The Sisyphus Comments

A Little Computer Paranoia Is Good

If you use a computer someone, somewhere may be able to recover the information or track your movements (including on-line training records). Don’t use a computer for anything that you wouldn’t want to to become public knowledge or show up later. As law enforcement officers, you should be aware that forensics experts can retrieve information that people may have thougt was was deleted, even when ordinary users cannot.

If you share or use an office computer, you should have little or no expectation of privacy. Even if certain information isn’t admissible in court, it can work against you in other proceedings. There is even some question whether an attorney-client privilege applies to communications stored on a shared computer.

Trouble in paradise? Your web-surfing habits, e-mail and financial records are often targets in divorce and child custody cases. So, if a divorce or separation is possibly in your future, take steps to protect yourself.

Here are a few simple rules to help keep yourself out of trouble.

Sometimes we focus so much on protecting our information from prying eyes that we forget about an equally serious threat, the loss of our information. Backing up your data is just a good computing practice but it is very important if there is a chance that your data could be deleted by someone with a malicious purpose. Sometimes people can actually benefit more from the disappearance of information than they can from the information itself. Make sure that you set up a schedule for backing up important data and then store the copy in a safe off site place like a safety deposit box.

Use your head when sending e-mail. Don’t disclose sensitive information or personal details in e-mail. Remember, unlike a letter, your e-mail can be sent to an unlimited number of recipients with the touch of a button and you have no control over how the message will be used.

The great thing about the internet is also the scary thing about it. You can find information about almost any topic including how to hack e-mail accounts. Also, if you don’t use secure password and change them often, your spouse or your co-workers may be able to guess your passwords. Don’t forget that if the internet provider is subpoenaed, it may have to turn over your e-mail. This could include messages you thought were deleted. Emptying your trash folder is good, but it may not protect you since it doesn’t truely “erase” the information.

There is no law against visiting websites that contain questionable content but it could be used to cast doubt about your character in a child custody battle.

Many people mistakenly believe that they are anonymous when they visit chat rooms and Internet forums. Unfortunately, they are mistaken so use them cautiously. When you chat or post messages online, your IP address (computer address) is recorded and it can be traced back to you.

There are a number of ways that your internet activity can be monitored. At work, activity logs may be kept that document all of the activity on a given network. Employers and spouses have also been known to use keylogging programs that can be installed and monitored from a remote computer. Keyloggers are designed to be very difficult to detect once they have been installed on a computer. If a keylogger is installed on your computer, the only way you may be able to detect it is to use a program like SpyCop or SpyDetect to find it. Be careful about using a keylogging program since they may violate state or federal laws.

Now you know so govern yourself accordingly.