Well thank god Circuit Shitty is taking that very seriously!

This should not be surprise at all. These techs need to be bonded and licensed, just like electricians. At the very least, the shops need to be under a regimine of random state inspection.

I'm still chuckling from the "fuse" replacement from the first computer that got sent to the Auto department. I would have laughed my ass off if I saw that happen to my computer.

This isn't a mistake. It isn't entrapment. This is fucking fraud. It's fraud. The perpetrators should be in jail.

Good thing their intern is hot, and could supply bikini-clad pictures of herself.

This, of course, cannot compare to several individuals who came to our store, asking for help with editing/managing their photo collection, which consisted of pornographic pictures of themselves that they were preparing for their adult web site.

@ludwigk: Groooooooooooosssssss.

For real, that's why I wouldn't bother trudging through people's shit. I would be likely to find three things:

-porn from the internet (Oh, hold me back)

-Pictures of random stuff (who cares)

-Nasty pictures of themselves and their dog/SO/etc (EEEWWWW)

Is it wrong that I watched this just so I could check out the hot intern?

@Hyland: Ditto here. I've seen stuff here and there, without even trying and the vast majority of it is excruciatingly boring. Worst I saw was, when backing up a fellow's system was "gramma porn" links from his Favorites folder. EWWW.

@B: Yes. Yes it is. :)

On the wall in my office I have a Customer Porn Wall Of Shame featuring prints of the more, shall we say, interesting pictures found on customer's PCs (with strategically placed bananas and muffins photoshopped in to keep them SFW).

Don't be ashamed. We *all* look at your kinks.

Anyone who says otherwise is lying to you. Just like guys who tell girls they never, ever masturbate or look at other women.

What I always find so sad with these and other snoop stories is that all these so called techs are so easily caught by simple monitoring programs. There are a ton of simple ways to get around any of those programs. Not that I condone the actions, but you gotta worry if you trust someone to fix your PC and they get caught by monitorware. The only time it is ever acceptable to even open a client file without their explicit permission is if performing a data recovery to verify the integrity of a file. Other than that, stay out of their My Docs.

How come they didn't use an ugly imtern?

@jrdnjstn78: In L.A., all interns are hot.

@jrdnjstn78: For reasons that we have covered. Note they also didn't use a young, male intern. If they had used an intern seen as a technical peer, the techs would have been less brazen and the scoop wouldn't be as good.

@covaro: Meh. Most of the people who do things like this aren't treating it like high level espionage. If 99.9% of all users are going to be naive to anything you do, ANYTHING. You could delete whole files and programs and just tell them "eh, your drive need to be defragmented" and they would believe it. What happens is a behavioral effect that causes people to ignore precautions for outlier events.

I'll ask a similar question. How many people engage their parking brake on level or lightly sloped ground? Most of the people I know outside places like San Fran and Seattle just rely on the parking pin in the transmission. That's an easy solution until the parking pin breaks and your can causes thousands of dollars in damage.

OK, so here's my business plan:

Step 1: Create a virus/spyware that's impossible to remove with anti-spyware products and goes right to wherever you keep your .jpg files.
Step 2. Start a tech support business that will manually go in and delete the virus.
Step 3: Porn!

@freshyill: Replace .jpg with registry and you have Sony's music business model.

@Hyland: I'm not even talking about high level espionage. I'm simply saying that I almost never touch a clients OS till I'm done. Custom BartPE disc with full diagnostic and malware removal tools. I won't even go into the OS until the machine is clean and then just do updates and general tweaking. Of course those were in the good old days at my last job when I was still saddled with residential work too. BLAH

As far as the parking brake, ALWAYS. Of course I drive a stick, so long ago I got used to putting the car in 1st or reverse and pulling up the parking brake. :)

@covaro: Well, my contention is that the kind of person who is liable to charge 30 dollars for parts not replaced is not the same kind of person to approach computer repair with the studied precision that you seem to do.

And I would also submit that those of us raised on automatic transmissions do not have that same habit of engaging the parking brake (though I do).

@Ben Popken: You mean there are any other kind? What the Hell is the point of that?!

