Is your tech repair shop spying on you? (Marketplace)

[@Nomoreidsleft]

Copying data to a USB drive is theft. Whoever did that needs to be charged criminally.

[@liamwelsh5565]

It's one thing for a single employee to do this. But when the company is questioned about it, and they come up with some bs "ghost touch", that's pretty shady.

[@lorpis8284]

I brought a phone there with a broken screen and every employee I talked to wanted me to unlock it. They buggered the repair badly and my phone started overheating. They attempted to add charges for their mistake after the quote and the phone lost functionality because they through away an original part they should have left. I ended up having to buy a new phone anyways. At least I was able to get the data.

[@janem3575]

I'm happy with Mobile Klinik's response. will have to look them up

[@TheAmtwhite]

The guy who stole someone’s photos wasn’t terminated?!?!!!!! Only disciplined?!? Ridiculous!!!!

[@maplelodge2]

Police should of been involved. Who knows how much more data that employee has stolen from other devices.

[@tarag7292]

I agree. He not only looked at her private information, but STOLE it. That is theft, and he wasn't fired? I don't understand.

[@cattymajiv]

I so much agree! That company needs to be shamed, and as the victim, Marketplace should have filed charges!

[@HelTra91]

Probably promoted after he shared the photos with the higher ups

[@jonleibow3604]

Yikes. I was actually considering buying a laptop from Canada Computers, after watching this noooooo way.

[@Chrisinlgy]

if this was real, not a test, Canada Computer technician has woman's sensitive photos, name, address, phone number, email, contacts, where she work etc etc... imagine what he could do with all the personal info and picture she may not want to be out in public.... this needs to be taken more seriously than "he's been told not to do it again".....

[@oceanwonders]

Agreed. With that address, that woman could now get stalked.

[@thuandao4243]

I need to replace some phone batteries but don’t feel comfortable with them repair shops copied whole had sd and have access to email bank other important apps Amazon , ….once a victim, several times….how can a typical person know where it came from¿ we leave digital paper trails everywhere using cards, I prefer cash payments when possible.

[@OhGeeWillickersMister]

tomreplace the battery, they shouldn't need a passcode, right?

[@RachelDoesntknow]

I mean the dude that stole the pictures went out of his way to cover his tracks with plausible deniability. Enlarging the images means there's no record he opened the files. And the USB port was available because he can say that's what was broken in the first place so he was testing it.

[@MrBeatboxmasta]

Out of all the violators, only the first location responded appropriately. Sure, we don't have confirmation that they actually did what they said they did but at least, we can give them the benefit of the doubt. Disciplining instead of firing for those types of offenses, means privacy is not as important as you claim it to be. Those that were even worse by making excuses, means they actually endorse the perpetrator's actions. They should be fined a very hefty amount.

[@mamaray8903]

As a hospital employee if I even search a name who isn't within my circle of care, I can be terminated and/or fined $55k by the government

[@teddypawz1211]

As a repair tech, I can honestly say that this is absolutely horrifying that anyone would do this. Like... there's no reason to go through people things at all. Even to move your stuff over to a new phone. 🙃

[@Aeizium]

I went to a local repair guy in my area near the end of least year (about a year ago) or something for an emergency repair on my computer seems fine. I believe that if you are to get a computer repair you should do it from a trusted and local 3rd party and avoid major chains as much as possible unless you have a secure and trusting relationship which usually is limited to people who interface with these chains as corporate representatives. It is well known that you won't be taken seriously unless you talk business. Unless you talk business; assume your data is up for sale.

[@Kas_Styles]

As someone in cybersecurity. Not surprised but still disappointed

[@soju69jinro]

I agree. I find almost everyone a criminal, many people in the real world are just opportunist, given opportunity they will commit a crime. Theres only a handful of people who do the right things.

[@BobbsVegine-eg3xz]

Certain repair people mainly from different countries don't know the word privacy.

[@Rakki_Haitatsu]

So your saying you never snooped someone's personal files? Ever?

[@Garwinium]

Massive W for the store that fired the snooping employee. I work in a tech repair shop, and yeah, if I or any of my coworkers were caught doing that, I can almost guarantee we'd be fired. If you take your device to a repair shop I would recommend asking if the tech repair area is recorded, and if the person repairing devices is not the person running the store or having access to the cameras.

[@cattymajiv]

WTF is a massive W? Do you always speak in code?

