Security-related questions

[Derek Broughton]

Ignazio Palmisano wrote:

> Bill Parr wrote:
>> I travel internationally quite frequently - boarding at least 4
>> international flights per month in a variety of countries, most months
>> more - and haven't had to even open my laptop in at least 5 years. 5
>> years or more ago I was often ask to just open my computer - to in effect
>> demonstrate that either the boot screen came up, or (if I had put it to
>> sleep) that it was capable of being started.
>>  
> Well my laptop has been sniffed twice with some strange tool that I
> guess was meant to analyze particles in case I packed a bomb in my hard
> drive... this happened in a UK airport, and I guess the reason the
> machine was treated so was that in one case I was carrying two laptops

This surprises me.  While I haven't travelled with a laptop for years, when
I did I _never_ passed through a Canadian airport without having to open,
and turn on, my laptop and after 9/11 they also swabbed it to check for
explosives.  These weren't random checks - every computer was checked.
-- 
derek