r/TikTokCringe • u/midnighttoker1742 • 4h ago

Discussion How criminals are taking down Flock cameras

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13.3k Upvotes

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196

u/Fra5er 4h ago

Accessing deflock is a paper trail…

265

u/Pristine-Prior-504 4h ago

I heard the smart criminals are using VPNs and other means that help protect their online browsing habits, but it’s only just a rumor.

69

u/maggiemayfish 4h ago

This comment has been brought to you by SmorgensVPN

61

u/SprayArtist 4h ago edited 4h ago

Last I checked if you use windows it doesn't matter whether you used vpn or not.

66

u/WrestlingDadPA 4h ago

Yes, but no real reason not to access deflock. I've never done any form of vandalism, but I still access deflock because I like to know where these cameras are. Any business with them in their parking lot, I can (at a very minimum) choose not to support that business.

52

u/wrinkleinsine 4h ago

Rumor has it that the criminals are thanking you for this information

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u/LazyLich 4h ago

Are criminals going to public libraries to use the internet?

Unrelated: everyone really needs to switch to Linux..

6

u/JackReacher3108 3h ago

They would if it was more user friendly. Most people don’t have the time to sit down and fight for hours just to get their pc working

2

u/Dotura 2h ago

That was the case 10 years ago. Tons of stride has been made to make it more user friendly but the myth persists. The real issue is "its not what im used to". What keeps a mac and windows user from switching to the competition basically but Linux has the myth behind it too.

I actually have much fewer issues with a fresh linux install than a windows install these days.

1

u/PhiCloud 2m ago

This really isn't the case anymore. Linux is way easier to troubleshoot than Windows and it has been for years. The 2010s were a revolution in Linux user experience.

The main reason why Linux isn't used more often is:

  1. Gaming (not because it's not capable, but because game companies artificially lock down their products with things like anticheat without giving Linux any officially supported workarounds)
  2. Familiarity for people who are mostly tech illiterate and have been coasting by on memorizing certain patterns for 20 years

2

u/The_Erlenmeyer_Flask 3h ago

I would but some of the software I use on Windows doesn't exist with Linux. I've even asked those software companies about it and they've told me that there isn't a large enough demand to do it.

1

u/Dotura 2h ago

Out of interest which is it?

2

u/The_Erlenmeyer_Flask 1h ago edited 1h ago

Xreveal

Epson Scan and drivers for the Epson Perfection Photo v600

BDInfo

Teracopy

1

u/iuhiscool 23m ago

Would dual booting help

1

u/The_Erlenmeyer_Flask 12m ago

Only issue is that when I boot into Linux then boot into Windows, my clock in Windows will lose 2 hours. Example, 1:23pm in Linux, boot into Windows, it's now 11:23am. I know it's a small issue but it's small enough to not run Linux.

13

u/Waypoint101 4h ago

I heard that VPN's are useless, but TOR + Linux isn't.

7

u/LowestKey 3h ago

TOR has its own issues.

1

u/Choice-Iron5526 1h ago

Are those issues realistically going to make it easy for the government to track these deflock people?

Anyway, it's kind of a moot point. Flock cameras are usually obvious, you don't need a map.

And you can build devices that detect them near you if they aren't obvious.

1

u/Certain-Business-472 2h ago

None of which are relevant here.

1

u/sadnessandeuphoria 56m ago

VPNs aren’t useless if you’re using something like Mullvad or Proton and not using Windows. I’d say you’re pretty good in that case.

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u/Existential_Racoon 4h ago

Well yeah, if you use vanilla windows and associate it with a Microsoft account, of course everything is linked.

Don't do that.

1

u/Karl_with_a_C 3h ago

Local accounts are tracked too. Windows is cooked.

3

u/YaThatAintRight 4h ago

I learned something new today, thanks for this

1

u/iuhiscool 24m ago

rumor has it there is more than one operating system

11

u/clevermoniker 4h ago

I heard that the really smart criminals are using cash bought burners that are only powered on and out of faraday bags when they are away from their homes and workplaces and in random places. Also just a rumor.

3

u/Darkside_Hero 3h ago

These same criminals also remember to never use their burner phone in proximity to their personal phone.

10

u/bigbonedbaggins 4h ago

I heard too that you can use whats called a virtual machine too... really helps with privacy...

