Computer privacy is rarely discussed. I don’t know why but it’s not. For many years since I’ve been tinkering with computers and eventually repairing them professionally I’ve noticed a trend with regard to data acquisition, privacy, and evidence. Computers and files are generally the first place investigators use to capture evidence.
My decision to write this week’s article came from my accountant. He told me the IRS has purchased approximately 10,000 copies of QuickBooks accounting software for their investigative use. An attorney customer of mine later told me he visits Facebook quite regularly to acquire evidence for cases. Computer Forensics is a growing profession for investigating evidence from computers.
Computers are great for capturing and manipulating data. They can save us hours of grief and aggravation when it comes tax time. QuickBooks is a piece of business software that relieves us of paper bookkeeping and end-of-year frustration at tax time. However, it records every transaction permanently in memory. If I make a mistake while inputting something and later erase it, the history will be there.
Facebook and other social networking sites are used by many professionals to aid in investigations for all sorts of things. Maybe it’s a defense case trying to prove a defendant had an alibi for his whereabouts. No matter the reason, social networking sites retain whatever is typed in. I have heard reports of websites giving up personal data with a subpoena. Information people thought was erased is easily acquired through legal routes.
Computer Forensics is a profession dedicated to data acquisition. In severe cases where evidence is needed, a forensics person is brought in to wade through computer files looking for information. Even if you delete information on your hard drive a Computer Forensics professional with the correct software and training can resurrect the data and bring it back to life. Even Word documents contain a history of changes that someone with basic computer knowledge can exploit.
It seems like the only way to truly protect your privacy is to simply not to use computers. We’ve all gotten used to turning on the big box when we’re bored. Maybe you need the computer for job searching. Maybe you run your company from computers. The thought of not having computers at our disposal is blasphemy. How can we survive without computers?
One of my friends who does investigative work in New York gave me the most simple answer. “Don’t do anything you don’t want people to see.” It’s really as basic as that. One would think people would be smart enough not to be stupid, but that’s simply not the case.
There was a case in the news about six months ago with a guy who used an alias online to lure women. It took little time for investigators to establish the e-mail account he used to sign up for the account and the IP address used to access the e-mail. IP addresses are like finger prints – every computer has one and they’re all different.
If you’re wondering how the IRS plans to use QuickBooks it’s pretty simple. QuickBooks records every entry – even if you’ve erased it. The Accountant version of QuickBooks allows auditors to review each line entry piece by piece to establish if users have made regular changes. Saving tax dollars is the only reason someone would make changes to their QuickBooks data on a regular basis.
For most of us, clearing our browsing history is good enough. If I just bought my fiancée a gift and don’t want her to know I can simply delete my history. Permanent file deletion requires destroying the hard drive which is probably a good idea if you retain sensitive data. The best answer though; simply don’t do it. If it’s that bad you probably shouldn’t be doing it anyways.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can e-mail him at remoquin@gmail.com or call him directly at (978) 919-8059.)