Secondhand item came with previous owner's files on the SD card, do I return the card or format it?
Secondhand item came with previous owner's files on the SD card, do I return the card or format it?
I bought a 3d printer off Ebay which got delivered not too long ago, and it came with 2 sd cards - one with a build video and some demo print files, but worryingly another card that has all the previous owner's personal files on there.
Not sure whether to format it, or to contact the seller offering to send the card back (free of charge)... how would you prefer to be approached in a similar situation?
Edit: No gcode files are on the card, just 30gb of pictures, music and videos. Sent the seller a message offering to upload it to cloud or to send the card back
Firstly, never stick a storage drive into your personal machine that was previously owned by an individual. If you need to use the drive always open it on a machine disconnected from the Internet that contains no personal files. Better would be to boot up a live Linux machine and read the drive and format if needed.
Permanently Deleted
It doesn't have to be about someone stealing your data. I had a situation where a user got some malware on their USB drive that deleted other user files when plugged in and replaced them with porn or something. It's just good practice to not plug unknown devices into your computer all willie nillie.
Autorun doesn't exist anymore.
As long as you don't open any executables, you'll be fine.
What's the chance that the seller has a 0day (which would be veeery valuable) and is using it to steal data from someone random? Not worth it for sure on their side.
While autorun doesn't exist anymore, there's many many other methods of attack via usb.
Here's a list with 10 seconds of searching:
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/heres-a-list-of-29-different-types-of-usb-attacks/
It's entirely possible this drive was made maliciously to pass on data from whatever unsuspecting soul uses it. The seller op bought from could even be a victim themselves. You just never know.
Better to offer and they say no vs you just destroying data they can't replace and didn't realize they'd lost.
Just send a quick email/DM. Couldn't hurt. Could even send the data through dropbox or similar instead of the whole card.
I know if I was the seller I would appreciate the gesture, even if I didn't need the data.
First make sure it's not CP π€·π»ββοΈ
Reach out to them and ask. The card is now yours, but the data is theirs.
I am sure if needed they can give you an online folder to upload the contents if needed.
Yeah I don't see the need to return the card. But asking if they want the data seems sensible.
Offer to send it back.
Good on you for asking to upload the data before formating. It's a nice gesture that I'd appreciate either way.
Upload the files to google drive or the like, send the seller a message with the link and an explanation. Give them 14 days to download it. Delete files.
Idk how big these files are. Too big and my idea won't work
I wouldnβt upload my own files to the cloud, and in turn I wouldnβt upload someone elseβs without their consent.
It might have passwords, personal financial data, corporate trade secrets, health data, child pornβany number of cans of worms.
I'd just contact the seller, explain the situation, and offer to send it back. If they say they don't care then just go ahead and format it, or dig through it for fun if you're that kind of person.
I'm pretty sure he doesn't care about random gcode files that won't be usable on another 3D printer anyway.
It's pictures, music and videos, sorry wasn't clearer in the post - updated
then yes, you should tell them π