[bonestamp2]

I had customs boot my laptop once and they just searched for jpg and gif images. While the search ran she turned to me and said, "What kind of images am I going to find on here?". I had just got a new DSLR a few months earlier so it took about 30 minutes for the search to complete (2006 windows computer). She didn't say, but I guess they're looking for egregious images?

[brewdad]

They are looking for child porn.

Or the classified images from Jason Bourne's personnel file.

[smcl]

Where was this!? They not only boot the device but they search it too?

[bonestamp2]

Yes, customs has legal authority to search all of your belongings which includes the files, emails, photos, text messages, etc on your devices.

My only other option was to forfeit my computer. Since I like my computer and don't do anything illegal I allowed them to violate my privacy so I could keep my computer. After they had a good look I was on my way.

From what I understand, the process has changed. These days they just image your hard drive and you're on your way after that. Then they upload your drive to a cloud system that looks through it for illegal activity. No joke. Again, you can forfeit your computer or phone but they will still try to image the drive.

[astura]

Customs is not TSA.

[bonestamp2]

I agree. I never said TSA.