Posted: 10/25/2009 1:55:38 PM EDT
|
I occasionally let a certain person use my laptop when I'm not using it - graveyard shift at work, out of town, that sort of circumstance.
Come home from Milwaukee today to find a LOT of inappropriate stuff in my My Recent Documents folder on the Start menu. Like, criminally inappropriate. Is there any chance (I'll even take a snowball's chance in hell) that it got in there without being actively sought? And the fact that it was in My Recent Documents means it was actually ON my computer as opposed to being viewed on the internets, right, perhaps as a pop-up? I know I'm grasping at straws here, but I cannot believe this. 
|
|
Quoted: It got there by being on your computer. Either downloaded or brought in on an external drive.I occasionally let a certain person use my laptop when I'm not using it - graveyard shift at work, out of town, that sort of circumstance. Come home from Milwaukee today to find a LOT of inappropriate stuff in my My Recent Documents folder on the Start menu. Like, criminally inappropriate. Is there any chance (I'll even take a snowball's chance in hell) that it got in there without being actively sought? And the fact that it was in My Recent Documents means it was actually ON my computer as opposed to being viewed on the internets, right, perhaps as a pop-up? I know I'm grasping at straws here, but I cannot believe this. Its going to be hard to do any evidence gathering, because you can prove that he had the laptop without a doubt at the time the illegal stuff was imported. I say call a detective, take your laptop in to the cops. They will forensic image the drive. You may get your laptop back, you may not. Tell them the circumstances that he had custody of the laptop. |
|
One document or web site is possible. For instance, about 15 years ago my boss and I were trying to find out some information on a brand new software product. Tried searching on the web for it, and it ended up the name of the company matched the name of a gay bar in San Fran. Yuck.
That said, if there's a whole lot of stuff then nope, not likely it's accidental. |
|
Quoted:
What kind of activity are we talking here? I'm not going to elaborate. The "criminally inappropriate" description I used in the OP is good enough. 
As a tech guy, I kinda figured it wasn't going to get onto my computer and into My Recent Documents without someone seeking out out and downloading it. Cue FUUUUUUUuuuuuu picture. This is not a discussion I look forward to having. |
| There is pretty much no chance it accidentally wound up there. As far as taking it to the cops, there is not a whole lot they can do. There is no way to prove who put what where, so there is no solid criminal case to be made. Nuke the drive and reinstall the OS. You can look at the dates on the files and see if they correspond with the last time they used your PC. |
|
Download and run all three:
Crap Cleaner to delete the obvious stuff Recuva to overwrite the deleted stuff Eraser to overwrite all remaining HD free space |
|
Quoted:
Download and run all three: Crap Cleaner to delete the obvious stuff Recuva to overwrite the deleted stuff Eraser to overwrite all remaining HD free space Actually CCleaner does all three. It will securely delete and it will wipe free space, although I use Eraser too. Both great programs. My advice is to do a full format and erase with something like DBAN and reinstall the OS. You really don't want to get in some other kind of scrutiny later on, and they take your lappie and go ooooh, what is this? I wouldn't risk it. Too many good forensic programs out there. EnCase comes to mind. |
|
1. i say make a separate account first. let him set a password on it, so that narrows it down for it being anyone but him.
2. I say you get a keylogger. They are hard to find ones that are free, but they are like $40ish. Set up the keylogger before he gets on the account. Most good keyloggers will take screenshots of the monitor at 30secs/1min, whatever you set it to. Then you can set it up in the keylogger to email you all of the results of whats been going on, on the laptop. So now you have solid evidence it was him. 3. If it is a close friend, i say you talk to them, and then get them help with either a conselor or a pastor. 4. If it isnt a close friend, either go through the police or FBI. there are also many programs and businesses that will take care of all this if you get a hold of them. they will take the information and relay it to the proper channels for criminal punishment. they also may know the laws and better ways to catch him and have legal evidence to prosecute. 5. I would make sure that you mention or talk about this to another reliable person with integrity that can vouch that it wasnt you. |
|
Some older style infections could "add" things to the start menu and so on. If the computer is unprotected and unpatched there is a small chance it is not deliberate.
That said. Don't bother screwing around trying to "catch" or "prove" anything. Wipe that shit. Say nothing to nobody. Even if you catch the biggest child predator ever, you are never going to see your computer again. Or worse, get wrapped up in a court case or in jail. Just wipe it and move on. Then, stop sharing your computer. That's stupid. (For reasons exactly like this.) Turn it off and throw it under your bed when you are not around, stick a bios password on it or encrypt the entire hard drive. Let people fuck their _own_ shit up. |
|
Quoted: Quoted: It got there by being on your computer. Either downloaded or brought in on an external drive.I occasionally let a certain person use my laptop when I'm not using it - graveyard shift at work, out of town, that sort of circumstance. Come home from Milwaukee today to find a LOT of inappropriate stuff in my My Recent Documents folder on the Start menu. Like, criminally inappropriate. Is there any chance (I'll even take a snowball's chance in hell) that it got in there without being actively sought? And the fact that it was in My Recent Documents means it was actually ON my computer as opposed to being viewed on the internets, right, perhaps as a pop-up? I know I'm grasping at straws here, but I cannot believe this. Its going to be hard to do any evidence gathering, because you can prove that he had the laptop without a doubt at the time the illegal stuff was imported. I say call a detective, take your laptop in to the cops. They will forensic image the drive. You may get your laptop back, you may not. Tell them the circumstances that he had custody of the laptop. As someone certified in computer forensics, I'm with this guy. Don't use the laptop anymore until you get it to an investigator who can image it. If the criminally inappropriate material warrants it, perhaps the po-po would be kind enough to give you a "loaner" laptop you could leave with the guy next time. ETA: the OP can feel free to PM me with any questions. |
|
Turn it in to the cops. Explain the circumstances. Offer assistance if they want you to let the perv borrow your laptop again.
Natural law demands that we seek out justice. If this creep has committed a crime against children, he needs to be taken down (legally), and you have what is needed to do it. If nothing else, you have provided some sort of probable cause that will allow the cops to search his own computers for the illegal smut. Ruin him. |
|
Quoted:
For instance, about 15 years ago my boss and I were trying to find out some information on a brand new software product. Tried searching on the web for it, and it ended up the name of the company matched the name of a gay bar in San Fran. Yuck. I didn't know there was a Software company called "The Fellow Ship." |
|
let's think this through a bit; YOUR laptop is now full of criminal evidence. YOU ARE going to take it to the police and tell them; YOUR laptop was loaned out to someone who put this criminal stuff on it, and that its; NOT YOUR criminal stuff on YOUR laptop under YOUR login credentials. I think that would be a long day at the police station for you. |
|
Quoted: Thank you for appropriately using "cue", instead of "queue".Quoted: What kind of activity are we talking here? I'm not going to elaborate. The "criminally inappropriate" description I used in the OP is good enough. As a tech guy, I kinda figured it wasn't going to get onto my computer and into My Recent Documents without someone seeking out out and downloading it. Cue FUUUUUUUuuuuuu picture. This is not a discussion I look forward to having. My condolences for your misfortune. ETA: Are you willing to see this guy prosecuted? |