Consumerist
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.
Comments
WTF OMG THERE REALLY IS A VIDEO!!!!
I'm in ur comment thread smack-dowing the whiners!!!!11!!11!
"Honeypot." Nice.
Is this work safe?
He must have jumped on a flight to avoid prosecution..Ha Ha
As far as "advice": keep sensitive files on an external HDD (cheap cheap these days) that way you don't have to take it in with the PC. Or if it's at home, then just disconnect it.
Whats the big deal?
@jay_swift: Yes.
@Ben Popken: Really?
Sorry but how is this a surprise? It's not like it proves it's a geeksquad "policy" to steal porn. It's just a worker doing what he isn't supposed to. It would be hard to really stop something like this.
Dood, nice wall paper. That's almost entrapment lol
Hell Yeah! Awesome video, Consumetrist!
@miburo: Bringing this to light may force Geeksquad's hand in firing anyone who does this.
um this is the secret sting? I could think of a ton of better things to pull, like unseat a card slightly and then bring it to a Geek Squad. See how much they charge you to seat it again.
I used to work for an independant computer repair shop. Believe me, this is nothing unusual within the industry at all. And all the company owners do it too. I worked for a guy who checked the pcs of every good-looking girl who came in to see if they had any interesting photos of themselves.
Either learn to fix it yourself, or live with it.
Be happy that most technicians are just geeks looking for porn, you could have gotten a guy who copied your Quickbooks file, stole your account numbers, and then drained your bank accounts.
@jay_swift:
yup
"Who knew that when you hand over your computer to a repair technician, you could be giving a stranger a veritable Pandora's box?"
Not to say its right by any stretch, but is this really something that comes as a shock?
@miburo: Yeah, and to be honest, 1/12 isn't as bad as I thought it'd be. I think this is pretty well known and understood. Once it gets behind the counter, expect that it's public info. That's the only safe way to treat it.
Not a bad effort on the video, it's just video confirmation of what we all knew to be the case.
Also why an external HD is recommended for personal folders files, be they old emails, bank statements, or porn.
What would everyone be saying if the geek squad found child porn or other blatently illegal material on the "honey pot"? It is a double edged moral sword, to check illegal material, and then report it to the authorities, or just not check, and not detain/punish such material. Official Geek Squad policy is going to be, of course, that peoples files are their property. But, if a geek squad member catches a pedophile by nosing into folders on a computer left for repair, are they going to be fired for violating policy? or held as an example of someone saving a child?
Of course, if you have naughty bits on your computer, deal with it before you turn your computer over to a stranger.
Aw man, this guy is gonna be like
fap,fap,fap,fap
...
"You're Fired!"
...
...
...
fap,fap,fap,fap (with sad look on his face)
Am I the only one who's more unnerved that Geek Squad charged $30 to install iTunes? That's the real crime here.
What if there was a file on the desktop called "credit report"? Or "bank accounts"?
It is obvious that within the geek squad there are some that can not be trusted.
GS should implement some protocols ASAP to protect customers data.
I'm thinking some simple cameras that record their actions.
Man, this is like playing with fire because you can never REAALLLY be sure that the models are 18 and over. It seems all it would take is one 16-year old in that pile of 18,000 porn pics and you'd be bustable with a sex offender record to boot.
@Amsterdaam: (with sad look on his face)
Damn it, you owe me a new Coke to replace the one I just sprayed across my desktop.
@DCvision: IANAL but here's my thoughts...
Though Geek Squad is certainly not a public entity (and thus not affected by 4th Amendment protections), I would think that their policy should be similar to the police: plain view.
If I contract Best Buy to install iTunes on my computer, they have no need to explore my MyDocuments folder. If, in contrast, I contract them to defragment my hard drive (some programs list the name of the file currently being moved) then any illegal files or programs I have would be plainly visible and fair game.
Certainly I encourage Geek Squad to report illegal activity, but to actively LOOK for it goes beyond the bounds of their mission (which is to fix computers).
And there is NO way this guy could defend himself on those grounds anyway...he copied the porn, not looked at it to see that it was legal. Not to mention his contract was to install a single program - a task that required a file probably already on his thumb drive and nothing more.
you can't always assume the actions of a handful of (soon to be terminated) idiots are the same for every best buy or every geek squad agent nationwide. don't get me wrong - i'm not defending that jerkoff (dig), but the vast majority of them aren't like that. i assure you, it's not just these guys...unless you've taken the proper steps, your computer isn't safe with *any* repair place.
years ago, an agent at the best buy i worked for found kiddie porn on a guy's computer - he didn't go looking for it. it was on the desktop...and as the desktop background...and as a screensaver...
...but then again, he didn't go copying it for himself, either.
I'll be more interested in this story when you get a response from the company.
Out of a dozen BBs, only 1 did anything unsavory. Not bad considering the low wages and young slackers they tend to attract as a workforce.
Why are people stealing porn? It seems to be a constant flow into my e-mail and a constant presence on the web.
