border guards can demand passwords to your laptop

[myrkul]

Anyhoo, police in my sate can download all your text messages if they have the whim after pulling you over. You might be hiding drug deals, even if there's no extraordinary reason to suspect it!

Of course there's reason to suspect it. You're not in a uniform, are you?

[1714835546]

1714835546

[Cyberdyne]

Threads like this serve as a great reminder - If you've been lazy up until now with your encryption habits, etc. don't leave it too late to set things up properly.

[hammz]

A friend was telling me there is a program that depending on which password you give it at bootup it will
load different encrypted partitions....

Okie dokey occifer boots...here's the my little pony access code complete with i <3 dhs logo desktop  background, itz so coooool...can I get your autograph?

[BitBlitz]

Anyhoo, police in my sate can download all your text messages if they have the whim after pulling you over. You might be hiding drug deals, even if there's no extraordinary reason to suspect it!

Of course there's reason to suspect it. You're not in a uniform, are you?

I recommend: https://supporters.eff.org/shop/i-do-not-consent-search-device-sticker-3-pack

[myrkul]

A friend was telling me there is a program that depending on which password you give it at bootup it will
load different encrypted partitions....

TrueCrypt can do that.

[TimJBenham]

You can still be jailed for not giving the passwords for the other accounts. Claiming "I don't know them" is not a valid defense.

IANAL but I'm pretty sure you cannot be jailed for failing to do something you cannot do. Under some circumstances the burden may be on you to show that, on the balance of probabilities, you were unable to comply with their demands.

Getting caught with anything digital at the border is a newbie error anyway.  Use one of these services to store the (suitably encrypted) Khmer baby photos you took on your Asian holiday.

[Nikinger]

IANAL but I'm pretty sure you cannot be jailed for failing to do something you cannot do. Under some circumstances the burden may be on you to show that, on the balance of probabilities, you were unable to comply with their demands.

You could claim that the key file you need to decrypt the data is on an USB stick, which renders unreadable.
The only thing they could do is to guess if you're lying, and where guessing comes into play (guessing here is an emotional act, not a rational one), you can get into trouble no matter if it's your fault or not.

[Spendulus]

A friend was telling me there is a program that depending on which password you give it at bootup it will
load different encrypted partitions....

TrueCrypt can do that.

I don't recall such a capability within Truecrypt, but it is certainly a very robust system.  For example, it provides http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/?s=plausible-deniability "plausible deniability" even after giving a password to a extortionist, border guard, whomever; the same would be the case if the password was hacked.  

Correction, I see it - this is slick!!!

However, in order to boot a system encrypted by TrueCrypt, an unencrypted copy of the TrueCrypt Boot Loader has to be stored on the system drive or on a TrueCrypt Rescue Disk. Hence, the mere presence of the TrueCrypt Boot Loader can indicate that there is a system encrypted by TrueCrypt on the computer. Therefore, to provide a plausible explanation for the presence of the TrueCrypt Boot Loader, the TrueCrypt helps you create a second encrypted operating system, so-called decoy operating system, during the process of creation of a hidden operating system. A decoy operating system must not contain any sensitive files. Its existence is not secret (it is not installed in a hidden volume). The password for the decoy operating system can be safely revealed to anyone forcing you to disclose your pre-boot authentication password.*

LOL...but I still like the HotCindy/Jehovah's Witness training manual method!

Anyone who takes thirty minutes to read the eighty some page Truecrypt manual will be vastly smarter about these issues than before reading it.  I suggest that in lieu of reading, say....this thread....

My opinion is that creating a secure machine is highly advantageous and for multiple reasons.  Yet at the same time, the biggest leaks and the most common issues are the result of users' habits, such as allowing facebook or linkedin access to a contacts list associated with email, or other access allowed to apps on android or iphone.

[myrkul]

A friend was telling me there is a program that depending on which password you give it at bootup it will
load different encrypted partitions....

TrueCrypt can do that.

I don't recall such a capability within Truecrypt, but it is certainly a very robust system. 

http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/?s=hidden-operating-system

[countryfree]

They don't do that in free countries, but if you go to Israel, I'm afraid it's becoming common practice.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/fast_track/9741639.stm

The government doesn't see anything wrong in doing that.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/24/us-israel-security-emails-idUSBRE93N16620130424

[Cyberdyne]

They don't do that in free countries

Please tell me, which countries are the free ones? 

[myrkul]

They don't do that in free countries

Please tell me, which countries are the free ones? 

I hear tell Mexico is pretty good about leaving you the hell alone.

[Stampbit]

My password is so long they would need to get on both knees to read it

[Spendulus]

They don't do that in free countries, but if you go to Israel, I'm afraid it's becoming common practice.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/fast_track/9741639.stm

The government doesn't see anything wrong in doing that.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/24/us-israel-security-emails-idUSBRE93N16620130424

The article specifically lays out that they don't ask for passwords.  They ask the person to access his laptop and show them the emails.

Less objectionable than demanding passwords....

[Spendulus]

They don't do that in free countries

Please tell me, which countries are the free ones? 

I hear tell Mexico is pretty good about leaving you the hell alone.

Unless some thug wants your car, your money or your wife/girl.

[myrkul]

They don't do that in free countries

Please tell me, which countries are the free ones? 

I hear tell Mexico is pretty good about leaving you the hell alone.

Unless some thug wants your car, your money or your wife/girl.

Something tells me you've never actually been there.

[Spendulus]

They don't do that in free countries

Please tell me, which countries are the free ones?  

I hear tell Mexico is pretty good about leaving you the hell alone.

Unless some thug wants your car, your money or your wife/girl.

Something tells me you've never actually been there.

Then you should examine that something, and question what else it has told you wrongly about.

But do note......I didn't include in what the thug might want, your passwords.

[myrkul]

They don't do that in free countries

Please tell me, which countries are the free ones?  

I hear tell Mexico is pretty good about leaving you the hell alone.

Unless some thug wants your car, your money or your wife/girl.

Something tells me you've never actually been there.

Then you should examine that something, and question what else it has told you wrongly about.

What part of Mexico did you visit?

[Spendulus]

They don't do that in free countries

Please tell me, which countries are the free ones?  

I hear tell Mexico is pretty good about leaving you the hell alone.

Unless some thug wants your car, your money or your wife/girl.

Something tells me you've never actually been there.

Then you should examine that something, and question what else it has told you wrongly about.

What part of Mexico did you visit?

Many places, over several decades.  But this thread was about the border, which of course for Mexico is the most problematic area.  These days one is liable to get bored to death in the wait for the border crossing, after which the job of the US border guard in extracting your password is quite difficult.

[myrkul]

Many places, over several decades.  But this thread was about the border, which of course for Mexico is the most problematic area.

Precisely.