This kind of stuff makes me mad. People take advantage of other people who may not understand technology. If the only issue was a loose power cable, you do NOT charge for that. The Frys response was BS. They pic a file at random to check your computer. So they picked all of the pictures. Year right, how about launching a program instead. I feel so bad for people getting ripped off like this. Its a shame.

@Hyland: Oh I was raised on a auto tranny myself... just went and bought a sports car one day and had to learn rather quick. Love every minute of the work that is the stick.

As far as the person that would do that, I've met some even worse. There is a technician in Baltimore that floats between all these places (how he can even get a job anymore is beyond me) that has scammed so many places out of so much money. He's actually gotten several companies in so much crap with vendors that they can't even order from places like Dell. Sad really, he makes these all look like angels.

@trai_dep: Take your meds. :)

*yawn* old news..hot intern though!

*yawn* old news...hot intern though!

@Hyland: People dont use their parking brake? I have had three automatics and I used it, now I drive a stick and use it.
So I dont understand how people dont use it.

I'm a little disappointed that, when they showed the Circuit City invoice in the video, I didn't see "FD COURTESYCHECK" (as mentioned for point #9 in this Firedog confession article from earlier this morning). All that was there was "FD DIAGNOS", "FD CHECKPC", and "FD PCPARTS".

I just wish they would be a little more realistic with these "undercover reports" Ive been fixing PCs for roughly 10 years and never once seen a disconnected cable on a motherboard unless the customer tried to build/fix the PC themself and messed it up. A cable inside the PC doesnt just come loose. While most technicians would find the problem they generally arent going to open up the case while the customer is waiting there to check it. They should do somehting a little more realistic like infect it with a virus, or Install a defective RAM stick, not just loosen the good one that is in there, because RAM doesnt jkust get loose. Its held into place by little clamps

Expecting a tech to not go through your porn is like leaving a wad of $100 bills in your car and expecting the valet not to steal it. Sure, you wish they were ethical, but you can't really expect them to be.

Not trying to shrug off the fact that some of these guys broke laws, but...just like with doing your taxes, car repairs, investing for retirement, home repairs, etc. - I was taught to take the time to learn enough to do as much as you can yourself so you don't run into these kind of problems. Or at least have someone you know and trust help you out.

I assume most of the commenters feel the same way, but I wish more people did overall.

@shadow735: It shocks me, too. I use it, but really only because a relative explained to me in clear detail what would happen if you didn't. Most of the people I know who drive mostly automatics don't use it.

@Empire: No. It's like having your taxes done and hoping H&R Block doesn't use your financial information to help themselves to a bit of money on the side.

If you deliver your computer and say, "hey, all this porn I've been downloading makes my internet really slow", then perhaps you can come to that conclusion. If, as was the case with the show, you say "Here is this computer with what is clearly not a software problem (and is just a loose connector)". Please fix this problem and only this problem.", you should expect them to fix the problem and return the computer to you.

Yes, you can and should password protect your computer. you can and should encrypt sensitive information on that same computer. You can and should practice good information hygienics. That doesn't mean that you deserved it when these people fraudulently entered your computer and retrieved images/information.

IMO, if I have a problem like this, (if I were ever to buy a computer like this), I would take it in but refuse to sign te portion of the agreement allowing them access to the software side of things, just to stir the pot.

@Gorky: That's funny, I've seen it dozens of times. It's the primary cause of failure in computers that get dropped (stupid dell notebooks w/ the cord from the internal PS to the motherboard). It's the primary cause of failure in computers after they have been moved, etc. there is a reason it is in troubleshooting checklists to check for loose cords given certain symptoms.

Now, that PARTICULAR cable, I've never seen loose. It's too snug and too well held in place with the plastic latch. IDE cables, jumper cables, SATA cables, RAM (yes), cards (often after shoddy installation), cables in the rear of the machine, internal device cabling. The list goes on.

That intern was fuckin' hot.

But regardless.. I do computer repair out of my own business and I tell the clients that I do not need to rummage through personal files to find out if something is working or not. I tell the clients before hand that if they wish, they can use encryption software to conceal their personal files. I also sign over a waiver to them agreeing to not lookg any at personal files. Most of the issues I receieve are hardware issues mainly.

Does anyone else think that technician looks like J.K. Simmons' brother? I swear that's the only thing I remember from that video.