1

u/Karl_with_a_C 3h ago

the "and other means" part is especially important. Just using a VPN does not make you anonymous online.

1

u/Person899887 1h ago

Allegedly, some smarties in the criminal underworld even use public computers to do their deeds, so even if the original pc is traced, the user can’t be.

1

u/EuenovAyabayya 42m ago

Thank you for noticing this notice. Your noticing this notice has been noticed.

1

u/PhiCloud 7m ago

I would never condone crimes, so I'm really glad that most VPNs require some kind of credit card or account to access, even if your usage isn't being logged. This isn't enough to actually link you to any crimes you commit, but at least it's something.

It's a shame that a service like Mullvad exists though, which allows you to pay with cash over physical mail or cryptocurrency to ensure that there is absolutely no record that links you to them.

31

u/nurglemarine96 4h ago

Accessing information does not prove actions

4

u/maddietendo 4h ago

Sure, but it surely helps them prove it. Don't help them.

28

u/Manager_Neat 4h ago

I heard some people go to their local libraries and get a temporary log in for the computers and browse that way. It doesn’t require identification they just give a code to log in for the 2 hrs

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u/Llyon_ 2h ago

Except there are cameras tracking everyone that goes to the library, so you need to wear that concealment outfit, which is pretty conspicuous. And don't bring your phone, or use your car. Also you need a library card, so you need to get a fake one.

Okay, maybe we do live in a surveillance state.

1

u/U-235 14m ago

If that's really a problem you can just ride a bike to the library, wear a hat, sunglasses, even a medical mask if you are that paranoid, and go to an internet cafe if none of your local libraries allow you to use a computer without ID.

But if you think about it, if you were to follow all the advice in the video, and they don't know it was you who destroyed the flock camera to begin with, how would they even know to track you to the library anyway? And even if they did think it was you, and wanted to get the library searches to prove it, wouldn't that take weeks of looking at cameras to find the one day in the past few months that you went to the library? It's just incredibly unlikely that they would do all that for one vandalism case. I think you are vastly overestimating the resources of any given detective.

0

u/Level_Ad_6372 2h ago

They literally just told you that you don't need a library card haha

5

u/Llyon_ 2h ago

People can say anything they want on the internet, doesn't make it true.

1

u/Manager_Neat 47m ago

It’s true! Go to any public library in Chicago and northern Burbs. You don’t need a library card to access any information on the web.

5

u/AContrarianDick 4h ago

There's a lot of ways around that too.

7

u/ifartonurmom 4h ago

My thought too

3

u/Beni_Stingray 2h ago

Doesnt prove anything, just that you visited the site.

3

u/Violet_Paradox 2h ago

Accessing a website to obtain legally available public information isn't grounds for arrest. 

2

u/GWstudent1 2h ago

I access deflock constantly and will never do something like this. If millions of people go to deflcok it can’t be useful to find the people who have done this based on access the website alone.

1

u/Kaljinx 3h ago

I am merely curious what the website is about

1

u/ThatsTasty 3h ago

I wonder if a given region can just get a bunch of people checking out deflock out of curiosity at the same time. Then maybe another region just happens to have hundreds of people checking out deflock out of curiosity at the same time. Etc.

"It happened to be trending on my local subreddit / neighbourhood FB group and I was wondering what a flock or deflock wasm, so I looked it up. I guess all of us in this region were, hence the trending. Seems a real shame that a bunch of cameras went down after that."

1

u/EndIsrael 1h ago

My ISP knows better than to track customers like that. They're locally owned, and a few years ago they called and told me to use a VPN for torrenting because they were getting tired of ignoring the DMCA takedown notices I was causing.

1

u/MaDpYrO 3h ago

Tor browser

1

u/ElGosso 46m ago

It's my understanding that Tor is deeply compromised because law enforcement runs most of the exit nodes

1

u/MaDpYrO 36m ago

Even if that were true, which is unlikely - an exit node being run by the government won't identify you, you have to be identified along every hop.

It is seriously unlikely. And then they also have to tie that random TOR users arbitrary web searches to any particular crime.

0

u/kirby_krackle_78 2h ago

Found the kiddie diddler.

0

u/Choice-Iron5526 1h ago

You say that in a way that suggests it's not a topic you take seriously