[@Garwinium]

@@cattymajiv "W" is kinda a slang for "win", "great", "good". It's usually used by saying something is a "W", which is pretty much saying that it's good/great. It can also be used on it's own as a response to something else by just replying with "W", which usually means "nice"/"good"/"great" or can signify agreement with what was said

[@gusta246]

Shocking, but not really surprising. People do all kinds of icky things when they think they will never be caught. The most shocking bit for me, though, is that apparently only ONE of these immoral techs was actually fired. Merely 'disciplining' an employee who does such things is absolutely not enough. Not only does it contradict the claims that these companies take personal privacy SO SO seriously, but it has to negatively impact on corporate reputation, and turning customers off can only negatively impact profits. Shortsighted response in the end.

[@JPs-q1o]

...meanwhile at big tech companies like Tesla there are employees accessing the cameras on people's cars to snoop inside their garages, listen to their domestic disputes, and creep on their children while Google practices digital stalking to their maximum of their capability. CBC: **crickets**

[@sasksunseekers5699]

Totally agree, I'd also like to add, that one employee that copied the pictures to their own thumb drive, that person should have berm charged with theft let alone be disciplined !!

[@kumbah2006]

@@sasksunseekers5699- agreed ! If you can't trust the people troubleshooting or repairing your device, to not steal (and copy!) your files, you might as well prepare to just file identity theft charges - as well as contacting their Corporate HQ, to let them in on what happened ! There's no telling what they're going to do with your data - so it needs to get reported to whatever legal entities exist in that territory. The sooner the charges are files, and the higher ups are notified, the quicker this can be taken care of. Unfortunately, this outright copying (and theft) could lead to more crimes being committed by that individual in the future. They don't need to access personal files to do their work - this is just wrong. Anyhow, I'd be watching your accounts for any new activity; especially "cloning". IT's not what they are supposed to be doing while at work. Ugh. :( Glad you caught them, but what can you do now?

[@kaze987]

BestBuy basically tells Marketplace to eff off and ignores the problem, not even a boilerplate statement. So disgusting.

[@Bugsy0333]

I agree sickening !

[@whatthepick]

Best Buy we don't mess with the Geek Squad for what peanuts we pay them this is their perk ...

[@trent5519]

This was pretty eye opening.There was a glaring omission in not including Apple stores. So many use apple devices and sone of electronics in the story where apple. It would be great to see a followup including Apple stores.

[@whatthepick]

Maybe they didn't know someone who could make an Apple Keylogger? I agree though

[@YouMotorcycle]

Had a relative get something fixed at Apple and they fixed it right in front of him, maybe that's why

[@CC-gb4ym]

With Apple you wait while they fix it. They don’t have time to go looking for stuff not related to what they’re doing.

[@BobbsVegine-eg3xz]

​@@YouMotorcyclesame day service. Seen so many people just hand their phones over to these random repair guys all the time with passwords to their devices.

[@blmartech]

Apple is a closed system, you don't have the freedom to do whatever you want on an iPhone. Which is why they can't run the software necessary.

[@8Kitbit]

None of my stuff goes to a store/repair place ever because of this kind of stuff. I always search the internet and all sorts of blogs/KZbin on troubleshooting issues and I do it myself.

[@Instant_Sub]

Doing that saves a lot of money, too.

[@JPs-q1o]

...meanwhile at big tech companies like Tesla there are employees accessing the cameras on people's cars to snoop inside their garages, listen to their domestic disputes, and creep on their children while Google practices digital stalking to their maximum of their capability. CBC: **crickets**

[@MarcShorty23]

I just buy a new phone instead lool 😅😂😊👍👌

[@DJStKittz]

I run an indipendant repair shop and Ive honestly never even thought to look at someones data. To be honest, my time is more valuable in completing jobs than lurking at peoples data. The reality is peopel assume the small repair shop is "sketchy", and people have the assumption that a major franchise is "safer". Clearly it is not

[@JA_7DAYS]

THIS!!!!

[@rossinfilm]

Nathan Fielder, a graduate of one of Canada’s top business schools (with really good grades), found an amazing solution to this issue in one of his episodes that could really be implemented to help these businesses build their reputations.

[@willfillbill]

All these suggestooms about livestreaming the repair shops are flawed and would require far too many resources and still allow for snooping, the only solution is requiring asexuality for the industry.

[@soogymoogi]

​@@willfillbilleven that is flawed, since ace people could still take the photos for blackmail

[@loudboomboom]

I only bring my devices to Nathan Fielder’s tech repair locations, especially since he’s a graduate of one of Canada’s top business schools with really good grades.

[@JoannaVancouver]

I just got my laptop back from Dell repair today. Before sending it in, I moved all my files and then formatted by laptop. I just assume that anyone could and would look at my files. Unfortunately, not everyone has the tech knowledge or a tech issue that would allow for this. Technicians are on paid time and are not only invading clients' privacy, but also slacking off while getting paid for it. Copying client's photos to their own USB is next level! Thank you CBC Marketplace for another great investigative report.