@scoobydoo:
Good point, would be fun to repeat the process with bank info folders and SSNs. Though, with the cat out of the bag now...?
@beyond:
Its also not bad considering the reputation BB and GS are gaining around these parts. Still, only 12 data points is hardly enough to start drawing conclusions. I assume this was done in NYC? Run the test out in po-dunk-ville and see what kind of results you get.
@PTWhipplebang:
Having worked tech support before, you always, always, always want to inflate your service price. Sure, installing iTunes on the surface is probably a $10 job at most. Just a simple download and install, right? Then the customer comes to get the computer and casually asks "So you installed iTunes and imported all my music?" Um, no because you didn't ask me to import music. Too late, you have already quoted them $10 and they will claim that if it was going to be more than the $10 you quoted, they would have never agreed to let you do anything. So you have to reluctantly import their music for them. Perhaps a few songs don't import, and since you are the technician that they paid good money for, it is your fault. Even after you get them out the door, somewhat satisfied they are going to get it home and sound the won't work. "It was working before I brought it up there." So you begrudgingly offer to take a look at it for them. By this time, you have done $50 worth of work for $10. You have to factor in all these scenarios when quoting prices. Many have gone out of business because they failed to factor these things in.
No wai! A geek stole porn?!! Wrong though it may be, isn't that kind of to be expected?
I'm sure he was just making sure that there wasn't any malware hiding in your porno... that's the ticket.
I've got to say, at least the kid wasn't rooting around in the hard-drive-- don't get me wrong, that's bad-- but I was expecting so much more.
Good job on the investigative work! Even if people are saying this should be common knowledge, it's quality accountable journalism to go in and actually get evidence of the issues being discussed.
And really, even if not every single Geek Squad employee does this, 1 store out of a dozen is still a pretty high rate, when you consider how may Best Buys are out there, and how many computers they're fixing on a daily basis.
As others have said, I really hope we'll get to hear some response from Best Buy on this too. Does Consumerist have any plans to use the video to escalate things further?
@beyond:
Totally... porn is the only perk to that job.
I just saw this article get dugg 40 times to 300+ times in roughly 10 minutes. CRAZY.
@bluemeep: What's your paypal? :-)
HaHa
True geeks, I suppose.
I knew they were up to no fucking good. >_>
@Jerim:
regarding gs's $30 price - that's the standard price for loading new programs onto a pc...not just itunes. painful, btw. paying for itunes...ow.
I used to work for geek squad, and regarding the child porn. If child porn appears, we would have to contact the police. Looking for porn never happened in my store, but there was a case where a woman's screen saver had naked pictures of herself on it.
You managed to catch a rat by dangling the cheese right in his face. I'd be more interested (and worried) if he spent more time digging for the cheese.
This is more of an awareness video. Be wary before sending your machine to a professional, if you're morally bankrupt and have porn all over your desktop.
The only issue I have with this is that it I think instead of being a good consumer education peice (USE AN EXTERNAL HARD DISK) it becomes a simple Geek Squad attack peice.
While they probably deserve it, I don't think its in the long term interest to just attack them. Sure you get the fun feeling of saying they did something wrong, but are they any different from any other service?
Though, I will say good job setting the computer up to catch them.
oh snap O_o
Great Sting operation.
Oh wow you "hid" the files on the desktop.
Does anyone actually keep important files on the desktop that they don't want anyone who might sit down and look at their computer to dig through?
Here's a tip: I don't work for Geek Squad, but if I sat down at your computer and you had porn or potential porn in a folder on your desktop I would look at it. Especially if you're a hot girl with a desktop wallpaper that looks like you and your drunk buddies were about to head to the wet t-shirt contest. I don't care why I'm using your computer (maybe you're my sister's friend? Maybe I'm your neighbor, maybe we're friends, co-workers, what the fuck ever and I just wanted to check my email before we go somewhere, blah blah blah), if there's shit on the desktop that might be interesting to look at, I am going to look at it, I'm not ashamed and I bet that the vast majority of every single person would do the same thing.
If I had a thumbdrive on me (and I always do, they're quite handy) and I knew I had enough time to copy the potential hotness to look at it later and not get potentially busted, I would totally do it.
So would most other male computer users. (and in fairness, plenty of girls would do it too).
You're not proving much here, besides "if a person with a penis is near a computer and has the means to see boobies, they will break the law to do it".
This isn't an indictment of Geek Squad, computer techs or anything of the sort, it's just showing human nature, and that generally people are stupid in assuming anything on their computer is private at all, just because it's on their computer.
Yawn...
@DCvision:
I agree with you regargding the double edged sword. In fact, didn't that already happen to "Rocker" Gary Glitter? He was arrested for having child porn on his PC when he took it in for repairs. What we never did hear is why or how the tech found the files. Probably searching the hard drive... or maybe they were right on the desktop or set as wallpaper?
I'm very disappointed in this "Breaking news;" especially after all the hype.