computer repair shop stole my pics and posted them on the Internet

[heatherky]

About 5 years ago I experimented with dressing for about a month or so....I would play around with wigs/makeup/clothes......I took some selfies of my self and put them on my personal computer...I later deleted the images....I took my computer in for service a couple years ago for some service work..at a local repair shop...I just found out a couple days ago the repair shop dug through my computer..found the images of me experimenting with dressing....and posted these images to social media sites..without my permission...what should I do....

[CountessVF]

If they named you specifically in their social media post, sue the store and individual for defamation and invasion of privacy. If not, ignore it since you'll likely not be recognized and fighting it will associate you to the images.

[Jodi M]

It's a shame every one who does business there can not be told what a disreputable business they are dealing with.

[Krisi]

You will get the best advice from an attorney. Legal advice on a crossdressing forum is worth exactly what you pay for it.

[Sheila11]

Do I smell a troll?

[Amy Lynn3]

Sheila, I seem to get the same odor. This story just does not ring true. OP, if you are not a troll show us the pictures of yourself or will you need to steal some from someone else ?

[Eryn]

It does seem an odd first post. In any case the problem has been well answered.

[Nadine Spirit]

... some selfies of my self ...

Who else would the selfies have been of?

Sorry, I tried, but I just couldn't stop thinking about this line.

[Sandra]

.I took my computer in for service a couple years ago for some service work..at a local repair shop...I just found out a couple days ago the repair shop dug through my computer..found the images of me experimenting with dressing....and posted these images to social media sites..without my permission...what should I do....

So your saying that 2 years ago they took your pics and posted on a social media sites, how have you found this out? Sorry this just doesn't ring true to me.

[Jorja]

Good Luck! A few years ago I used to post pictures of myself on another forum. Someone took those pictures without my permission. They ended up being used as porn pictures on every porn site on the internet. To make a long story short, I spent thousands of dollars to get the pictures removed. Guess what? If you know where to look, they can still be found today. Needless to say, I don't post pictures of myself anymore. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

[Taylor186]

Ok, I accept that this is a troll but there is a point to be made here and that is deleting photos from your computer (Windows anyway) does not really permanently delete those photos. Even emptying the recycle bin does not permanently delete those photos. There are any number of cheap to free programs available for someone to get those photos until you have actually overwritten the disk space where the photos were stored. Depending on how much unused space you have available that overwrite could happen quickly or not so quickly. There are also programs available to wipe your free space so that the photos are no longer recoverable. Know your options.

[Meghan4now]

Wow Jorja! How did you find out?

I was thinking about posting some pics here from my recent transformation, but now I'm reconsidering that. After all there is a pretty easy path around security to the photo gallery. After that if you can see a photo you can capture it.

Of course the question is why would anyone want to see me on a porn site. I look like a 50 Y.O. woman in need of a face lift at BEST. Plus I won't do provocative. Sure you could paste my head on Cheryl Tiggs body, but why? What a waste of time.

Then who's going to see it and recognize me anyway. Do I really care if someone I don't know tickle their pickle while looking at a photo shopped picture of me? As long as it doesn't get back to me. Beside there is no accounting for taste or blindness.

As far as a Troll, that could be true, but I've seen more provocative and unbelievable post here that no one ever said boo to. I'd let that go but maybe use the thread to caution about posting safety.

What say you girls!

[Jorja]

A friend of mine called and asked when I did a nude photo shoot. Never! He said I had better look at a certain porno site. I went there and there I was in all my glory. Well not really, it was my face and arms and legs but someone elses torso. I was quite popular for a while. ;)

I have not ever heard of anyone having that problem here Meghan. The way the site is set up I don't think they can do it. It is just once you have been burnt like that it still stings to even think about. If there are no pictures, they can't get stolen is my motto now.

[~Joanne~]

Do I smell a troll?

There are quite a few posts Today and yesterday that have me thinking the same thing.