[@cattymajiv]

I hope you got good service from Dell. I bought a laptop from them 10 years ago, and found what I thought was a minor problem. So I called them, and they talked me through a test. In just a few minutes the tech on the phone identified that the hard drive had bad sectors. They sent me a new one which took 2 or 3 days, and talked me through installing it, which was SUPER easy. All for free. Fixed within 3 days of the moment I noticed a problem, for free, without me having to take it anywhere! I have loved Dell ever since. I was dubious about buying from Dell at first, but now I rave about them! So I wish you also have the best of luck with them.

[@VD-cc4hx]

formatting doesnt remove your data. you can still access it after that.

[@uirukii]

This is something I’ve always wondered myself, and usually backup everything and cleansweep my computer if I ever have to give it to a tech shop

[@jeank5410]

It’s also a good idea to invest in an external hard drive or two to do backups on a periodic basis in the event of a hard drive failure (which I’ve experienced a few times).

[@BobbsVegine-eg3xz]

In this day and age you can't trust anyone with your data. Remember not everyone in these repair center have a conscience or ever heard the word privacy.

[@JoannaVancouver]

@@BobbsVegine-eg3xz Was there a day and age when you could trust anyone with your data?

[@salbaker4608]

Why not mandate the tech repair shop to video-record or live-feed every second of the repair and timestamp the video with a detailed log list of everything they've done from the moment the device leaves your hand to when you receive it back. Then, have the record audited and verified by a third-party. In case of a privacy breach, the shop gets charged and fined. Just a thought!

[@MrBeatboxmasta]

Just like other professions who have to record themselves on the job....like by wearing a body cam, the cameras suspiciously stop working or the video footage magically disappears when they do something wrong.

[@BobbsVegine-eg3xz]

Similar to what they do in call centers

[@salbaker4608]

@@BobbsVegine-eg3xz Exactly !

[@Carpediem357]

You actually expect people to take a few minutes of their time to log everything down and make sure the cameras work?

[@salbaker4608]

@@Carpediem357 One can only hope !

[@toin9898]

I'd love to see this same test done at the Apple Store.

[@timmy7201]

I remember some vague news article from a couple years ago, where someone's nude pic's got leaked online through an Apple store employee. So yes, it happens at Apple as well! My take on it: A) Learn to service your own devices yourself, for free... (It's not as difficult as it looks, I did this decades ago when I was 14)... B) Ask some friend or family member for help, and pay them My recommendation: - Don't give strangers access to your devices! - Get Devices where you can remove the storage device(s), before dropping it of at the shop! - Encrypt the data on your storage device! Non encrypted data can easily be accessed, even without the password. - Get a multi bay NAS, store your private data on that instead. It also helps to avoid data-loss, due to defects... - Get two multi bay NAS devices, put the second one at a family members house as backup. You've now offsite backups, even in case of fire or theft...

[@dnasystems-ca]

me too

[@Brian-jv8iy]

I left my iPhone a few times, before they wiped the device with you, told you to make a backup beforehand, and last time they do not ask for the code as they say they dont need it wiped nor any kind of access to it anymore.

[@JPs-q1o]

...meanwhile at big tech companies like Tesla there are employees accessing the cameras on people's cars to snoop inside their garages, listen to their domestic disputes, and creep on their children while Google practices digital stalking to their maximum of their capability. CBC: **crickets** Louis Rossmann might report on it but you sure as heck won't see CBC reporting on Apple or other big tech against their paymaster's interests.

[@desireeholloway3353]

You’re required to wipe your phone clean back to factory reset before they even touch your phone. They make this VERY clear. They’re taking no chances!!

[@hockeyman1]

thank you cbc marketplace. for all the info we wish we could tell, but no one listens . keep up the good work 👏

[@JPs-q1o]

...meanwhile at big tech companies like Tesla there are employees accessing the cameras on people's cars to snoop inside their garages, listen to their domestic disputes, and creep on their children while Google practices digital stalking to their maximum of their capability. CBC: **crickets**

[@jinellepiereder9871]

Not sure if this is just because of how they edited the footage together, but it also seemed like the female CBC staffer was MORE likely to have her privacy invaded than the male staffer. @CBC out of the 9 violation incidents, how many of them happened on the female staffer's devices??

[@commentersname8576]

Probably all. Most computer techs are male

[@Clamps-nn2pz]

lets redo the test. Send in the large broad with the purple hair and see if they snoop. 🤣

[@DBR00]

I wish this show would be produced in the United States.

[@burton6849]

The lady who was the former privacy commisioner for ontario : she acts really surprised and is 'appalled' by this... if she is then I don't know what kind of a job she was doing as privacy commissioner. how can she be surprised?! she must have been aware this kind of thing happens - and its not isolated. Either she wasn't very good at her job - or shes just being really melodramatic.

