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Posted by sipofwater 4/9/2025

How to lock down your phone if you're traveling to the U.S.(www.washingtonpost.com)
290 points | 339 commentspage 4
reassess_blind 4/10/2025|
In a similar vein for laptops, Veracrypt offers (offered?) a "Hidden OS" feature that allows an OS to be stored within an encrypted container inside of another encrypted container, with two separate passwords. This allows the outside volumes password to be divulged, which would show a dummy OS and allow for plausible deniability, while the real OS is only accessible with the second password.

However, this feature doesn't seem to work for Windows 11, or on some modern laptop hardware anymore?

Is there other software that offers similar functionality?

sipofwater 4/9/2025||
"DHS to screen social media of visa applicants for 'antisemitic activity'": https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/dhs-screen-social-media-visa... (abcnews.go.com/Politics/dhs-screen-social-media-visa-applicants-antisemitic-activity/story?id=120642944)
sipofwater 4/10/2025||
"One Tech Tip: Protecting your device privacy when crossing borders": https://apnews.com/article/internet-privacy-smartphones-trav... (apnews.com/article/internet-privacy-smartphones-travel-e0a3146ae7966ea0e4157dbfae1f6a81)
Vuska 4/9/2025||
The US is hardly the only country where this is the case and locking down your phone is almost entirely pointless (see xkcd #538).

If you're concerned about having it searched, don't bring your primary phone. Go to a phone shop, buy an old phone, put your SIM card in it, and use that instead.

wat10000 4/9/2025||
Going 538 on a US citizen would be a massive escalation. I'm not saying it's impossible, but if it ever comes up, I'll roll the dice on not unlocking my phone.

If you're worried about being beaten until you divulge your info, it's not like a burner phone is going to save you. They'll extract the login info for all your online accounts.

ljf 4/9/2025||
Not really how I expect to have to act before I enter the 'Land of the free'.
rob_c 4/9/2025||
Again, it's called a burner. If the criminal underworld can master this concept...

If you engage in stupidity online and it comes back to bite you because you wear it on your arm, my advice is don't go crying about it, unless you didn't believe enough in what you're saying to follow your words through with actions.

AstralStorm 4/10/2025|
What will be considered stupidity next? Talking about voting for Democrats? Engaging in the politics in any form? Memeing? Voting for a left wing party in EU and talking about it?

Talking about computer security as part of your job?

There is no end to it. Ultimately McCarthy will get what he wants if he wants it. The only way to make it hard for him is to overload him and protest it. (Which is instantly suspicious.)

I noticed you posted this from a non-throwaway account. Enjoy being flagged suspicious.

OutOfHere 4/10/2025||
Instead of just shutting down your phone, reboot it and enter the wrong password twice. With any luck, this will erase the memory remnant imprint of the actual password. After doing this, you can then shut it down if you want.
arnonejoe 4/9/2025||
I think this article is factually incorrect on one point. You cannot be detained for not providing the contents to your phone. That is absurd.
kashunstva 4/9/2025||
> You cannot be detained for not providing the contents to your phone. That is absurd.

Yet there are comments form U.S. citizens elsewhere here that testify to having been detained at the U.S. border. They seem to have wide latitude in deciding who needs more scrutiny.

anon291 4/10/2025||
Americans really like to criticize America and have no idea how things are in other countries
lern_too_spel 4/10/2025||
These Americans understand that they can change the laws in their own country but not in others.
anon291 4/14/2025||
Right, that's of course totally fair and valid. However, what the USA is doing is hardly odd. Most countries do this. In general, constitutional rights obviously don't apply at the border. Whether you like it or not, there has never been a requirement for a warrant for a border inspection. Imagine how inefficient that would be.
tootie 4/9/2025||
Not legally but the law hasn't been much of an encumbrance recently.
Havoc 4/9/2025||
I'm just not going to go to the US frankly.