Pwned techs. What fools. It's trivial to disceetly copy files without "Spector" or whatever knowing a thing about it. If a tech is stupid enough to peer at your pics and too stupid to not get caught, they should be fired anyway.

The "fuse" issue would have me threatening a lawsuit. PC's like that do not have fuses, much less an automotive one, and CC's response was bogus. "We should have returned the part"??? WTF?

@Hyland: That was my first thought, since that would be a really weird cable to come loose.

How about just not having anything to hide when you get your machine serviced, I know I don't. They aren't going to find anything on my machine even if they go fishing for it.

@SaraAB87: Well, okay, but then what would you have us do with our massive collections of non-stop all-amateur pornography? The people demand these answers.

@drjayphd: Nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

The combination of too-stupid-to-live humans and nosy computer repair techs does have its advantages, sometimes.

[www.palmbeachpost.com]

@inelegy:

That's not only ethically wrong, that's illegal.
No tech worth a damn is going to go through your things. Unless they know you personally, but that's something else entirely.

@SaraAB87:

How do you know you have nothing on your machine to hide? And how is that even a valid argument? Last I checked, we don't live in a communist country.

ask friends/family who they refer to for computer help!!! I consult on the side (my full time job is a computer support specialist at a private school) and on the side help out families at their homes. Referrals are the BEST way of getting new contacts, and the families are absolutely thrilled at the service they get, and knowing they aren't getting ripped off. Win-Win situation for everyone involved, and the trust issue is really a non-issue

@Gorky: I would agree with Hyland that cables can and do come loose in PCs. People 'accidentally' drop them and worse (beat on them) when they don't work, especially in an office environment where it's not coming out of their pocket when it needs fixed.
"How did this big fist-shaped dent get in this side?"
"I must have spilled coffee and was grabbing for my cup."

Please won't you help the battered computers and peripherals everywhere?

So...where can *I* check out Cassie the Intern's documents and photos?

@drjayphd: Set up a RAID 1 for porn. When one of the harddrives dies just wipe it and toss.

@RvLeshrac: Actually, it most likely isn't illegal. I would say that you (probably, as I have never actually given a big box retailer a computer of mine) sign a release that says it's cool for them to snoop around on your machine. Even if you didn't, if you left it in their office without password protection, you probably have given up the right to privacy on it.

Computers are funny things. They are objects, meaning that we can see them as tools or as having some sort of parts failure. They are also repositories for information and they are not picky to whom it is divulged. We would never think of sending a diary into the shop for repair, because there really isn't anything a book that can be broken, but we don't hesitate to treat our computers like a diary.

That doesn't mean this is right, in my opinion, but my opinion doesn't have a major say in the laws of the land. The same reason creepy technicians can nose around through some hot intern's pictures is what allows them to bust child pornographers. Some of the kiddie porn guys ARE stupid enough to come in with softare problems, but I would wager that a good bunch of them got busted by horny techs snooping around and finding something disgusting.

Encrypt your files. Password protect your computer. If you do take a computer in for service, refuse to sign away your rights on their contract (assuming you've got a few hours to piss away arguing).

The fuse thing really gets me too. Hell the fact that they even gave them a fake picture just makes me laugh.

I have replaced the fuse in a power supply more then once to fix a machine but this was because the power supply was not a standard one(which is what some of those dells had). We didn't bill for the fuse when we did this though.

As far as the techs looking through the photos hell at least they were not copied off the machine. These videos just keep showing that retail techs suck.

just put a bunch raunchy stuff (like 2 girls and 1 cup video) in a file called high school cheerleaders....... they will instantly stop snooping and start vomiting.

@SacraBos: PCs actually do have fuses; there is one in the PSU and there is usually a non-replaceable board component that functions as a fuse on most modems/NIC

If you got data you don't want people to see, then get something like PGP. Graned, folks that do use PGP probablly wouldn't be going to a rent-a-tech in the first place.

I worked at this one place and a customer would bring in his CD case full of discs including his Windows disc. For some reason he would give us the whole case even though we just needed the one disk and even when this was pointed out to him still left them all.

It was weird because you had to browse through the horse porn to get to the Windows cd.