[@kaynkayn9870]

"oh yeah lol, i know right???" wouldn't had been a good response in my opinion

[@MrRedtaco11]

Long ago I had bought an open box, floor model computer from a computer store. Everything at first seemed to be going fine until I started to notice that there was information on the computer that wasn’t mine. I started finding apps that were opening not with my login but someone else’s. I had realized that the open box computer that I got the store it got returned to never removed the previous customers information on it. At this time computers came with the discs to where you could reformat the entire computer. I reformatted the whole computer and went one with my day. So a word to everyone. When you are returning a device for whatever reason, make sure that all your information is off of it. You never know what the person after you is going to do with it. It’s disgusting that people go through other people’s things. It should be a chargeable crime to the employee but also the company. This whole thing about “no comment” is a completely joke and it means that the companies aren’t taking it seriously. Since it’s not a big problem and companies aren’t going to be head accountable this is going to keep on happening. People are gross.

[@GoddessLaurel]

I agree, they should t just have a review, or be fired. They should be charged for data theft.. especially the one who downloaded the clients info onto his own usb

[@TheQueen0fGames]

I own a small business that specializes in computer repairs, cybersecurity and general technical consultation. In my 12+ years of fixing computers, I've never once open any of my client's personal files without their consent. The only time I would open personal files is if the client is present and watching me (with their consent) or I already have permission in writing; usually would only do this in specific cases such as ransomware recovery, data/file recovery, error message pertaining to a specific file, etc. Not sure what the law is in Canada, but in the US you can file a lawsuit when a technician snoops through your personal files without permission.

[@julesthecat.]

Wow a bunch of nerds going through women’s photos. Shocking.

[@louisax4058]

The Best Buy surprised me because many years ago i went to repair a laptop under warranty and the first thing the geek squad told me was to backup my data because they do a factory reset on every device before repairing it.

[@-danR]

"Always reset. We can't have people snooping on our snooping" -- New Technician Orientation and Training, Day 1.

[@cocoidiea8643]

Before repairing, after snooping.

[@thorgran3]

Photo technicians have been doing things like this, making extra copies of people's risque photos for instance, to people's personal photos as long as there have been places to take film for development/printing. Of COURSE it still happens. The only human you can really trust is yourself.

[@GuylaineLauniere-mc8ho]

Remember when people only took "risqué" photos with Polaroid? That's why.

[@GuylaineLauniere-mc8ho]

Back when you couldn't share photos in "one click" ...and the photos would actually FADE TO NOTHING after a while. Haha

[@alastairclarke]

Thank you CBC! We need more investigations like this!

[@X3r0.]

And this is why the right to repair our own devices is very important.

[@Mark-xg3zn]

...Ahh Marketplace ❤ as always wonderful stuff !!

[@raymondlee3327]

Luckily I have a modern Samsung phone! My S21 FE 5G and S20 FE 5G have maintenance mode which blocks access to my data and apps!

[@pinkyssj4]

Computers, laptops and tablets need this feature

[@ja8570]

Now I'm glad I always was and still am a computer nerd and never need to take my computer to repair shop! Seriously though, this very concerning. There are ways to copy most everything without getting detected at all but I won't go into that.

[@jeycalc6877]

doesn't matter, sometimes hardware issues can't be fixed, even by a nerd

[@ja8570]

@@jeycalc6877 It _does_ matter. In this day and age, knowledge is power more so than ever. Specifically, the vast majority of the issues can be DIY fixed. That especially applies to something with so many layers upon layers as a modern computing device. Furthermore, a lot of people just are _not_ in the position to make the determination if a device is even truly dead or not. They may just end up taking it to the shop for a last-ditch attempt at repair. Then possibly get ripped off into buying a replacement that is more expensive than what they need. They end up rushed into a decision with sales pitches on topics they don't understand well enough -- this applies to many scenarios not just computing, like automotives. Look at CBCMarketPlace's investigative reports on car repairs from a few years back and be just as equally appalled. Depending on the device, there's also the issue of transferring all local (non-cloud) data from the old device to the new device. That can be done DIY with some care & attention without risk of data breach. That local data may be more of the personal kind as well.

[@whatthepick]

Got an SSD wet one day may have to use a repair shop, alas that is a real repair.

[@ja8570]

​@@whatthepick If the SSD or HDD isn't even recognized by the BIOS then that's beyond most retail computer repair shops too. That gets into expensive data recovery services that specialize in this type of problem. I've had my share of data loss but nothing to warrant an actual data recovery service thankfully. That's due to a combination of luck and backup strategy. But if the drive is still detected but the filesystem is hosed then there are several low-level utilities that can scan the drive and provide at least some partial data recovery of the most important data.

