunt”
We’re Always Looking For Porn On Customer’s Computers, Techies Confirm
(Photo: mreraser)
Here are some hi-rez screenshots. We wish the video was this quality but it ended up having to go through multiple levels of compression.
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I concur that the real issue should be the passwords and bank account data, or the distribution of that data, but since people download virus infected files and rogue apps like winantispyware2007 and drivecleaner to whatever folder they used last, that could very well be their “My Documents” or “My Pictures” folders. Granted this should only be looked for if performing an in-depth malware scan, not installing iTunes. Also since these users, that cannot even install iTunes themselves, may not know that their children, friends, or even themselves installing Limewire and downloading this crap is what gets them infected and their account data stolen and their computer’ hijacked for zombies in the massive spam bot-nets. So giving the system a once over to evaluate risk is good business sense. You can up-sell and protect yourself if that malware breaks something after the customer gets it back home and blames you for it. So then, everything hidden then is actually “in the open” since you must dig to find spyware.
What was that AOL survey recently? 80% of computers have it and 87% of those users don’t know it. I always look now. Most users hate spam, but yet, most may very well be forwarding it and not even know it. They are part of their own problem!
Neophyte computer users don’t know any better, they just want it to work. So if it doesn’t, they blame the tech. So the tech needs to evaluate what else is one the system and how the user uses the computer to identify potential conflicts. I don’t care if the mechanic drives my car to the store, that’s a road test anyway. If the cable guy stole my wifes undies, now then, she doesn’t have them anymore so that’s different anyway. If the cable guy sat on my phone talking to his girlfriend, he’s wasting my time, the dial tone is all he needs. I am not worried about his time, such as if he took my phone and tested it in the shop by talking to his girlfriend, but he’s in my house, interrupting my time, so this doesn’t relate either, unless a computer tech is onsite to fix the email and is browsing my installed games or whatnot.
Finally, I don’t trust the media anymore than those they report on. He said, She said. Most all “proof” is taken out of context anyway. Take it for what it’s worth, with a grain of salt. And if you are concerned, look for the other side of the story.
Good Job !!!, But… The tech that you checked in your computer to may not have been the one doing the work on it. I work for the Geek Squad, I can’t give my name or where I’m from because of certain policies regarding talking ( or in this case writing) to the press. When a computer is checked in for repair a data backup is offered to secure important files incase of the unthinkable data loss that may occur when working on systems, ie. infections of any sort, or even the death of a hard drive which can happen, I’ve seen this happen twice. Searching through someones files for porn or music or any personal information is forbidden, unless it’s needed to remove an infection manually, our tools that are thoroughly tested,authorized and licensed have gotten better over the past few years and are constantly being updated to reduce the need to manually search through someones computer files. I have seen alot of systems come through that are loaded with porn of various types, it’s nothing new, one becomes numb to it after awhile. We even have policy to properly report child porn now, yeah!, wheather or not it works, well, I hope not to find out. In the past I ran across some, I’ll never forget it, I had a system that needed a new burner installed because the old one had failed and ofcoarse we have to test our work before completing the paperwork and calling the customer to pick it up, I needed a file to burn so I opened the docs folder to select a file and there was some files that I didn’t expect to find, I thought this was a joke going by the file name, so I double clicked on the file and I can’t discribe what I saw here, I went to management and told them what I found and they ok’d the call to the Sherrif’s Dept, They came and took the PC. Well, that seemed ok until about two months later when the same PC was back on the bench, I found this out after starting to work on it, The files were still there, mind you I didn’t go looking for them, and there were more, I called the Sherrif’s Dept back and they came again and took the PC again, then about 2 weeks later the customer came in (well his wife did) and complained about all that we had put them through and demanded her money back for the work that was never finished, stating that it must have been their teenaged daughter who put it there (yea right!), the father is a grade school principle, and the Sherrif’s Dept did nothing, yet on the news they made a big deal about how they busted a person with child porn on their computer. One would think that they would do something about someone who deals directly with kids. We ( the deputies and I) counted about 60 kiddy porn movies on his system. To my knowlege they have never came back. But you see there are times that we as techs do have to go into someones files to do the job, not that what was in the video is any way of doing so, it was wrong and that tech should be removed, I encourage you to release the information to Best Buy and get that person replaced with a compitant and trustworthy GEEK. We are here to serve and protect the information community, not steal from it. I’ll have more coments later.
