Laptop China?

Question from a first time visitor: with upcoming business trip to China
looking possible, what problems might I get bringing a laptop into the
country?

"Tom P" wrote in message
...
Question from a first time visitor: with upcoming business trip to China
looking possible, what problems might I get bringing a laptop into the
country?

Well...

Going by today's news, connecting to the Amnesty International site...


--
William Black


I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time, like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.

On Aug 3, 3:06 pm, Tom P wrote:
Question from a first time visitor: with upcoming business trip to China
looking possible, what problems might I get bringing a laptop into the
country?
I traveled to China last fall with my sister and her husband. They
brought an Apple laptop and had no problems. Almost every hotel had
an ethernet connection in the room at no extra charge. We did not
look for wifi hotspots.

The conventional wisdom is to beware of espionage. If you are
worried, one recommended approach is to bring a "clean" computer with
nothing confidential on the hard drive, and to assume that someone
will be spying on all of your internet activities. Personal email and
business email with no proprietary information should be OK.

On Aug 3, 3:06*pm, Tom P wrote:
Question from a first time visitor: with upcoming business trip to China
looking possible, what problems might I get bringing a laptop into the
country?


No too much, unless you want to connect to Falungon sites, or Amnesty
International. I understand that US state dept employees traveling to
China always carry a "clean" laptop with them. So if you have any
high level trade secrets you may want to be cautious.

PeterL wrote:
On Aug 3, 3:06 pm, Tom P wrote:
Question from a first time visitor: with upcoming business trip to China
looking possible, what problems might I get bringing a laptop into the
country?


No too much, unless you want to connect to Falungon sites, or Amnesty
International. I understand that US state dept employees traveling to
China always carry a "clean" laptop with them. So if you have any
high level trade secrets you may want to be cautious.

That is exactly my concern. The reason for bringing a laptop at all is
the material essential to my work, much of which is confidential. I do
not want customs or police or anyone else snooping round and maybe
confiscating data or the whole laptop. What happens if I encrypt stuff?
Does that make it look incriminating?

On Aug 4, 9:05*am, Tom P wrote:
PeterL wrote:
On Aug 3, 3:06 pm, Tom P wrote:
Question from a first time visitor: with upcoming business trip to China
looking possible, what problems might I get bringing a laptop into the
country?

No too much, unless you want to connect to Falungon sites, or Amnesty
International. *I understand that US state dept employees traveling to
China always carry a "clean" laptop with them. *So if you have any
high level trade secrets you may want to be cautious.

* That is exactly my concern. The reason for bringing a laptop at all is
the material essential to my work, much of which is confidential. I do
not want customs or police or anyone else snooping round and maybe
confiscating data or the whole laptop. *What happens if I encrypt stuff?
Does that make it look incriminating?


Never heard of Chinese customs confiscating laptops. If you have
confidential trade secrets yes do encrypt or store the stuff online
where you can access it or carry it on a memory stick.

Actually the US government has the right to confiscate anyone's
computer on entry into the US without having to give a reason. So
there.

PeterL wrote:
On Aug 4, 9:05 am, Tom P wrote:
PeterL wrote:
On Aug 3, 3:06 pm, Tom P wrote:
Question from a first time visitor: with upcoming business trip to China
looking possible, what problems might I get bringing a laptop into the
country?
No too much, unless you want to connect to Falungon sites, or Amnesty
International. I understand that US state dept employees traveling to
China always carry a "clean" laptop with them. So if you have any
high level trade secrets you may want to be cautious.
That is exactly my concern. The reason for bringing a laptop at all is
the material essential to my work, much of which is confidential. I do
not want customs or police or anyone else snooping round and maybe
confiscating data or the whole laptop. What happens if I encrypt stuff?
Does that make it look incriminating?


Never heard of Chinese customs confiscating laptops. If you have
confidential trade secrets yes do encrypt or store the stuff online
where you can access it or carry it on a memory stick.

Actually the US government has the right to confiscate anyone's
computer on entry into the US without having to give a reason. So
there.
Snap. This just showed up on another NG:
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Government/...aptops/?kc=rss

I thought the Chinese were supposed to be the totalitarian ones, and the
US the bastian of fredom an democracy.

Tom P" wrote in message
...
what problems might I get bringing a laptop into the country?

I understand some hotels are being required to install software to allow the
government to monitor your sessions. My experience is that web serving is
usually contracted out, so where is the software installed? It still
doesn't matter, as that would be a concern for me if I was logged into my
company website, bank account or any other site.

In the past, I also understand many legitimate websites were blocked. I am
not an expert in this area but if I hear is true, that would seriously
concern me.

rg

PeterL wrote in message news:07afdf93-27e6-41ce-8067-

Never heard of Chinese customs confiscating laptops. If you have
confidential trade secrets yes do encrypt or store the stuff online
where you can access it or carry it on a memory stick.

Actually the US government has the right to confiscate anyone's
computer on entry into the US without having to give a reason. So
there.

--------------------------

I don't know how true it is that our our Homeland Security Department in the
US has the right to confiscate any computer from anyone coming into the US
under the auspices of the Terrorism Act/s. Even US citizens are subject to
this potential abuse and the feds can hold on to your computer for as long
as they want. It would be nice to hear more about this hearsay, especially
as it relates to "just cause" and laws surrounding reasonable (but not
abusive) search and seizure.

rg

On Aug 4, 1:51*pm, "Sharkbait" wrote:
PeterL wrote in message news:07afdf93-27e6-41ce-8067-

Never heard of Chinese customs confiscating laptops. *If you have
confidential trade secrets yes do encrypt or store the stuff online
where you can access it or carry it on a memory stick.

Actually the US government has the right to confiscate anyone's
computer on entry into the US without having to give a reason. *So
there.

--------------------------

I don't know how true it is that our our Homeland Security Department in the
US has the right to confiscate any computer from anyone coming into the US
under the auspices of the Terrorism Act/s. *Even US citizens are subject to
this potential abuse and the feds can hold on to your computer for as long
as they want. *It would be nice to hear more about this hearsay, especially
as it relates to "just cause" and laws surrounding reasonable (but not
abusive) search and seizure.

rg


Not hearsay. I just heard about this on public radio this morning.
One congressman is introducing legislature to make them show cause
before they can seize anyone's laptop.