[@whatthepick]

@@ja8570 I decided to just reset from an older backup. Was about 5 to 6 months of data since the last backup, my own fault for being lazy on it and not trusting the cloud as I leave backups in hard drives other than bookmarks which google saves. I may try a low level utility scanner and see if it miraculously wakes up after being powered down so long or wait a year or two for the chips to get cheaper to make home repair easier. Main problem is definitely impurities on the chip since it fell into the bath ...

[@deborahcheung8636]

Why would the technician be so interested in my food pictures?! If they wanted restaurant recommendations, they could have just asked

[@LiveInnerCity]

Kudos to CBC for shedding light on this issue. It's a significant step towards creating awareness and pushing for better privacy safeguards.

[@JPs-q1o]

...meanwhile at big tech companies like Tesla there are employees accessing the cameras on people's cars to snoop inside their garages, listen to their domestic disputes, and creep on their children while Google practices digital stalking to their maximum of their capability. CBC: **crickets**

[@thetriggerhappypwner]

If this was Britain, where I am from, these companies would be facing huge fines! Absolutely disgraceful, and totally inappropriate!

[@EnronnSierra]

Create a local account with enough privileges to download and install drivers. Usually a user account with Power User privilege will be sufficient enough to install drivers and perform any diagnostics. You can then delete the account after getting your computer back.

[@Angry84YouTube]

I've always fixed my devices since being a kid, repaired and serviced my vehicles. I believe in understanding the tech that you use. Elderly family members also come to us younger ones for solutions to problems instead of wasting money on such things. Its not an option for everyone, but we live in a world full of information and more people should learn to use it. Knowledge is power after all

[@proandysong]

For the company that said they needed to look for jpg files in order to diagnose stuff, they should be take out of business.

[@joananne7802]

It is about time a test like this was done. I am a Mystery Shopper in my small city and if that got out I would be out of work (alcohol, pot shops, restaurants, car repair, paint shops, jewellery stores, etc.). I have to take pictures of businesses and sometimes have to do some of my notes on my phone.

[@MisterGlassy]

There is a small flaw in testing. There is a reason why you might want to go through the photo's for the flickering screen. If the tech is having a problem recreating the flickering screen then they might be inclined to test the phone the way that it would be used in the real world. Probably they should ask the customer "Does it happen when you are browsing, does it happen when you are surfing", but without the customer there the tech might simply do those activities themselves if they are unable to recreate the issue in a lab setting.

[@jiaweichew3370]

That’s APPALLING that people who are supposed to be your repair and go to tech specialists are doing that. I used to work in a phone company selling phones and I do sometimes do light fixes (like software updates and minor adjustments to UI if something is not working). It was company policy to not do that and our manager was very strict on what we can and cannot do, I always did the fixes in the presence of customers especially software updates and if it took a long time, we would essentially guard the phone like it was a valuable item.

[@BobbsVegine-eg3xz]

All company should have this standard. But with all these little repair shops popping up all over the place. Good luck with that. I wouldn't be surprised if many are just front for data harvesters.

[@samsep0]

My brother had a friend who was working as a computer tech in a small company. The company found out he had copied private photos and videos from every computer he had access to. Scary!

[@Lurker-dk8jk]

Whenever your PC or phone is taken off-site for service, or anywhere outside of your personal area of influence, assume that they have complete access to all data on that device, and all data that device has been used to access previously. Some places, like Best Buy, are required to report certain objectionable material to the US government for prosecution, if you're in the US. In that sense, they have a vague legal directive to look, if not an ethical one.

[@jack8356]

Most phones these days have service mode. Idk how reliable that is though

[@hjf3022]

I'm not sure whether it is able to keep the regular user profile encrypted while it runs the maintenance mode, even if it is bypassable, it at least puts up a significant barrier to the casual snooping that we saw in the video.

[@hbarudi]

I don't like how modern devices hard solder the data storage chips to the motherboard. I prefer devices that allow you to remove the storage such as removing the laptop ssd before sending it in for repair. My laptop fan broke once and I sent my laptop to repair without the drive included. No drive they don't see any files on it.

[@musamapk]

Some mobile phones (samsung and google pixel, may be others) come with maintenance/ repair mode. Activating that can protect user data from such snooping.

[@zoltanb1221]

They should video tape the whole repair process, and share it with you if you request it.