What program did you use to record everything on the computer?
Here’s my story:
Back in the late ’90s I was working as a tech for an Apple shop – I was their PC guy. I did mostly service calls to places that didn’t have their own IT department.
So one morning I’m helping this classy-looking young lady with her laptop. It needed a video memory upgrade to run at the resolution she wanted, so I wound up taking it back to the shop.
Of course, like most people, she didn’t have a backup and wanted us to make one before we did anything. OK, her employer is paying the bills, so I hook the laptop up to our network and start copying its hard drive to the server.
I’m sitting there bored as hell watching the files copy when I start noticing filenames like “horsesuck.avi” go by. Now, I’m a firm believer in keeping my nose in my own business, but I’m also human. So when the backup is finished, I do a quick search and check out the folder where “horsesuck.avi” lives.
I’m no virgin or prude, but I’d never seen anything quite as filthy as this gal’s video collection. You sure wouldn’t have thought it to look at her, either.
Did I look at it? Sure. Did I tell anybody (like her boss) about it, which would undoubtedly have cost her her job? Of course not. Would I tell you who she is or who her employer was? Not a chance.
Within reason, your secrets are safe with me. Kiddie stuff is a different story – I wouldn’t care if I got fired for turning in a pedophile.
Look, I’m not advocating them stealing files off of people’s personal computers, but the fact remains that it could have been much worse. The one thing that bothered me the most was that Best Buy charged you $29 to install iTunes. I have always despised companies like that; people who, instead of being there to help you out (like they state they do) instead, they take your money to do nothing or something that anyone with an internet connection could have learned to do in about five minutes. And if push comes to shove, take it a privately-owned computer company. Geek Squad and all those other corporate-owned “help gurus” are 17-year-old morons who had to go through some small training process and don’t really know what they are doing, yet they’ll still charge you way too much for turning on your computer.
It’s sad that the real story here is that it’s not a story. In a better world, it would be a story. Very entertaining, though. Too bad your iSight couldn’t catch the Beetle-driving Geek shaking your baby or leaving the seat up.
Not sure why this took three months.
PS> I like the hottie on the left.
First of I’ll start by saying I have been a Geek Squad Agent for almost 2 years. (not a no-life 20 year old as some have put it. Just like any other job it gets me through school). I’m not trying to speak for all of Geek Squad, I am hardly qualified.
I have seen stuff like this in my precinct as well as others, but honestly it has always been done by the worst of agents. They’ve never lasted more than a few months. I can tell by even the paperwork and service orders that this agent does not know how to do his job. He also has unapproved tools on his flash drive, which is fine as long as he doesn’t use them on a customer computer (these flash drives aren’t company issued btw, they’re a self provided necessity). And if he would’ve followed check-in procedure, he even would’ve been able to see the recording process and realize he’s being spied upon(it shows up in our prelim. scans before we finalize recommended repairs).
Yes, as some of you said, when you sign our agreement we do have the right to look at your files, however if you have them password protected or encrypted we are not to attempt cracking unless it is part of the repair requested. Of course digging in places you don’t need to be is discouraged, but technically not illegal. So I hope this isn’t a surprise that technicians of any type will look at your stuff, the point is that he copied it (which is most definitely a serious offense). If you don’t want your dirty mags read by your mechanic, don’t leave them in your back seat.
It would have been a good investigative piece if it didn’t seem so directed toward one retail chain (albeit the largest). “Computer Repair Tech. Caught Stealing Porn” would have been better. And I don’t understand the reasoning behind screengrabbing one of our diagnostic tools with an empty window other than to broadcast that this is Geek Squad more loudly. This has happened at Data Doctors, Firedog, Compusa Tech, etc. It will always go on. Just because you’re paying a complete stranger doesn’t mean you can trust them. Leave all your diamond rings out on top of the television and call the cable guy over. Do it over and over at many different places you’ll probably lose some bling.
