burning essential files on to a dvd for travel
 

i'm burnt out on Canada Customs going through my computer with a fine-toothed comb every time i leave the country. it's nothing but a huge waste of time, and (for example) sleazy had his laptop seized. ridiculous.

so i'm thinking about burning what is needed on a dvd and then just pulling it off when i get to my destination. anyone had their dvd/cds seized?

How about uploading it to a server and downloading it when you get there?

& no, it's never happened to me - however on a stopover in Frankfurt, they turned on all my cameras and were watching my wedding video to make sure it wasn't a bomb.

i can burn specific programs, etc on a dvd - which get's to be a hassle if you have re-install later on from a server.

but i've certainly considered it. i don't need much though, just a couple of gigs will get me through...

I'm not sure what you mean here, are you saying burn what you need on a DVD/CD and then use someone else's laptop abroad or simply going with the CD/DVD and a freshly flushed laptop.

WG

just a dvd (or 2). basically 5 or 10 gigs, which is all that is required.

i don't want to bring a computer over borders ever again...

I'd keep it separate from the computer though. Those guys have a very boring life & any young guy who looks remotely more successful or having a more exciting life *by viewing your passport* they'll go through it just to piss on your cornflakes.

Whatever it is you're burning, won't you have to reinstall on whatever other computer you'll be using? *Just a question*

are you talking about them phsically going through the computer, or going through the files?

as far as software, sure. not a big deal at any hotel business center. the rest can just be moved onto the drive of the hotel computer.

they have done both before.

if they are going through your files, im assuming they arent very smart, so just hide your drives/partitions with your info on, and re lable them to x: or something, if they cant see it im my computer i doubt they would know its there

In that case, bring like a CD holder and put 2 or 3 music CD's and your 1 or 2 DVD's in there. They shouldn't do anything about it.

WG

that's the plan. just curious about other people experiences...

What if your laptop drive is encrypted -- can they make you decrypt it for them?


One option for you might be a small 2.5" external firewire drive with 3 partitions...
(something like this)

Windows - System
OSX - System
Data - Encrypted with Bestcrypt.

Put some sort of OS bootloder on it as well.

Then sync up the data in the data directory before you go anywhere.

The idea would be to have a drive that could be used somewhere as a portable computer if needed, and if it were confiscated or held hostage by customs for however long, you wouldn't really be
out anything except whatever you did while you were gone (which you could upload to your server before you get back on the plane).


I guess that's sort of what you're going for with the DVD thing. But it would be cool to have an OS setup the way you like it and just use the guts of the other persons machine.

heh... then again I guess that "device" would probably be alot more suspect than a couple DVD's or a laptop even, so I guess it sort of defeats the purpose.

great ideas, but doesn't solve the problem. i have nothing to hide, it's just that i want to avoid 3 or 4 hours in customs while they go through my computer.

:glugglug

Is it Canada customs giving you these hassles or foreign countries (which ones specifically?)

WG

only Canada Customs, coming back into our country. i've never had a single problem going anywhere ese (including the US)...

That doesn't surprise me. Often times I get more hassles coming back into Canada then entering the USA. Go figure.

WG

i wonder- could you fedex the dvd to the hotel - call them the day before and see if it's there - and then bring a clean machine across?


I keep everything on my server now when i travel across the boarder - so i can download everything easily and nothings on my machine.

never had a ounce of problem with US customs though - it 's always been the idiots at canada customs that give me hastles on the way home

i don't think there's ANYTHING you can do to avoid the customs wait - there is a good chance that they will sniff over your machine.... it's just not getting it seized that you can prepare for - they don't need acess to any of your personal files on yoru computer