[@MEGIDIOT]

Refresher course??! Fire them

[@SlaveLikeTheRestOfUs]

Even if you factory reset the phone it can all be retrieved with ease. Whole reason i never let the mrs sell them online once she uogrades. I showed her how easy it is. People think its gone once factory reset. It really isnt. The photos may be of a lower resolution but they stay on there forever

[@RainySunday21]

Thanks for sharing that. That was my suspicion and you confirmed it. I also don't believe there is any so called maintenance lock or any publicly available app that can truly protect. I've seen really smart children who could do some wild things for kicks. Turn that intelligence towards something nefarious with effort... all bets are off.

[@joanieHG]

"Different opinion" like searching *.jpg going to do anything.. 😂

[@Shankovich]

I’m so disgusted with the Canada Computers in Markham especially. I’ve brought them 100’s of thousands in sales through clients, I’m finished. Done, I just spent the last few hours cutting off everything I could since none of it was contracted on both ends. How could you not terminate and rebuild the department!? A refresher course, seriously? And I always told my clients and friends not to use CC’s tech services. They charge you to run a free virus scan, it’s extortionate, but now I know I did well more than I thought I could. I can’t believe CC wouldn’t care this much. Even if they fix it after this backlash, they’ll still only have done it because of the backlash. I’m done going to the Markham store and CC in general, I’d rather take the long drive to memory express for my clients now.

[@maplelodge2]

100% agree with you. CCE should of handed that employee over to the police to set an example to the whole company that there is legal consequences when you steal someone's data.

[@GuylaineLauniere-mc8ho]

How many passwords and multiple encrypted layers do we really need... when those "tech experts" can bypass and access EVERYTHING ?

[@Ares-5933]

While we are on the topic of data security, if you ever return a device to Amazon for the love of god erase the data first because they do not and then it will probably be auctioned off in a pallet of LPN RR returns. I used to work at a store where the owner bought such pallets to resell the items. The amount of times we would get a flash drive, hard drive, sd card with data on it was insane. I would always secure erase it before selling.

[@abe316982]

I've been a technician for 23 years and the biggest problem when we had PCs come in was customers understanding privacy because many had no idea things this could happen. I would make them sign a waiver that would indicate we would never look at their personal information, emails or passwords and most of them wanted to us to look to make sure they were. We would just go Into the properties to match the transfer size. I've trained my brain to never remember a password

[@WolfRaven-jm1cm]

If you bring your device in and want to ensure that your device is working after a repair, copy photos to a new device, or whatever. Part of the job is to ensure that the files have been copied correctly and the easiest method is to just open a couple files. Opening the browser and making sure that the device is operating correctly. Part of the job is ensuring that the device is working correctly after a repair. If you have sensitive information, don't save it to your device or computer. Keep in on a separate device.

[@jameslude3146]

DISCLAIMER, I am an American. I wonder how Micro Center handels data security because I had my laptop looked at and before the work was done they asked about data recovery. Either I had to pay to transfer to one of there hard drives, have my own, or risk it. I hope this does not open people to privacy breaches.

[@0.o.0.o1]

Unfortunately I’m not surprised. It’s pretty much expected they’re going to snoop.

[@foglake757]

Nathan Fielder was right all along. Asexual Computer Repair is a viable business venture

[@foglake757]

‘sexual intruder alert’

[@hacensidigh9235]

Great job CBC

[@Joshua_Lawrence]

This is why the new "maintenance mode" on smart devices is not only long overdue, but _very_ much needed on every single device that holds data

[@OmegaRejectz]

Imagine stealing somebody's data and all that happens is being "disciplined". What a joke.

[@deydreamer]

I removed my HDD once before sending my laptop in for cooling issues and was questioned as to why I removed it, told to put it back in before repair. Strange question to ask a customer but I'm not risking my personal information and sign-ins. You're a repair shop, I'm sure you can figure out a temporary boot drive

[@desiredditor]

Always erase ur data before giving it to any repair shop no sim card as well

[@Onsanio]

As someone that worked doing tech repairs in my early 20s I can say that the only time it was appropriate for us to snoop through the files was when there was obvious suspicion of cp, cause at that point we had to confirm it and call the police to report it. I only had to do it once in 2 years because the person had it saved on their desktop, didn't feel bad when I saw him getting arrested

[@amtrakfan5511]

Do it for apple store repair

[@RichEmbury]

Thank God for Samsung's lockdown mode to keep personal info from view. Also, I'm a bit paranoid and almost expect voyeurs and bad actors. So I would lock down my personal stuff under open source (free) encryption software to lock documents, pictures etc. Or move them to an external drive or USB device, so thry arent stored on the device itself. But I would take the time to clear cookies, cache and logout of all important sites and socials before giving up my tech. But I'm a geek at heart. Thankfully, at least in computers and laptops, I do my own fixing, even if I have to learn how to do it step by step. But that's mainly beause I cant afford repair shops for gadgets on a disability income. Fun watch though.

