Traveling Through Customs: Laptop Poll

[CocaCola]

I have not been taking a laptop when I travel to Montreal b/c I have read here and else where that they can examine your laptop and keep it indefinitely which might lead to hassles about the true reason for your visit (i.e. researching ideal water ph levels for growing waterlily pads in moderate northern hemisphere climates at the Olympic park Jardins).

I think this puts me at a disadvantage b/c I dont know what the hell is going on on merb when I'm in centre-ville as far as who is working etc.

 

[rollingstone]

I have never had a problem. It might be because I am a Canadian citizen (living in the US), but I doubt that is it. I have offered very vague reasons for my travel like "rest and and relaxation".

If I had something to worry about, I would probably handle it like this. As things are, I use firefox for all my browsing. I would download the firefox install file so I can use it to install firefox again, and then just uninstall the current version of firefox I have. If they want to look at my Internet explorer browsing history, its going to be very boring. Anyways, I think that would get you past an initial investigation of the laptop, I have no idea how deep they go as it never happened to me.

 

[montreal_monk01]

I have not been taking a laptop when I travel to Montreal b/c I have read here and else where that they can examine your laptop and keep it indefinitely which might lead to hassles about the true reason for your visit (i.e. researching ideal water ph levels for growing waterlily pads in moderate northern hemisphere climates at the Olympic park Jardins).

I think this puts me at a disadvantage b/c I dont know what the hell is going on on merb when I'm in centre-ville as far as who is working etc.

CC,
The laptop confiscation was announced in the News (RDI, TVA, TV5 and so on). They said "Customs may confiscate your laptop if they feel the need to". So no instantaneous confiscation, but the possibility is there.
In downtown Mtl, you have lots of Internet Cafes for cheap.
Regards. Monk

 

[EagerBeaver]

In downtown Mtl, you have lots of Internet Cafes for cheap.

The best ones are the Stanley Cyber Cafe near corner of Stanley and St. Catherine, the Battle Net on Avenue du Parc near corner of Sherbrooke and Parc, and the Battle Net on du Fort across the street from the Hotel du Fort. There are others.

I have brought my laptop through the border every trip for the last year and it has never even been checked let alone confiscated. Plus unless you have kiddie porn on your computer not sure why you would even be worried.

 

[CocaCola]

There was a post on Terb a while back from crazy dave from arizona where he went into full detail about the hobbying info on his laptop. They did not do anything to him in the end but I personally would rather not have to have that conversation.

Also on Terb there was a post about an upcoming US law that would make it a federal crime for a US citizen to travel anywhere for prostitution. Last I read it was in the congress for discussion.

Yes I guess knowing the interenet cafes would have been good.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Also on Terb there was a post about an upcoming US law that would make it a federal crime for a US citizen to travel anywhere for prostitution. Last I read it was in the congress for discussion.

This is a mischaracterization of the proposed law, the intent of which appears aimed to be aimed at stopping trafficking. It is discussed further here:

https://merb.cc/vbulletin/search.php?do=getnew

It`s unlikely that this law will be used to prosecute the average hobbyist who goes to a foreign country to pay for sex and does nothing else. Could you kindly provide me with an explanation on how the US would ever be able to prosecute someone who goes to Canada and engages in conduct that is not illegal there? Makes no sense. You cannot prosecute someone for doing something that is not illegal in a foreign country. Nor as a practical matter could such a prosecution ever be proven unless you left emails on your computer enabling the proof.

 

[Lilly Lombard]

This is a mischaracterization of the proposed law, the intent of which appears aimed to be aimed at stopping trafficking. It is discussed further here:

https://merb.cc/vbulletin/search.php?do=getnew

It`s unlikely that this law will be used to prosecute the average hobbyist who goes to a foreign country to pay for sex. Could you kindly provide me with an explanation on how the US would ever be able to prosecute someone who goes to Canada and engages in conduct that is not illegal there? Makes no sense. You cannot prosecute someone for doing something that is not illegal in a foreign country. Nor as a practical matter could such a prosecution ever be proven unless you left emails on your computer enabling the proof.

But it will work the other way around no? Let`s say I go on vacation to the US and bring my laptop there and they search it and find Lilly`s website. I guess I can be prosecuted even if I wasn`t going to work in the first place.

I wish I could bring my laptop to the US but I am so scared and I can`t afford to be banned from there for the next 5 years either.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Lilly,

In the USA prostitution is illegal except in certain counties in Nevada and in Rhode Island (excepting street walking which is illegal there).

Under the scenario you mentioned you would likely not be prosecuted, you would more likely be sent back to Canada and banned (I am assuming you would be stopped at the border as there would be nobody else checking your laptop). You cannot be prosecuted if you are not allowed in, in the first place.

