School Webcam Snapped 'Partially Undressed' Kid

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
Joined
May 9, 2000
Messages
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This gives the term 'Home Schooling' a new kink...as in kinky. The District School System used remote activation reserved for stolen or missing school computers to spy on students. This kind of stuff is scary on any level.

The school district explained that Blake Robbins' laptop Webcam was activated because his parents had allegedly not paid the $55 insurance fee. The latest accusations, however, put into ever-sharper focus the very nature and moral and legal probity of remote-controlled Webcams on school-distributed laptops.
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I have an instant and very cheap solution to all this web cam crap going on with schools...

Why not just put a piece of masking or painters tape over the spot where the web cam is?
 
Heh, I agree with the comments on that site.

First it's - we didn't do it.
Then it's - we only did it 42 times, and ONLY when reported stolen or lost.
Now it's - we only did it to this kid because his parents didn't pay their insurance fees.
 
cyclone3d said:
I have an instant and very cheap solution to all this web cam crap going on with schools...

Why not just put a piece of masking or painters tape over the spot where the web cam is?
Click to expand...

I guess some students like to use it?
 
Why is a shitstorm not coming down ontop of these people?

For all anyone knows the monitoring could've been provoked by child predators.

I'd mask a feed of gay porn over it if anyone tried to pull that shit..
 
I have three easy solutions.
One is obvious, don't waste money giving these kids laptops. Buy regular computers at a lower cost, and leave them in the class rooms.
Then there is always, don't buy laptops for kids that have webcams built into them.
Last but certainly not least, don't spy on the kids for BS reasons. Wait til a laptop is reported stolen, b4 activating "thief catcher" type software.
 
Key figure in 'Webcamgate' invokes Fifth

Lower Merion School District's information-systems coordinator (Carol Cafiero),invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination yesterday at a deposition for the federal invasion-of-privacy lawsuit that sparked the "Webcamgate" scandal earlier this year.

"To each and every question I would ask her, other than her name, she asserted the Fifth, even after I told her that everybody else had come in and fully cooperated and provided complete testimony as to what took place," said attorney Mark Haltzman, who represents Blake Robbins, the Harriton High School sophomore who is suing the district.
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"....was activated because his parents had allegedly not paid the $55 insurance fee."

Yeah right!!! Electrical tape it is.. Or would that violate the terms of use.. Stupid stupid...
 
From what I've heard elsewhere, apparently doing that was grounds for suspension.
 
If this had happened to my kid, some school official would become bloody over this- this crap get my blood boiling. Moral of the story, take any government-school issued laptop and leave it at the school.

(sorry if I'm feeling a little over the top- new parent and definitely have a lot of "papa bear" in me right now)
 
If anyone is left who thinks this is not extremely creepy, here's the report from a Philadelphia paper:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20100415_Lawyer__Laptops_took_thousands_of_photos.html

Back at district offices, the Robbins motion says, employees with access to the images marveled at the tracking software. It was like a window into "a little LMSD soap opera," a staffer is quoted as saying in an e-mail to Carol Cafiero, the administrator running the program.

"I know, I love it," she is quoted as having replied.
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Robbins, a sophomore at Harriton High School, and his parents, Michael and Holly Robbins, contend e-mails turned over to them by the district suggest Cafiero "may be a voyeur" who might have viewed some of the photos on her home computer.

The motion says Cafiero, who has been placed on paid leave, has failed to turn that computer over to the plaintiffs despite a court order to do so, and asks a judge to sanction her.
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"His parents didn't pay us to NOT spy on him at him. A simple answer really!"

Fucktard douchebags. I hope these people get jail time in addition to loosing their jobs.
 
evilsofa said:
If anyone is left who thinks this is not extremely creepy, here's the report from a Philadelphia paper:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20100415_Lawyer__Laptops_took_thousands_of_photos.html
Click to expand...

Clearly this shows that it wasn't one rogue employee, but rather a whole group of people (who weren't even necessarily employed in a line of boss->employee, so they can't say 'I was just following orders') intentionally going around those notebooks for entertainment purposes.
 
This is bad... and will set precedence for all school and government purchased laptops and smartphones for remote surveillance in the future...

as a teacher, I can say that it is appalling that a school administrator(s) would think this is/was a good idea.

the people who approved this policy and implementation should be fired....

This does not fall on the tech who actually activated the software, but rather on the school or district administration for approving/writing this policy....
 
Turning on the webcam because they didn't pay the insurance cost is so fucking retarded. Do you know what normal entities do when you don't pay your bills? They either cancel the policy/service/etc or THEY CALL YOU AND ASK FOR THE MONEY. WTF? How is turning on the webcam going to make them pay?