[@EricN73158]

Holy cow. I am happy I never had to bring anything in ever. Not much is on my phone or computer but still I don't want people snooping at my stuff.

[@BDee3126]

Brampton really out here wilding yo😂💀

[@scriptles]

Geek Squad at Best Buy here in the USA told my cousin once $200 to fix her laptop because the hard drive needed to be replaced. I was able to fix it 100% for free. It just had corrupted files was all. I started learning programming and coding when I was 13 years old. I am 37 now lol. I do all my own repair work. I also have been doing mechanic work on my car since I was 18. So 19 years. I have saved literally tens of thousands of dollars not paying experts to give crap service lol and got my problems fixed much faster and for free. I splurged on tools as a result :)

[@Grizzrie]

Great job, Marketplace!!! 👍👍👍👍👍

[@shopnstuff8228]

love this kind of investigation.. keep it up! great work

[@frederickmooney2581]

People call me crazy for throwing out my electronics rather than fixing them, guess I’m not completely. 😂

[@bluntdocto2571]

My friend caught a store called "Fix My PC Store" that did this. The techs still work there!!

[@Rakki_Haitatsu]

Always back up and remove all files and folders from your devices before you send them in for repairs. A factory reset recommended

[@Butterfly-rd4je]

They all should be investigated.

[@coffebean94]

Always assume the worst in people, take steps to prevent it, and you'll never be caught with your pants down....quite literally, in certain cases

[@sergueivergounov1961]

First, your tech spies on you. All these 'Siri', 'Cortana', 'Alexa'... whatever... Your mike is always on, your geolocation is always on. But you never know where all this info is channeled.

[@motleyassortment5512]

This is the reason why when electronic is broken, I will try to fix it myself by watching KZbin and Googling how to repair something! I don't trust strangers to stay out of another person's personal business!

[@benzodiy4053]

All repair shops should have a trusted chaperone making sure none of this stuff is snooped

[@JamesSmith-ix5jd]

When I was not tech savvy 20 years ago in Russia if you wanted to repair your computer you had to sign a contract that you have no personal data on the device and that you don't care if the device will be wiped. Today I don't know if they still have such a policy, but I assume it has to be a common practice, because you have to have some contract which allows you to access the device, not just words.

[@abelincoln3261]

I'm not surprised at all.... not ever a little. Totally expected...

[@MrMikidude]

Love your videos

[@RetroDiver]

Devices need a valet mode. Period.

[@natzzzy9119]

Samsung devices have a built in Maintenance mode which locks it down to only essential diagnostic software and does not give access to photos apps etc

[@roxcyn]

I don’t think mine does as it’s an older device.

[@SteveAldred]

Great CBC, you got people to watch with the excessive dramatization. Prove you're more than TMZ buy spending longer than 2 seconds on how people can protect their data when taking a device in for repair. Or does that not get you the clicks you want?

[@andreatoth8029]

I love this show so much I wish it was available in the US but at least its on youtube

[@DJSolistica]

There's bad actors in every field in all forms of society. Firefighters, police, nursing, tech repair, home repair, you name it. For every 20 good guys there's probably 1 bad guy. Just the nature of the human condition, it's not going to go away because you catch a few in the act and get them fired. Hate seeing these kinds of videos because I do tech repair and naturally people seeing these videos will now have a hesitation with ALL tech repair people even if they've worked for decades without ever any wrongdoing or snooping. It's not different than when the media BLASTS one bad police officer and then people start on a whole campaign about defunding the entire police department. All that aside, I wouldn't store sensitive materials on ANYTHING connected to the internet or ever even take revealing photos of myself or ask of that from others. Nor do I leave my house or my car full of valuables that I don't want people seeing or taking, or print my tax documents at copy centers, like this is just common sense stuff. There is an expectation of privacy yes, and I'm not saying anybody is asking for it to happen to them. But common sense dictates those bad actors have always and will always exist; so unless you're in the business of rooting them out for cheap entertainment then WHY would you ever trust for that type of material to be safe in the first place.

[@PeBoVision]

I can't imagine bringing my laptop or phone in for a repair without first removing any and all personal data first and acrivity logs. I know both computers and human nature far too well. As far as personal data, I always reccommend using external drives and flash cards for ALL personal data. In the advent of a repair issue, nothing is or has ever been on the computer's internal hard drive. Similarly if you set a flashcard as your phone's default storage device, pop the flashcard out of your phone, and all your personal files go with it. Store repair-shop OS re-installs are especially problematic as they are replete with bloatware and conflicting security sofware can slow the system considerably. It is not unusual to spend a day removing uneccessary software from friends' computers after they come back from the repair shop. This is most common with larger chains.