Ok, I accept that this is a troll but there is a point to be made here and that is deleting photos from your computer (Windows anyway) does not really permanently delete those photos. Even emptying the recycle bin does not permanently delete those photos. There are any number of cheap to free programs available for someone to get those photos

This is why I have my stored on an external HD. Not only for my CDing but for pretty much anything I don't want to be online but stored. You are correct that Windows does not completely delete ANYTHING that is on your PC, that's why if your smart, you use a file shredder and forget about the recycle bin all together. A Guttman 35 pass erase will make anything un recoverable.

[Kate Simmons]

Not much unless the pics are copyrighted. They would be considered public domain and up for grabs. I would make a complaint to the local BBB if you are not afraid to.:)

[Teresa]

I failed to make my wireless network secure enough when I bought a new modem, my neighbour was having his set up by a professional . Later that day my neighbour knocked at my door and handed me the business card of the professional saying he'd recommend his help because they'd been able to view my computer for most of the day ! Oh **** I had been looking at some very sexy outfits and doing a bit of photoshop stuff on them !!

[DaniChan]

This is a quite important topic I think. I've also worried about having files stolen. Not necessarily pictures, but lots of things need this kind of caution.
For my crossdressing pictures, I import them directly from the camera's memory card to an encrypted disk image. I'll try one of those file recovery apps on my disk just to see if there was any traces left on the drive. Also I think these file shredders might not be as effective on memory cards, thumb drives and SSD drives due to how flash memory works (but I have yet to try to recover shredded data from those).

[Beverley Sims]

Make the most of it, criminal proceedings.

But is it worth it?

[Curiosity666]

Hey Dani, beware file shredders on solid state memory. It can actually damage it (SS is not designed to undergo rapid write/reads upon the same sector, hence why they use a cache). However deleting items on SS is also a lot more secure. I'm fairly sure you can get a program that ensures the data is written as free space rather then just indexing it as such (but won't damage the drive)

[Curiosity666]

This is a quite important topic I think. I've also worried about having files stolen. Not necessarily pictures, but lots of things need this kind of caution.
For my crossdressing pictures, I import them directly from the camera's memory card to an encrypted disk image. I'll try one of those file recovery apps on my disk just to see if there was any traces left on the drive. Also I think these file shredders might not be as effective on memory cards, thumb drives and SSD drives due to how flash memory works (but I have yet to try to recover shredded data from those).

Hey Dani, beware file shredders on solid state memory. It can actually damage it (SS is not designed to undergo rapid write/reads upon the same sector, hence why they use a cache). However deleting items on SS is also a lot more secure. I'm fairly sure you can get a program that ensures the data is written as free space rather then just indexing it as such (but won't damage the drive)

[Helen_Highwater]

Encrypting your hard drive is one way of protecting all your files. There are free S/W packages available that will do a good job. This article way help;

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2025462/how-to-encrypt-almost-anything.html

[Tracy Hazel Lee]

Hey Dani, beware file shredders on solid state memory. It can actually damage it (SS is not designed to undergo rapid write/reads upon the same sector, hence why they use a cache). However deleting items on SS is also a lot more secure. I'm fairly sure you can get a program that ensures the data is written as free space rather then just indexing it as such (but won't damage the drive)The type of media does not matter as long as the space used to store those files is filled with something else. This can be another file, or simply zeroed out. A file shredder does exactly the latter, it simply fills every block with a zero. As to being weary of using them on solid state media, it would be no different than deleting a bunch of files and then immediately copying an equivalent amount of data back onto the drive. While this may not use the exact same blocks as the deleted files, over enough time, that space will be used again. Therefore there is no danger in using such a utility on solid state media because over the life of the drive, that process will happen many, many, MANY times. Modern SSDs while yes, have a finite lifetime that is shorter than traditional magnetic media, it is still MUCH longer than you will probably be using the drive for anyways, easily as much as 10 years. I wouldn't worry about it. Now defragging, well THAT definitely accelerates the aging process... and is generally not ever required on an SSD to begin with.

[CynthiaD]

Just a few technical points.

NTFS, the file system used by MS Windows and some other systems has built-in encryption which comes free with the OS.

