| Title | How Best Buy’s Computer-Wiping Error Turned Me into an Amateur Blackhat | |
| Date | Saturday June 13 2015, @08:14PM | |
| Author | martyb | |
| Topic | ||
| from the It's-Milliner-Time! dept. | ||
We put a lot of trust in big companies, so when they let us down it can have serious consequences.
I recently went shopping for a new computer. I wanted a low-end laptop for light work, and the HP Stream seemed like a good deal. That deal was made even sweeter when Best Buy offered to sell me a returned one for almost 20 percent off. The salesman assured me that it was in like-new condition and that they would honor all warranties. Sold.
I always get a little thrill opening a new gadget. The computer looked like it had never been touched and all the paperwork was still in sealed bags. There was even a slip of paper in the box with the ID of the tech who cleaned and certified the unit.
So it surprised me when I booted up and saw someone else's name and Hotmail address at the login prompt. So much for like-new!
As I stared at the full name and e-mail address of the previous owner—let's call him David—I wondered. Could I get into this computer another way? It was mine after all. And how much more could I learn about him? How bad of a mistake had the store made?
Any similar stories out there Soylentils care to share?
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printed from SoylentNews, How Best Buy’s Computer-Wiping Error Turned Me into an Amateur Blackhat on 2025-12-08 17:01:55