[@LifeOfFox]

Not everyone has that option. Some peoples devices crap out before they were able to back up everything

[@PeBoVision]

@@LifeOfFox EVERYONE has the option to store their personal files on external Hard Drives from the get-go. You can even reassign your Windows default Documents folder to an external (just remember to always have it plugged in when booting to windows.) There is NO reason for your computer to contain anything personal. Period. I honestly don't know a single person among my circle of friends, who store their data on drive C:\. Not a one. A 1TB external drive can be had for about $50, a small price for privacy. Buy two, and use one for back-up. If you are not computer savvy, you KNOW that you're going to have to provide access to a repair shop someday, so taking privacy measures should happen at the offset of using the device... Plus, if your device (or internal hard drive) actually dies, you lose nothing. It takes no knowledge or skill to plug an external drive into a USB port and save everything to it...every program you use asks you where to save its output files. Just select the external drive. Easy Peasy.

[@LifeOfFox]

@@PeBoVision Not everyone has the money to buy an external before it happens. Thought my point was very straightforward. I have 20 tb of externals, guess what. I had things i wasnt able to back up yet then my computer crapped out. My hard drives are full and i was waiting until payday to get another external. My computer did not want to wait however

[@PeBoVision]

@@LifeOfFox I did not suggest using an external as back up (except to back up another external drive). I am suggesting buying an external drive WHEN you buy your computer and using it as your exclusive data drive. I am promoting smart computer usage. Most people keep all of their personal files on drive C:\, which I find absurd from a security perspective (and impractical if large file creation is your purpose). Of course there will be individual usage scenarios, where this is less practical, but my comments are intended to address general usage for the average user. For family pictures and word/excel documents, 1 or 2 TB is more than sufficient as a primary storage device. If you use external drives EXCLUSIVELY for personal files AS YOU CREATE THEM from day one, and back it up regularly, data loss is actually an anomoly. Waiting for payday to buy an external drive drive, suggests you don't use one as your LIVE storage device. THAT is the habit I am promoting.

[@LifeOfFox]

@@PeBoVision Again, i had multiple externals when i bought my computer, it wasnt an issue then. Since then i ran out of space, its been several years of stockpiling new files. With no room left i had to grab another external but didnt have the money at the time. Your comment wasnt just giving general advice, you said you cant imagine why people would have stuff that isnt backed up on their computer. I simply gave you a scenario of why it can happen. Its just unfortunate timing in my case. Well that and windows is getting worse and worse. Will probably use a different OS on my next computer, ive heard windows 11 is a nightmare and im not interested in dealing with it

[@pau11iska8D]

"Ghost touch" wasn't on my bingo card. How does something "move on its own without any action from the technician" without a technician accessing it?

[@marie-franceFortin]

Ghost touch is a real problem that you can have on your phone. It's pretty rare for it to act with purpose though 😂

[@michelleh4717]

Or searching *.jpg to find viruses

[@murrethmedia]

I'm not shocked at all by this.

[@loudboomboom]

If your whole business is built on people trusting you with their devices, I don’t understand how there aren’t layers of security here.. the repair tech should have a camera on them with the screen visible at all times, something..

[@everydayisearthday5500]

Wait a second. When the government, Apple, Google, etc look at all your key strokes, photos, files, extract your voice and Face ID. Is that supposed to be better?

[@motomike2252]

Is this software available to the public?

[@Godoyt05]

Very interesting! Is there any way to acquire this “secret” software to protect our privacies? Many thanks for the good work

[@Marcobatista146]

If you think about it. Doesn't law enforcement encourage tech repair companies to snoop through Phone That are getting repaired, just in case if there's any. Thing illegal or nefarious on a person's device

[@BobbsVegine-eg3xz]

Been trying to link all these call centers in a certain country having so many personal data. To the phone, laptop and pc repair businesses. It's crazy that withing the last few years everyone from a certain country keep setting up phone kiosk mainly in malls, shopping centers and other places around the city.

[@32BitsGamer]

you can also backup all your data on a external drive and delete your device completely thankfully i know how to repair my own devices so none of this concerns me

[@StephenCoste-j4y]

I am a former internet tech and there was zero reason for that store in brampton to look at the pictures.

[@DavidKen878]

We know. The man in the video said that like 30 times lol..One would thinnk it would be common sense

[@ezechiaschristus8594]

I am shocked, that people are actually shocked.

[@1p4142136]

Is it a good idea to delete everything before dropping off my computer with a technician? Then after I get back my computer re-install everything as it was before?

[@_penguins9916]

When I did front of shop for a place that fixed computers I would always check things like ports being off before I even gave it to the technicians to stop from wasting their time