Unfortunately this isn’t a perfect world and different stores are managed differently. It is an offensive act, but hardly a shocking headline.
Um, you guys are kind of dicks, actually.
“Honeypots”, “stealing” your porn….
They didn’t STEAL aything – they copied it!
And was that porn YOU paid for? If it wasn’t you’re just as guilty (if not more so, as you obtained the porn directly from the copyright owner).
At any rate, who the hell cares? These poor schmucks work shitty jobs and relieve the tedium by looking at risque data customers are stupid enough to leave unprotected.
Really, who the fuck do you guys think you are?
Tech support services like the Geek Squad are notorious for violating the privacy of their customers, and now they’ve been caught in the act. Consumer affairs blog Consumerist rigged up a PC to record itself, and then sent it to the Geek Squad with a request for iTunes to be installed.
My word! Upon reading this delightful article I was to discover that ruffian technical persons have likely rumaged through my hard disk for images and those moving pictures that pander to purient interests.
I was so aghast with surprise at this perfidity, my monocle flew across the room to strike my favoured hunting beagle, Chadsworth, upon his muzzle as he lay before the roaring hearth fire while I enjoyed a fine after dinner port!
Huzzah to you fair sirs for rooting out the only known time this has ever happened in the history of technical shoppes! Well played, Consumerist, well played you paragons of timely investigative journalism!
This is also quite rampant at CompUSA locations as well. As a tech, I have seen my share of customer sensitive data. So much that I had requested my girlfriend bring her computer in just to see what the other techs would do. At my location, the techshop had a computer that they just dumped all of the customer data on. It got so bad that some of the things they did were just not acceptable. Before ANY repair work was done, the first thing they did was look in the pictures and videos folder. It got exponetially worse and techs started using tools such as Cain and Able to steal customer passwords to look even further into their private lives. I no longer work for CompUSA. The staggering part is that all of the management was in on it too. SInce I have left, two managers an multiple employees have been terminated. This goes to show that this behavior IS NOT condoned by the corporations!
First off, do you think anyone who would need help installing iTunes has any kind of clue how to protect their PC using encryption software or an external hard drive. Techs use simple terms like “the flat, rectangular plug” instead of saying USB cable and “the program that gets music” instead of saying iTunes. Heck, I’ve had a call to change someone’s screen resolution! Some people don’t need to know what it’s called, just that it’ll work.
I work for Geek Squad phone support and just wanted to clarify that anyone using a tech service waves the right to privacy in the course of the service. That doesn’t mean we should go snooping or copy files, but it does mean we need to open/test/check files and programs to make sure they work. So, if I were installing iTunes, I would head to their music folder and make sure I could import files (however they got them). We warn them ahead of time that we’ll be able to see anything on their computer, so if they don’t want us to see it, they should hide it or not let us work on it.
I’ve seen people with porn on their desktops and setup services because they couldn’t log in to their fav “adult” chat group. How are you going to test that? People really don’t care that much even when they watch you check folders they know might contain “bad” stuff so long as it’s involved in the call. Doesn’t sound like this was necessary for the call – and be assured, this happens all over the place – but not all techs are bad.
Just be happy you weren’t the woman who had a computer shop back up her files to a new PC instead of an external drive (before doing a reinstall) and then sold the new PC without deleting anything. The guy who bought it phoned her with the number he got from the files and told her the shop hadn’t deleted anything. At least he was honest!
You’d think they’d know better after three months ago, a 22-year-old woman and her mother sued Best Buy and its “Geek Squad” computer repair team for dispatching a technician who filmed the daughter taking a shower (using his cell phone).
I find it to be an important point that they tried this with 12 different techs before finding a dirty one. 1/12 does not an epidemic make. Report the moron who stole the porn and get his ass fired. That simple.
I used to work for Apple retail as a Mac Genius and I saw a lot of this. Especially the Mac Genii who can take the computer in the back and work on it for a day or two. One guy had almost a terabyte of stolen customer music, another looked for porn and had some local amateur footage he was pretty proud of.