FIST SMASH FACE.
 
Remember, it's these same type of people that run the DMV, IRS, and to a hospital near you, health care.
 
I don't want to stick up for the school, but this pic seems set up:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/90997579.html?cmpid=15585797

What are the odds the laptop was on, he was in the center of the frame, and the lighting was perfect?

I don't fully trust this family. Did you guys read this story about them?

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/n..._family_is_no_stranger_to_legal_disputes.html

The vice chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission could scarcely contain his scorn.

Before the commission was yet another appeal from a Philadelphia-area family, again seeking a break on unpaid electric and gas bills that by last year were closing in on $30,000.

This family lived in a $986,000 house on the Main Line. The breadwinner, until recently, had earned well more than $100,000 per year. Yet he and his wife were in hock to creditors, ranging from Uncle Sam to their former synagogue - and had regularly been stiffing Peco Energy for five years, breaking payment plan after payment plan.

"Our procedures," the commission's Tyrone J. Christy wrote in a Dec. 17 motion, "were not meant to allow customers living in $986,000 houses, with incomes in excess of $100,000 per year, to run up arrearages approaching $30,000."

The debtors in question were insurance broker Michael Robbins and his wife, Holly, who now find themselves in the national spotlight after suing the Lower Merion School District, saying it allegedly spied on their child at home via a Web cam on a school-issued laptop.
 
That's a pretty interesting issue but I am not sure if it does play any part in the current fiasco. Certainly it not relevant legally to the case at hand (from my Law and Order leet infoz) and can only be used to damage the families reputation. Not everyone who has been wronged will have a background free from tarnish so a tactic like this (if it is one) just seems a cheap and petty way to attack the alleged victims.

As to the pic seeming to appear staged, that is of course a possibility but it's also possible they released that image because it was simply luck that made it as clear as it was. Unless somebody flat out admits to it being staged how could we know. Also, did the kid have any way of knowing *when* the images/video would be taken? If not, I find it difficult to believe he laid there like that on the off chance they engaged the system.
 
spinelli said:
That's a pretty interesting issue but I am not sure if it does play any part in the current fiasco. Certainly it not relevant legally to the case at hand (from my Law and Order leet infoz) and can only be used to damage the families reputation. Not everyone who has been wronged will have a background free from tarnish so a tactic like this (if it is one) just seems a cheap and petty way to attack the alleged victims.

As to the pic seeming to appear staged, that is of course a possibility but it's also possible they released that image because it was simply luck that made it as clear as it was. Unless somebody flat out admits to it being staged how could we know. Also, did the kid have any way of knowing *when* the images/video would be taken? If not, I find it difficult to believe he laid there like that on the off chance they engaged the system.
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It provides motive for the investigators to see if the family made it all up in an effort to get some easy cash.

Fuck these people. Where are the debtors' prisons, anymore?
 
Powerage said:
It provides motive for the investigators to see if the family made it all up in an effort to get some easy cash.

Fuck these people. Where are the debtors' prisons, anymore?
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I would imagine the investigating the truth of the claims made would be done in due course of the case. Assuming it can be proven that the accusations are indeed FALSE then there would be a reason to look further into the motives for presenting untrue accusations. Until the claims by the parents prove to be a fairy tale trying to dig up dirt on them is just plain shitty and detracts from the real issues.

I am not defending the parents, I just was never a fan of trying to tear down alleged victims. It's a scumbag tactic.

As to the debtors prisons, I can pretty much assure you that the last folks who would want to see them are the agencies who extend credit, especially those who extend credit to high risk brackets. The power company could have turned off their power at any time I believe, that they refused to do so and instead essentially condoned the family to get into such monstrous debt with them.
 
spinelli said:
As to the debtors prisons, I can pretty much assure you that the last folks who would want to see them are the agencies who extend credit, especially those who extend credit to high risk brackets. The power company could have turned off their power at any time I believe, that they refused to do so and instead essentially condoned the family to get into such monstrous debt with them.
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True. Not to take the thread OT, but I say fuck the creditors. The government should step in and prevent people from amassing debt and destroying our economy (not that the government is too good at spending within their means).
 
Something like Lojack for Laptops could have provided info on a stolen laptop without being intrusive (like taking pics). You just wipe it remotely when reported stolen.
 
pgaster said:
I don't fully trust this family. Did you guys read this story about them?

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/n..._family_is_no_stranger_to_legal_disputes.html
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My favorite quote from the posted link:
Before filing the suit, lawyer Mark S. Haltzman said he had warned the family that its members' lives would be placed under a microscope.