There was a thread about your colleague Laila being banned a few years back. She was stopped on a bus and had a bunch of condoms and lingerie and I think she was banned for 5 years from coming in to the USA. I would not advise you to bring a laptop to the USA.

 

[Lilly Lombard]

There was a thread about your colleague Laila being banned a few years back. She was stopped on a bus and had a bunch of condoms and lingerie and I think she was banned for 5 years from coming in to the USA. I would not advise you to bring a laptop to the USA.

Yep, I remember it well, we discussed it many times me and her.

I don't think it was for the lingerie and condoms though since I've been going to the US for the AVN, amateur porn and swinger's conventions many times and I always bring two very big suitcases of lingerie, toys etc. I think it was the agenda she was carrying that incriminated her.

In my case, it could be my laptop that would give proofs. If my email is web based and I don't log in automatically, can they still see the emails I am checking?

 

[EagerBeaver]

Lilly,

All I recall is what she posted, which was about the condoms and lingerie. It may have been the cumulative package of things, the condoms, lingerie, her travel agenda etc. As I recall Laila actually admitted to the authorities what she was up to. I suppose she felt compelled to do so under those circumstances.

At the border on both sides, the customs agents have discretion to send you back for any number of things, also including a DUI conviction if you have not obtained a waiver. I think it is not a good idea to travel with the so called tools of the trade. Buy them in the USA or else mail them to a friend, but do not travel with them.

I really don't know what they can and cannot check on the emails if you are not logged in. I would in my own case delete any emails related to booking appointments or dates.

 

[Yzabel Wolf]

Donc si j'emmène mon lap top ils pourraient me le confisquer ? Je pars pour la l'europe vendredi et je comptais l'emmener..pour y down loader mes photos..Grrrr
Alors Je suis encore à me demander si je l'emmène.

mais si ce n'est pas les douanes américaines est-ce une bonne idée ou pas ?

 

[rollingstone]

If you dont have your username or password show up automatically for your web based e-mail, they cannot log in to it. Might be a good idea to have a second yahoo or gmail account with a few benign e-mails if they ask you to show them your e-mail. As long as its not on your computer (i.e. web based) they cannot find it. Technically they can scour your cache but that requires quite a bit more skill than they have readily available. Don't take anything with you that you cannot easily buy yourself upon your arrival.

I endured my share of scrutiny because of my Middle-East/North African roots. I got hassled because of two computer games I had in my bags. The American immigration officer claimed I was playing these war style strategy games as a form of militant training. Even on that occasion, my laptop was not inspected. I have since participated in several 'extended interrogations' under the NSEERS program and did not have my laptop looked at.

My point is you can take all the precautions you want and then still get hit by something from left field. The most important thing to remember is that if you act like you are worried about something, they will sense it. Also, equally important is that you simply answer the question asked and volunteer no additional information. The 'silent pause' is a frequently used immigration/customs tactic used to compel the person to keep talking to fill the silence. Don't fall for it.

 

[Hornee]

All The Time

I take it every where with me...all trips, business & vacation & I have never had a problem. Flying & by car.

 

[voyageur11]

Donc si j'emmène mon lap top ils pourraient me le confisquer ? Je pars pour la l'europe vendredi et je comptais l'emmener..pour y down loader mes photos..Grrrr
Alors Je suis encore à me demander si je l'emmène.

mais si ce n'est pas les douanes américaines est-ce une bonne idée ou pas ?

Les douanes Canadienne ont aussi les memes pouvoir mais les chances de te faire saisir ton ordi sont très très mince.

 

[EagerBeaver]

The most important thing to remember is that if you act like you are worried about something, they will sense it. Also, equally important is that you simply answer the question asked and volunteer no additional information. The 'silent pause' is a frequently used immigration/customs tactic used to compel the person to keep talking to fill the silence. Don't fall for it.

In addition to this they ask the same question over and over with a straight face, each time hoping for different responses, which if given is usually indicative of a person who does not have their story straight.

Speaking of militant style computer games, I recall being in the Battle Net on Avenue du Parc one time and the guy who was sitting next to me (a Caucasian Anglo Canadian) was playing some kind of game in which American soldiers in Iraq were hunting for Al Qaeda terrorists in a Mosque or what looked like a Mosque. The guy was in his early 20s and was getting into the game a little too much for my taste, and was distracting me from important research I was doing on MERB at the time. At one point, the squadron leader in the game got shot, and this guy started yelling at the top of his lungs, "cover me!!! cover me, you fucking hosers!!!!!!!!!!" I couldn't believe it, this punk really thought he was in Iraq. I told the guy at the Battle Net desk that he should call the local Canadian army recruiter because that guy needed to be shipped to Iraq or at least Afghanistan.