This is happening everywhere and it is out of control. As one guy said, keep your stuff on an external or know that they will look at it. Especially iPhoto or iTunes, Macs are easy to use and easy to peek at and copy.
aren’t the consumers in the geeksquad country already aware of the risks of giving off their computers and data to such support services where you have to leave your computer? its not laundry after all.
i have very rarely seen any such tech support firms…or let’s say any computer vendor giving after-sales support to take the pc as it is. geeksquad itself is kinda new…and in my opinion a flawed concept. given the potential dangers that you have talked about, who needs to learn how to build phishing websites.
all i can say for your folks is that this _is_ one important reason for backing up data. when the pc has to go for repairs, you should be able to format it. but…installing itunes!! rotfl well…if that’s the condition of tech help required…i dunno how many’d understand the truecrypt solution at all… you could have added a link to some installation guide…
when people give up their data, then how are they again claiming that it is being stolen, and as far as i see its being copied, the consumer still has all the stuff.
despite all these malware and data/identity thieves, those people still believe in ethics? on a windows machine?
interesting video
As an Agent at GSC I can assure most people that this is a remote offense, and that all of us that proudly wear the uniform should not be judged by the actions of a few select bad eggs. No matter where you go in any field of employment there are those that will break the rules. For example we had military personnel beating prisoners, does that mean all soldiers are bad? We have videos of police beating suspects, does that mean that when someone breaks into your house you will not call them? I have fought for the last four months to become an Agent, and this is not something I take lightly. Geek Squad isn’t just a job, it’s a way of life. As for someone commenting about one of our Precincts charging $30 for a software install, our economy is based on supply and demand. We can onl charge what the consumer is willing to pay. I don’t see you complaining about the $7 you just had to spend at Starbucks for your large coffee. Again, all I am asking is that you do not judge all of us that wake up every morning and proudly don the uniform that we cherish so much by the actions of a few select bad eggs.
If people are going to record desktop activity using windows recorder, there are other ways around it. Another PC hooked up can search the files command line style or visually, without affecting the looks of the computer. I’m surprised if GS or CUSA didn’t have a diagnostic computer set up to do just that, in case of drive failures or whatnot.
First off, isn’t it a crime to leave sensitive data accessible to just anyone. Seriously, who does that? I don’t and I never have.
Second, I hate these sting operations. They over-dramatize and over-exaggerate the situation. It’s the same thing most of our news sources do. (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Associated Press, BBC, etc..) This type of journalism is nothing but smut.
Image via h.andras_xms. The Geek Squad has been known for their file-rifling, porn-stealing issues for a while (thanks to Consumerist).
@PTWhipplebang:
Actually I’m more unnerved by the fact that people need iTunes installed for them.
This video never shows the Agent installing iTunes (it’s on the desktop). It’s possible the Agent fully installed iTunes before any of this happened but we can never know. Edited video = no credibility. In addition to iTunes alreayd being installed on this honeypot, all the supposed utilities on the flash drive are 1 kb batch files. The major utilities like MRI and Customizer have Geeksquad logos, System Analyzer (SA) has a Webroot icon. SymNRT is from Nortan, it has it’s own icon. Firefox has it’s own icon, etc. I call the bluff and say it’s fake.
there’s a mac version of TrueCrypt (what i use) if you look hard enough
Filed under: Odds and ends, PowerMac G5A Fairfield, Connecticut man took his Apple G5 desktop to the Genius Bar at the Apple Town Center store complaining about some issues with his image file thumbnails. It seemed some thumbnails were overwriting thumbnails on other images and they didn’t match up.
dude, who the fuck cares. it should be assumed that every tech will browse throuhg your comp. if you dont assume that and are still living in an antiquated society where morals are intact, then you deserve everything that’s coming to you, like getting arrested for hiding child porn. “ohhh geek squad COPIED my porn” , its not fucking stealing, you still have it. and chances are, YOURE the one that stole it through some illegal torrent. fucking morons. get over it. live is more than this.
He REALLY should have made it copy everything from his thumbdrive to a hidden folder, which he’d then post on the Internet. Give him a taste of his own medicine!