Filed under: Security, News, Windows, Microsoft
Man sues Microsoft after FBI cracks security on his Windows PC
by Brad Linder Mar 5th 2007 at 3:00PM
Michael Crooker goes and gets himself arrested in 2004 for selling an air rifle with a silencer. The ATF seizes his computer but can't access the files. So they turn it over to the FBI, who cracks the security.What do they find? Video of the Crooker and his girlfriend having sex, medical records, evidence that he surfed pornographic web sites, family photos, and files that should have been protected under attorney-client privilege.
But here's the thing. Crooker's not taking this lying down. Instead, he's gone and sued Microsoft, saying he had set Internet Explorer to erase his search history every five days, and that he had loaded security software on his PC.
Crooker claims Hewlett-Packard and Circuit City, where he bought the computer, have already settled up. But he's seeking $200 thousand from Microsoft. Sure, he could have purchased more advanced security software, but he says he bought into claims that his computer was safe.
But really, does anyone advertise that their software is so secure that even the FBI can't break into it? Of course We're not saying that the FBI has the most advanced cracking software available. What I'm saying is that unless Microsoft advertised that Windows XP was so secure that even the government couldn't crack it, we don't think Microsoft is guilty of false advertising. And what product manufacturer is going to promote its product as being able to evade government detection? Well, aside from radar detector manufacturers, that is.
[via Techdirt]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
MM said 4:36PM on 3-05-2007
Is FBI liable under DMCA ? Aren't they circumventing digital protection ?
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chiron said 12:20AM on 3-06-2007
Thank goodness Crooker wasn't caught violating someone's DRM protections. The FBI would have to turn him over to the RIAA, and that could mean only ONE thing: Gitmo.
Personally, I think Crooker's civil liberties were violated (but like the rest of us, he wasn't using them anyway). On the other hand I think it's pretty funny that the FBI was actually >able< to crack M$' LAME security schemes. FBI-1 : M$-0.
Losers.
c
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Andrew Fong said 11:03PM on 3-05-2007
Let me get this straight. He's asking the government to make Microsoft give him money because Microsoft's actions (or lack thereof) helped the government?
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Andrew Hillman, Andrew Hillman said 7:21AM on 3-06-2007
Long shot here dude! Get over it!
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spigoo said 7:21AM on 3-06-2007
Well... strange that someone who seems pretty much like a crook, should be called Crooker... alias? destiny?
Reply