Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

1Password Travel Mode: Protect your data when crossing borders

blog.agilebits.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

491–500 of 553 posts

Re: 1Password Travel Mode: Protect your data when crossing borders

#491

Post by veidr »

adventured wrote: post #466
veidr wrote: post #425

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was once on a list that got me secondary searching every single time I flew in the USA, for several years. This was back in the 1990s, when asking for your password wasn't a thing I've ever heard of them doing, but also when me bringing 128-bit encryption software (aka the US version of Netscape Navigator) to Japan, where I was a foreign student, was a serious crime akin to arms smuggling. Of course, I never found…

> he was on the same list, despite being a super rich fat white guy from Microsoft. What could the "fat" part of that possibly have to do with anything related to targeting, other than as a cheap excuse for you to denigrate Myhrvold?

Well, I really just meant it more in the sense of him being a typical/normal/mainstream/not-unusual American.

But also, yeah: fuck Nathan Myhrvold. He's a smarmy piece of shit whose parasitical exploitation of America's societal weaknesses and dysfunction far outweighs all the modest contributions he's ever made. I hope he trips and falls face-first into one of his large sous-vide contraptions.

(That time, I was denigrating him on purpose.)

Re: 1Password Travel Mode: Protect your data when crossing borders

#492

Post by criddell »

BearGoesChirp wrote: post #474
chx wrote: post #352

"May I search your laptop?" "Certainly." "But... this is practically empty." "Yes sir. I FedEx'd my SSD to the destination." I have a small SSD in the primary disk in my T420s, it has just enough to get me through the flight. I keep the primary in the UltraBay with a simple adapter, takes one reboot and no tools to put it back in place. Done. Happy searching! I can't log into anything even if I wanted to because I ph…

You forgot the end of the story: "I'm denying you the ability to enter the country. Next time you let me see everything instead of being a wise guy."

If you are an American citizen, can they prevent you from entering the country? I understand they can delay you, but I don't think it can be indefinite.

Re: 1Password Travel Mode: Protect your data when crossing borders

#493

Post by criddell »

eridius wrote: post #37
gruez wrote: post #31

Counter: the border agent asks "are you hiding any information from us?". answer yes, and they get you to disable travel mode. answer no, and you just committed a felony.

Literally removing your access to data isn't the same thing as hiding it. Having a TrueCrypt partition on your drive that you can still unlock if you know it's there is hiding it. Securely erasing that partition is not.

Is there any difference between securely erasing a TrueCrypt partition vs forgetting the password?

Re: 1Password Travel Mode: Protect your data when crossing borders

#494

Post by edanm »

I'm struggling to understand all the comments here, but it feels like I'm living in an alternate universe. All of these questions like "but do the customs agents search for hidden partitions", etc...

Who is it that is running into all these scenarios with border control? I've gone on international flights, including to the us, dozens of times, and have seen around me thousands upon thousands of travelers, and I've never seen anyone asked to open their laptop, no to mention being grilled on hidden partitions.

Not that I'm doubting this ever happens. But from these comments, someone would get the feeling that this is routine, rather than a 1-in-an-X occurence for a probably very high X.

Re: 1Password Travel Mode: Protect your data when crossing borders

#495

Post by Tunecrew »

SamBam wrote: post #479
sneak wrote: post #428

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For five years or so, I (a US citizen) politely but firmly refused to answer a single question put to me whilst re-entering the United States, as is my human right.

Not even "Was your trip business or pleasure?" Border guards have the power to prevent you from entering the country if they believe your business is unlawful, and asking those questions is one of the ways they decide. We can question whether border guards ought to exist, but, given that they do, refusing to answer their questions seems like a ticket to a back room for hours. You really never answered their questions…

I don't believe they can prevent US citizens from entering the US.

Re: 1Password Travel Mode: Protect your data when crossing borders

#496

Post by mikey_p »

IanCal wrote: post #439
mikey_p wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like it's a tough argument though, I never have all my email on my phone, or all my dropbox files, etc. If I choose to not sync certain GMAP labels to IMAP, does that mean I am 'hiding' them?

