RE: SPYCAM...one OTHER thing not being discussed....

[PCIntern]

I have managed to endure a few posts questioning my right to be OUTRAGED that my daughter and my family may have been observed within my home. OK, that's DU.

but hear me now: IF there are any pics of any children undressed under the age of 18 or 16 depending upon what state you're in, then these people are in the possession of child pornography and I can only hope and pray that these offenders are sent to jail, put on a list for life, and suffer for their incredible creepiness.

[Exultant Democracy]

1. You would think this is the first thing that would be discussed. Big Brother is a big pervy wanker.

[Renew Deal]

2. I think people are afraid of the possibilities

And aren't talking about it because they want to hope it never happened.

It's hard to believe that didn't happen.

[tom_paine]

25. Denial is among the most powerful human characteristics.

And our Rulers understand and exploit that.

[pipi_k]

34. That's probably exactly how I would feel about it...

sitting there wracking my brain, wondering what private things someone else might have seen or heard. Wondering WHO had seen/heard them...

What a violation...

:(

[WolverineDG]

3. That's what I was thinking

especially after you said your daughter's computer camera was "on" for up to 2 weeks at a time.

I hope you told her to put a blanket over it.

on edit: had this been my house & my daughter, I don't think I would be posting on the internet because I'd be too busy down at the school putting several people's asses & heads on platters.

dg

[peekaloo]

4. When I read your post

that was my immediate thought. Your daughter, the all male IT Dept. (I did read correctly?)

Scary, creepy stuff.

[Warpy]

5. Unless they start mounting cameras within our homes

there is really nothing to complain about. Street cams have been valuable tools for reducing street crime and convicting the punks if it happens.

They're called drapes. Closing them means no one can see what you're doing behind closed doors and you can pick your nose and scratch your arse in peace.

On edit: the cams in your phones can be shut off or simply turned to face the top of a table. The one in your spiffy new laptop can be disabled when you're not working at home. If you're being spied on in your home, it's with your permission.

[WolverineDG]

6. the camera WAS in his home

what part of "school used laptop cameras to spy on kids" do you not understand?

dg

[Warpy]

7. Masking tape

It's cheap and dirty and does the job.

Again, you can be spied on in your own home only with your permission.

[superduperfarleft]

8. That's great and all, but many people are not technically proficient enough with computers

to know that there's even a possibility to remotely access the webcam.

Just because the students were too "ignorant" to take precautions doesn't excuse a school from remotely accessing laptops to spy on kids in their homes.

[pokerfan]

30. Unless the students were given administrator rights

there would have been no way to disable the software.

[riderinthestorm]

9. I'm actually staggered that anyone would even think the laptop was being used for spying.

Why would you assume that?

I wouldn't. I never would have thought the laptop would be wired for that when it was issued by the school. I don't think PC Intern was being naive to think the school knew the rules about warrantless wiretapping and surveillance.

[WolverineDG]

11. Your cell phone too & not just by law enforcement

I always have my clients turn off their phones & remove the battery before we talk about their case.

dg

[riderinthestorm]

14. Thanks for the heads up.

My phone doesn't have a camera. It's a very basic model but my kids have good ones. After this episode that PC Intern describes, and your post, I don't like any of this. Pretty crappy.

[pokerfan]

31. Your cell phone doesn't need a camera for it to be used as a listening bug

http://www.switched.com/2009/05/26/easy-ways-to-tell-if-your-cell-phone-is-bugged/">Easy Ways to Tell if Your Cell Phone is Bugged

[noamnety]

32. Sometimes at school I'm in a position to confiscate a student's cell phone.

If they're caught using it in class, we're supposed to take it and hold it until the end of the day.

I've started telling kids "you know, you can pull the card out of that before you give it to me."

I haven't ever gone through their phones looking at messages or images, it's just not something I would do. But they should learn to protect their privacy all the same as a routine matter, and I am trying to instill that thought process into them. I think that's at least as important as the lesson "don't use your cell phone during class."