Flash memories (SSD & USB thumb drives) wear out after a certain number of writes. They can be read any number of times without harm. The speed of the writes doesn't matter since the computer automatically slows down to match the speed of the drive. Finding out how many writes a particular location will tolerate isn't easy. In most cases you have to take the drive apart, note the manufacturer and part number of the memory chip(s) and then download the manufacurer's data sheet for the chips. Generally this will wreck your drive, so it's a moot point anyway. For some drives you can find the chip numbers on the internet anyway.

Knowing the chip tolerances is just a rough guide, because the blocks don't all wear at the same rate, and because smart drives will move high-use blocks around using dynamic address translation to even out the wear.

Certain government agencies have shown that you need to overwrite magnetic disk data between five and ten times to completely erase it. However this requires some heavy duty recovery hardware and software that wouldn't be available to the average consumer. Unless a repair shop specializes in exotic kinds of data recovery, overwriting it once is sufficient.

[Swottie]

Not much unless the pics are copyrighted. They would be considered public domain and up for grabs. I would make a complaint to the local BBB if you are not afraid to.:)

Interesting reply, but afaik in most western countries (and definitely in the UK), copyright is implied and is automatically given to the creator of the photos. In order for something to be in the public domain, the copyright holder has to release it. Nothing becomes public domain by default, well except if it expires after the holder's death.

So, if you took the photo, you automatically hold the copyright for the photo. Beware though, that you may still need to seek permission from other copyright holders if your photo contains the image of other copyrighted material.

[DaniChan]

I've later realized that what I said about solid state drives is not true in this situation. I was thinking about the dynamic address and wear leveling like Cynthia mentioned.
Anyway, I've found out (kinda by accident) that if I erase the memory card using my camera's (a canon T3i) format feature, it actually wipes the whole card and I could not retreive any
photos. And that's very quick process, unlike overwriting it all.

[MonctonGirl]

The easiest thing to do is a DCMA notice to the Social Media site claiming copyright violation ( you own the photos )
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Act

Just go to the Social Media site, look for their CONTACT or ABUSE contact info and send this

"This account
( the link to the offender's account )
has posted photos which I own
( direct links to the photos )
and which were unlawfully taken from my computer during a repair job at ( shop, address )
and I want them removed. Can you please do this without me filing a formal DCMA Notice?
Please take action and block access or remove the photos before ( 10 days after the date which you send the query )
alternatively the matter will involve a lawyer and to offset the cost I may be forced to seek damages due to
an unfortunate personal situation that has arisen from the unauthorized publication of my photos by your company.
I appreciate your quick address of this matter."

or just meet the requirements on this site example and send the DCMA notice yourself to the SM site.
http://www.photocrash-app.com/dmcanotice/index.html

...and use this form to figure it out, what you need to send
http://www.dmcagenerator.com/

[Curiosity666]

The type of media does not matter as long as the space used to store those files is filled with something else. This can be another file, or simply zeroed out. A file shredder does exactly the latter, it simply fills every block with a zero. As to being weary of using them on solid state media, it would be no different than deleting a bunch of files and then immediately copying an equivalent amount of data back onto the drive. While this may not use the exact same blocks as the deleted files, over enough time, that space will be used again. Therefore there is no danger in using such a utility on solid state media because over the life of the drive, that process will happen many, many, MANY times. Modern SSDs while yes, have a finite lifetime that is shorter than traditional magnetic media, it is still MUCH longer than you will probably be using the drive for anyways, easily as much as 10 years. I wouldn't worry about it. Now defragging, well THAT definitely accelerates the aging process... and is generally not ever required on an SSD to begin with.

Hi Tracy, I just double checked my lingo,

You're correct in saying that most file shredders these days are fine to use on SSD's but what you have to be wary of is the old school, hardcore types that run multiple passes (what I thought was the mainstream). They write random data then erase the data 100s of times. This is because you used to be able to pull the "shadow" off an otherwise "empty" sector of magnetic memory (In a lab, but possible none the less). By overwriting it multiple times you would eliminate this possibility. This isn't a consideration on solid state memory (you can't pull a shadow from a transistor), so a "single pass" is all that's required. Using a multi pass program will have a similar effect as defragging :)

Sorry for adding to any confusion :S