Have you kept the data off your phone specifically for the purpose of not letting them see it, intending to sync back up afterwards?

What if I don't sync the data back to my phone until I return home? Is that concealing? Is it any different than leaving sensitive items from my wallet (say social security card) at home while I travel?

Re: 1Password Travel Mode: Protect your data when crossing borders

#497

Post by 77pt77 »

justincormack wrote: post #464
Cthulhu_ wrote: post #435

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least in those - and I'm sure this still happens - you could bribe the officials. Actually is that possible in the US or do the border officials still have a stick up their arse? I mean if you work for a big multinational IT company, surely they can provide a few hundred bucks to bribe someone to skip security. Bribing the police is normal in a lot of countries.

You can get a 10 year prison sentence or so for bribery. In any country in the world, you can be prosecuted there, or in the US or Europe. You will probably also be fired.

> You will probably also be fired.

Please elaborate on that.

Re: 1Password Travel Mode: Protect your data when crossing borders

#498

Post by 77pt77 »

SamBam wrote: post #479
sneak wrote: post #428

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For five years or so, I (a US citizen) politely but firmly refused to answer a single question put to me whilst re-entering the United States, as is my human right.

Not even "Was your trip business or pleasure?" Border guards have the power to prevent you from entering the country if they believe your business is unlawful, and asking those questions is one of the ways they decide. We can question whether border guards ought to exist, but, given that they do, refusing to answer their questions seems like a ticket to a back room for hours. You really never answered their questions…

> Border guards have the power to prevent you from entering the country if they believe your business is unlawful

No. The USA can never deny entry to citizens (nor any other country). They may arrest you on the spot, but can't deny you entry.

Green card holders is a different story, they have no right to enter and are at the discretion of the authorities.

Re: 1Password Travel Mode: Protect your data when crossing borders

#499

Post by _jal »

briandear wrote: post #299
_jal wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bingo. Why would anyone want to go through that on their vacation? Unless you enjoy that sort of thing, go somewhere pleasant instead. (And if you enjoy that sort of thing, there are far easier ways...) I say this as a US citizen who will be sad if it comes to pass, but this bullshit won't stop unless the rest of the world refuses to put up with it. Your average US citizen doesn't travel internationally (only about 1…

Put up with what? I go through Houston Customs almost every month and they rarely search anyone. It's like a river of people walking right out the airport doors after a cursory glance at the customs declaration. I have never once seen a person with an open laptop in the search areas. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen but good grief, what's the actual percentage? I am willing to bet a minuscule percentage gets their…

I don't believe the data on that is available; at least, I haven't been able to find it[1]. I'd love to be wrong, if someone else has information.

I'm glad your frequent travels are eased through customs to the point where you don't see what happens. But allow me to suggest that a frequent traveler through one port once a month is an insufficient data set from which to draw conclusions?

If nothing else, you have available the fact that a software vendor sees sufficient demand to invest in this feature, to go along with your google skills to find counterexamples to your experience. I don't know if that's sufficient to get you past your blithe dismissal of others' concerns and lived experience and on to a skeptical but open view or not.

[1] Which would be typical; one of the easiest tactics to steer public discussion is to pick and choose what data to collect and release. The US has a long history of this tactic, especially with issues that touch on law enforcement. The lack of decent data on killings committed by police is well-known; categorical refusal to allow studies on various drugs is too. But this is a frequent problem; hammering on killer cops with video is provoking grudging, slow change on the first and incremental legalization of pot is changing the second. But there are lots of issues over which this happens.

Re: 1Password Travel Mode: Protect your data when crossing borders

#500

Post by dogecoinbase »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #467
jonknee wrote: post #377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you take the time to FedEx your SSD to avoid customs you certainly made sure the disk was encrypted...

NSA can probably modify the firmware to create some sort of backdoor, if you actually look like that would be worthwhile?

If this is in your threat model, you shouldn't be taking advice from a forum thread.
Post reply on HN