Who is able to see whats on your hard drive?

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Im wondering who all is able to see whats on your hard drive?

For example, if your computer goes on the fritz...and you take it to a local place that works on computers....can they actually SEE everything you've ever looked at, searched for, or come accross on your computer!?!??!?!?!?!??!?!??!?!?!? Can just ANY tech see that?

I don't do anything "illegal" with my computer. But Id rather not have some technician reading my old emails, looking thru past searches, scanning thru old IM's I've had with friends and family....LET ALONE seeing passwords, online bank info, and REALLY private things like that!!!!!!

So if I take my computer in, are they able to just type in something..or plug it in somewhere...and see everything I've done, said, found, or whatever?????

It just seems like a big privacy violation. And it REALLY worries me about all the online banking I do!! I don't want some guy at the local fix it shop, seeing every intimate detail about my life!!1
 
Welcome to computer forum

to answer your question, not too easly. they can see you c drive and see the web pages you went to but most passwords are encryped. i would not wory about it.
 
If they really really wanted to yes. Most places wont look through your stuff unless it's necessary to make sure they got everything. Saved passwords from IE and Firefox can be viewed I don't know about other browsers though. As long as you take it somewhere respectable you shouldn't have to worry about them stealing data from you.
 
What about emails sent/received??

can they see those? If you're using Gmail....hotmail...or something like that?


can they see/retrieve actual emails sent!?!??!!

this is just crazy! I'd never even thought about this stuff before!!!
 
It would be harder for them to read your e-mails, especially if you use a web-based e-mail. Although if you have your passwords stored, they can log into your Gmail or Hotmail account.

If they do that it is illegal, so I wouldnt worry about it too much. But if they do see your files, most likely it will be just whats in the "My Documents" folder.
 
So they can go in and see what stupid porn sites my husband has been surfing!?!?!!??!?!?:mad: Im DEFINITELY gonna make him stop that!!! I know he's mostly been on Playboy.com...but still!! We'll look like real idiots if they can see stuff like that!!!?!?!?!?!? Are they able to go thru things like that!?? Just the web pages gone to???! We don't actually "download" anything.....even when we get email attatchements....we have virus software...but I don't even trust that!


As for files and things. We just have some of our year end financial stuff......some letters we've typed up. And then for pictures we have a lot of our vacations and stuff. Thats about all for files and pictures I think??

what about pictures/files we USE to have....but deleted?? Can they retrieve those, once they've been deleted.

I might delete our financial stuff....once I've saved it on a disc.
 
If someone really wants something they can get it back if you delete it. That's what a lot of people want when they bring their machine in. They've gone and deleted some pictures or something and they want it back.

Getting emails off of your gmail/hotmail/other webmail wont happen unless they steal saved passwords, then as omega said they can just log in from anywhere.

I wouldn't worry about it too much unless you take it to a really seedy shop though. Chances are at worst they will check your browsing history and possibly laugh about it.
 
when i managed a computer store we had this one guy that use to bring his
system in and he had tons of pics of him and his wife (real XXX stuff) right on his c:\ didnt even try to hide it, kinda freakie couple anyways they drove a hearse.

most techs dont even look for stuff thats not out in the open.
 
whoa yea..ok. we aren't that strange.....don't drive a hearse anyway!!!!:eek:


We have two computers....my husband uses the old one...and I have the new one...which has our financial stuff and all that on it..

HOWEVER....

he did use the new one for a while, till we got the old one hooked up in his office. So hard to tell what all he "searched" while on mine!!!:mad:

but yes, I'd prefer when I take my computer in, that they don't think Im some perverted freak. I delete everything every night and all that. And I don't save our online banking passwords or anything. I just enter it in each time I want to log on.

So if I do delete pictures, that I want to get back, they are able to get them???

There's a few I deleted on here, and I'd like to have them back...its not a matter of life and death or anything...but when I take it in, that would be cool if they could get those back.
 
Depending on how long ago they were deleting will make a difference how easy it is to recover. There's lots of software that you can use to get them back. If you google search data recovery you'll get a ton of results. The shop might be able to get them back, if you ask them I'm sure they'll give it a go.
 
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