When is deleted not deleted? Ask Yahoo

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Katzenfreund, Jul 29, 2016.

  1. Katzenfreund

    Katzenfreund MDL Expert

    Jul 15, 2016
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    July 22, 2016

    Yahoo was ordered by a judge to explain how it produced "deleted" emails in a drug case, something that Yahoo’s policies state is not possible.

    The court case centers around Russell Knaggs, from Yorkshire, UK, whose account was set up to discuss and set up a deal to import 5 tons of cocaine from Colombia in 2009.

    Yahoo delivered six months of emails that the prosecution said was vital to the case.

    Yahoo has explained to the court that there’s deleted, and then there’s deleted. Yahoo saves copies of email drafts – autosaved to the “draft” folder on Yahoo’s email server “at periodic intervals”. They do remain on Yahoo’s email server, albeit invisible to a user, for an unknown period of time.

    http://motherboard.vice.com/read/ju...how-it-recovered-deleted-emails-in-drugs-case

    My comment: It seems to me, those drug dealers are as naive as their victims to believe there’s privacy on the Internet.
     
  2. Yen

    Yen Admin
    Staff Member

    May 6, 2007
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    When yahoo says are deleted and removed from their servers then they cannot argue with 'auto save'. To auto save emails which have been deleted already would have the result that the auto saved files are actualized means deleted there as well.
    A little delay would be reasonable...yahoo clearly violated their own GTCT.

    Anyway do not expect you could really delete something stored on a server you do not have control of it.
     
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  3. dhjohns

    dhjohns MDL Guru

    Sep 5, 2013
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    I think the only serious discussion we should have is Who Uses Yahoo! ​and Why?
     
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  4. Klard

    Klard MDL Novice

    Oct 10, 2016
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    If you are online and you press any alphanumeric key someone, somewhere has saved that for the rest of time as we know it. "Delete" and "Trash" mean nothing.
     
  5. Katzenfreund

    Katzenfreund MDL Expert

    Jul 15, 2016
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    Practically true, with the clarification that those someones somewhere have a strong preference for saving personal, confidential and compromising data.

    Similarly, I bet those thinking they remain anonymous by using, even paying for, VPN services, could meet with a nasty surprise.
     
  6. gorski

    gorski MDL Guru

    Oct 21, 2009
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    That depends on what you are using it for and which email you use etc. etc.
     
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