Download Squad

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]