"I absolutely advised them, because I know the low level that newspaper people will go to for a story," Haltzman said yesterday, "even if it has nothing to do with the merits of the case."
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Pot meet kettle
 
If they're concerned about stolen laptops, why not put Lojack or some other solution on them?
 
I just have a hard time believing that the school districts didn't see something like this happening. Apparently they have never done any form of a risk assessment.
 
The parents owe more than just on the gas and/or electric bill. From the same article listed above:

"According to court records, their unpaid debts range from $62,692 owed to the IRS to lesser debts of a few thousand to their dentist, their former synagogue's preschool, and a Montgomery County lawyer."

I also spotted this on another article:

"The wealthy Lower Merion district purchased Apple MacBook laptops for all 2,300 students in its Harriton and Lower Merion High Schools.

But the district requires all students to pay a $55 insurance fee, with a $100 deductible if they are damaged or lost, according to a 2009 letter to parents from Harriton principal Steven R. Kline. "No uninsured laptops are permitted off campus," Kline wrote."

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20100222_Laptop_camera_snapped_away_in_one_classroom.html

So now more pieces are falling into place. The parents don't pay their bills in general, including the $55 for laptop insurance.
The kid takes the laptop home, even though he shouldn't, (and he gets that behavior from his parents who do whatever they want without paying), and now the laptop is somewhere off campus and should not be. It may have even appeared to be stolen, depending on how they kept their records.
Then the school uses their software to take some pictures to figure out what's going on and where the laptop is. The problem is that they really shouldn't be doing things that way. They should have let the software maker take care of it with the police. The software maker never wanted people to take matters into their own hands like this.

Oh, and for those of you who are saying to just use Lojack for Laptops, well, that is made by Absolute software, who also sells LANrev, the software this school used to track laptops.
Same company, just different product. It seems Absolute bought LANrev at some point, but I don't know the whole history. Anyway, the main thing to know is that LANrev and Lojack for Laptops are both from Absolute now.

Here is my latest opinion:
Sure the school went too far, but the deadbeat parents and kid who took something home he shouldn't have also have to take some blame for the situation.
 
pgaster said:
Here is my latest opinion:
Sure the school went too far, but the deadbeat parents and kid who took something home he shouldn't have also have to take some blame for the situation.
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Your opinion should have stopped at the bolded statement. All other facts are irrelevant in this matter. Your logic is the ends justify the means which a great way to rationalize bad actions.
 
Trepidati0n said:
Your opinion should have stopped at the bolded statement. All other facts are irrelevant in this matter. Your logic is the ends justify the means which a great way to rationalize bad actions.
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Well, unless you are supporting thieves and criminals, you should let him justify what is going on. which bad actions are you talking about? the parents not paying but allowing the kids to take home anyways? or the school trying to get back their "stolen" (as far as they know) laptop by activating the security device.

If what he said is true, both sides are wrong in this case and both side should be blamed for this. One side tries to steal or borrow without permission while the other side try to find their properties.
 
pgaster said:
The parents owe more than just on the gas and/or electric bill. From the same article listed above:

"According to court records, their unpaid debts range from $62,692 owed to the IRS to lesser debts of a few thousand to their dentist, their former synagogue's preschool, and a Montgomery County lawyer."

I also spotted this on another article:

"The wealthy Lower Merion district purchased Apple MacBook laptops for all 2,300 students in its Harriton and Lower Merion High Schools.

But the district requires all students to pay a $55 insurance fee, with a $100 deductible if they are damaged or lost, according to a 2009 letter to parents from Harriton principal Steven R. Kline. "No uninsured laptops are permitted off campus," Kline wrote."

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20100222_Laptop_camera_snapped_away_in_one_classroom.html

So now more pieces are falling into place. The parents don't pay their bills in general, including the $55 for laptop insurance.
The kid takes the laptop home, even though he shouldn't, (and he gets that behavior from his parents who do whatever they want without paying), and now the laptop is somewhere off campus and should not be. It may have even appeared to be stolen, depending on how they kept their records.
Then the school uses their software to take some pictures to figure out what's going on and where the laptop is. The problem is that they really shouldn't be doing things that way. They should have let the software maker take care of it with the police. The software maker never wanted people to take matters into their own hands like this.

Oh, and for those of you who are saying to just use Lojack for Laptops, well, that is made by Absolute software, who also sells LANrev, the software this school used to track laptops.
Same company, just different product. It seems Absolute bought LANrev at some point, but I don't know the whole history. Anyway, the main thing to know is that LANrev and Lojack for Laptops are both from Absolute now.

Here is my latest opinion:
Sure the school went too far, but the deadbeat parents and kid who took something home he shouldn't have also have to take some blame for the situation.
Click to expand...

I agree. That family is also no better.
 
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