Only reason I would is tourism, and I like my vacations harassment & risk of detainment free

tengwar2 4/9/2025||
I stopped going when they introduced fingerprinting. This is not just a point of principle. While it is not known whether fingerprints are unique (as is often claimed), it is known that the information that is stored about fingerprints and which is used as the basis for matching records is not unique. The equivalent of hash collisions exist. Fingerprints are great as corroborative evidence, but if they are used as the means to find a suspect, you don't want your fingerprints in the system when Cletus Thugfester (the actual perpetrator) has matching prints that are not in the system. Far too likely that you'd get hauled across the Atlantic on this basis, then have to deal with the "justice" system over there.
kevin_thibedeau 4/9/2025||
Fingerprints are known to not be unique. Matches have been found between two people.
fhdkweig 4/9/2025||
Here is one example https://edition.cnn.com/2006/LAW/01/06/mayfield.report/ regarding the Madrid train bombing.
tengwar2 4/10/2025||
No, that's the distinction I am drawing. That match was on the basis of the information recorded for computer comparison. Basically it records certain features such as the ends of lines. It does not record the whole fingerprint. It is know that these records are not unique. We don't know the same for the full fingerprint.
sipofwater 4/9/2025|||
"‘It’s like our friend started a fist fight with us’: These Europeans are skipping US travel": https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/09/travel/european-travelers-ski... (www.cnn.com/2025/04/09/travel/european-travelers-skipping-us-trips/index.html)
cardanome 4/9/2025|||
Same. I wish I had visited the US back in the days, especially pre-9/11 times when flying was super hassle free and people were optimistic about the future.

Sadly I was still quite young. Oh well, there are many other beautiful countries in the Americas. And especially south-America is substantially cheaper.

WorldPeas 4/9/2025||
My family has a large bottle of wine my mother took from Italy to New York in the 90s. Wild how the times change.
dude187 4/10/2025||
That hasn't changed, they could still bring a bottle back if they choose
WorldPeas 4/10/2025||
I'm surprised they'd let you do so in the claim luggage, but in this case it was carry-on. The story goes my mother just walked through customs and got on the plane with it.
dude187 4/10/2025||
Yeah carry on got the stupid liquid ban that's still around, but I don't think much if anything got banned from checked luggage after 9/11. Just the standard stuff like batteries and other things that could have issues in an unpressurized non temperature controlled hold.

Even carry on got a lot better than it used to be in the days right after that. Like I'm pretty sure they had banned lighters for a bit (and a lot of people assume they still are) but they're explicitly allowed and I throw mine right into the scanner bin every time I fly. Not even being able to carry in a sealed bottle of water and having to take your shoes off is stupid, but about the extent of what's left. No more keeping all liquids (what even counts as a liquid?) in a ziplock bag and having to take it out, and even laptops can stay in with the new scanners they're rolling out

I've carried on an inflatable life vest with an active CO2 cartridge and that's also listed as fine. Though it did get flagged and secondary screened because it was in my bag, even though they don't say you have to leave it out.

In general the more you fly if you pay attention, you can pretty much know what will trigger it if you put it in your bag. Metal water bottle in the bag? Your bag is getting pulled, every time. I've even told them right where to look lol. Left out and it goes right through.

WorldPeas 4/10/2025||
it's kind of funny, my mini bottle of spray sunscreen got flagged, but carrying through a fullsize BP 95 v-lock tv camera battery did not, and it uses the large battery cells that are roughtly the size of a roll of silver dollars.
pandemic_region 4/9/2025|||
My government has issued a travel warning statement aimed at those traveling to the US. Much like the statements given for Ukraine pre-war, Russia, some chaotic African nations of nations in the Middle-East.
sipofwater 4/9/2025||
"US expected a big travel year, but overseas visitors — angered by Trump — are heading elsewhere": https://apnews.com/article/tourism-us-travel-trump-visitors-... (apnews.com/article/tourism-us-travel-trump-visitors-international-14c31b490fd382d09ad5cae625ddc937)
NikkiA 4/11/2025||
No; If you're forced to go to the US, take a burner phone.
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