 

[montreal_monk01]

Donc si j'emmène mon lap top ils pourraient me le confisquer ? Je pars pour la l'europe vendredi et je comptais l'emmener..pour y down loader mes photos..Grrrr
Alors Je suis encore à me demander si je l'emmène.

mais si ce n'est pas les douanes américaines est-ce une bonne idée ou pas ?

Su tu passes pas par les Etats Unis, ca devrait etre correct.
Donc comme c'était dit aux nouvelles: pas de confiscation automatique, mais la possibilité est là si ils le jugent nécessaires.
La meilleure des choses c'est de vérifier avec les douanes des pays que tu vas visiter (ils ont généralement tous leurs règlements sur leurs sites).
Bon voyage Isabelle!

 

[Yzabel Wolf]

Su tu passes pas par les Etats Unis, ca devrait etre correct.
Donc comme c'était dit aux nouvelles: pas de confiscation automatique, mais la possibilité est là si ils le jugent nécessaires.
La meilleure des choses c'est de vérifier avec les douanes des pays que tu vas visiter (ils ont généralement tous leurs règlements sur leurs sites).
Bon voyage Isabelle!

MERCI beaucoup !!
Je vais voir ça...;-)))))

 

[metoo4]

As I said before, my laptop got searched once, on my way back to Canada, in Ottawa, and they were looking for kiddie porn. The guy was barely able to use Windows Explorer to browse files so, computer-wise, the guy was no danger at all, even if I would have had the plans for a nuclear bomb and transaction documents showing I sold it to Al Quaida.

What we need to remember is these guys are mostly looking for [BOLD]OUR FACE[/BOLD] while they search a laptop. A reaction is what they want, that's it. [BOLD]OUR FACE[/BOLD] will decide if they search further or not.

If you ladies are worried, here's What I suggest: it's simple and anybody with a small Philips screwdriver (+) can do it for about $200 including the techie's time for the first time: get a new hard drive and have somebody reinstall Windows from scratch.

It's easy! Once somebody show you how, you'll be able to do the entire procedure in less than 30 minutes. The "Windows" part need to be done once only and it's the most difficult. Once you have the new drive and Windows is installed on it, you have no more costs and no more need for a techie.

1- When you are not crossing borders, you work with your original drive.
2- Before you need to cross a border, copy all your business data to an online web storage site (some are free). Customs have no way to get on these sites if you don't select auto login and clear your private data. (Use FireFox)
3- Pull the original hard drive out of the laptop and install the "new" drive.

Voila! You have a "virgin" laptop! With FireFox, you can set the privacy so it erase your cookies and all private data automatically each time FireFox is shut-down so, Customs don't even know you use online storage.

Every time you need to cross Customs, you keep your drive #2 in the laptop and leave #1 at home. When you're in Canada, you use drive #1.

 

[Classy Angel]

I've never had an issue

I travel with my computer all the time, and have never had them ask me to turn it on. I do know of a couple international travel companions who have had problems - but that was due to them not cleaning up their history.

If you're into something really dodgy, then it's probably better to leave it at home. But if it's just adult sites you are visiting, your computer most likely won't get more than a swabbing.

 

[Conan]

There are a few measures you can take to avoid any potential issues if your computer is searched:

- Use only web based email, do not save the password and not even the username. And even if they discovered you use [email protected], they cannot make you login or demand the password, that's outside of their jurisdiction. They can only look at the stuff you have physically with you. Plus nothing is stopping you from using multiple accounts.

- Install Firefox, Google Chrome or another secondary browser and do all your private stuff there. Before travelling, uninstall the browser. Once in Canada, reinstall if needed and uninstall before going back.

- If you save pictures, videos or any other files, save them to a USB drive and remember to leave it at home.

- For the totally paranoid and somewhat tech savy - install VMWare or Microsoft Virtual PC and set up a virtual computer to run inside of your main system (it basically runs a virtual computer as an application). Once you get everything set up and configured, save the PC and set it up to throw away the session changes (feature called "differencing disks", similar to Undo but applies to the entire virtual machine). Then anytime you boot, you always get the same "virgin" system.

And most importantly, remain calm if they get interested in your laptop, knowing that it would take FBI-level forensics to prove something. They have the right to seize the laptop so you are better off to be cooperative and show them everything they ask about. In all likelihood they will go after your Internet browser history or may run a search for new files created in the last month or so. You can also play to be more computer ignorant than you are to avoid them taking the search to the next level hoping they would find something there..