[Warpy]

17. My suggestion was for parents paranoid about it.

A little masking tape over the lens would solve the problem and they could go on to be paranoid about something else.

Like keyloggers.

[muriel_volestrangler]

22. 'Paranoid' is a weasel word to use in this situation

Since the school has admitted it had the ability to turn on the webcam without the child, or anyone else in front of it, knowing, and the school had not told the children or parents about this, up until using a webcam picture to say a child was doing something 'improper' in their home, I think your use of a psychiatric term here is 'improper'. "Justifiably worried" would fit a lot better.

[Lochloosa]

23. That's just covering up the real problem.

[Fumesucker]

21. History shows that authority is *always* abused..

Not in every single case but all you have to do is look at the actions of those in authority to find a plethora of abuses of that authority.

[WolverineDG]

10. So that makes what the school did okay in your book?

:eyes:

dg

[Warpy]

16. Any statement that begins with "so" tends to be a strawman.

Surely you've noticed.

Your post is no exception.

[WolverineDG]

28. No, you're excusing the actions of the school

by implying it's the parents' fault for not using masking tape over the camera.

dg

[Warpy]

29. That's a startling accusation.

Perhaps you don't read so good.

What I suggested would end any problem cheaply and quickly.

Your buttons getting pushed are your own problem. I didn't push them. The OP did.

If you'd rather complain than do something, be my guest.

Just don't make baseless accusations.

[hobbit709]

12. Wanna bet on that.

If your computer can be remotely accessed, everything on that computer or in view of the webcam can be seen by whoever accesses it. The law and permission be damned.

[Fumesucker]

19. Actually in the UK the cameras are proving nearly worthless on street crime..

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23412867-tens-of-thousands-of-cctv-cameras-yet-80-of-crime-unsolved.do


London has 10,000 crime-fighting CCTV cameras which cost £200 million, figures show today.

But an analysis of the publicly funded spy network, which is owned and controlled by local authorities and Transport for London, has cast doubt on its ability to help solve crime.

A comparison of the number of cameras in each London borough with the proportion of crimes solved there found that police are no more likely to catch offenders in areas with hundreds of cameras than in those with hardly any.

In fact, four out of five of the boroughs with the most cameras have a record of solving crime that is below average.

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[riderinthestorm]

13. The other threads are getting too big for my dialup

but I wanted to offer a hug PC Intern. I can't imagine how outraged you feel right now. It's pretty despicable and scary.

My daughter keeps her laptop on all the time too. She listens to music and plays games with it. It's always up and running (we don't have wifi here so she can't be online with it). Teenage girls just do that and I know exactly how shocked you must be to discover the school is breaking the law.

They had to know they were breaking the law. It seems inconceivable that they didn't know.

[pokerfan]

35. Another good reason to replace Windows with Linux

You're on dialup so downloading an entire operating system would take days but Ubuntu will send you a CD free of charge.

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu

[earth mom]

15. After reading about this yesterday, I couldn't help but wonder about my mac's built in camera.

:yoiks:

What happened at that school is beyond offensive and disgusting.

The bastards responsible deserve to rot in prison.

[Echo In Light]

18. K&R

[BakedAtAMileHigh]

20. some of the responses have been pretty stunning

I mean, I understand if someone says "let's wait until all the facts come in" but...wow. Some people just want to hand the leash over to any petty little power willing to take it, I guess. Stunning.

[lib2DaBone]

26. k/r It is stunning..STOCKHOLM SYNDROME

....oh Mr. Big Government keep us safe from the terrorist.. we will do anything you say...

[Renew Deal]

36. I agree

There some bizarrely obtuse people here.

[JerseygirlCT]

27. Great point

and I cannot understand how anyone could construe this other than a huge invasion of privacy and completely illegal.

[pipi_k]

33. Me too, especially since kids

can get into a world of trouble by texting photos of themselves in stages of undress.

If these scumbags are guilty of what they're accused of, I hope they're classified as sex offenders and never let around other people's kids again.