Porn after death?

[bostonman]

As a longstanding member out here (even though I don't post nearly as much as I used to), I trust your opinions. So...

Let's say, hypothetically, a man dies, and leaves lots of porn on his computer. And let's just say that some of it might be worse than the usual. And his widow, in trying to clear up accounts in the days after, happens to stumble upon all of this. And on one hand, she's shocked about finding it (the usual jokes about men and internet porn aside - and also she's no prude) but she's also very concerned. She's not computer savvy enough to know how to get rid of the stuff for good. And she's very hesitant to tell anyone about this because she fears there might be legal issues, even though the only viewer/collector of this material is now gone. (I'm the only other person who knows.)

So far, the only solution has been not to deal with it at all. But when the day comes that she really wants to get rid of that laptop, or get it erased and fixed, or ask someone for advice - what's the best thing to do? 

I could figure out how to remove the hard drive, but then, what happens to that?

Asking for a friend. (Literally.)

Edited June 3, 2022 by bostonman

[CJK]

This does not answer your question which asks about computer downloads, but about twenty years ago my boyfriend's female friend's father passed away and her mother discovered a trunk full of videotapes and magazines. My boyfriend and I quickly went over to the mom's house and took the trunk of porn, it was never mentioned again. 

[+ FrankR]

5 hours ago, bostonman said:

As a longstanding member out here (even though I don't post nearly as much as I used to), I trust your opinions. So...

Let's say, hypothetically, a man dies, and leaves lots of porn on his computer. And let's just say that some of it might be worse than the usual. And his widow, in trying to clear up accounts in the days after, happens to stumble upon all of this. And on one hand, she's shocked about finding it (the usual jokes about men and internet porn aside - and also she's no prude) but she's also very concerned. She's not computer savvy enough to know how to get rid of the stuff for good. And she's very hesitant to tell anyone about this because she fears there might be legal issues, even though the only viewer/collector of this material is now gone. (I'm the only other person who knows.)

So far, the only solution has been not to deal with it at all. But when the day comes that she really wants to get rid of that laptop, or get it erased and fixed, or ask someone for advice - what's the best thing to do? 

I could figure out how to remove the hard drive, but then, what happens to that?

Asking for a friend. (Literally.)

You can download free software that will wipe the drive permanently. 
https://www.lifewire.com/free-data-destruction-software-programs-2626174

You can also remove the hard drive and physically destroy it - take a hammer to it or melt it down with a cutting torch. 

Do check for any cloud based backups by reviewing browser history and subscriptions. 

[KeepItReal]

6 hours ago, bostonman said:

As a longstanding member out here (even though I don't post nearly as much as I used to), I trust your opinions. So...

Let's say, hypothetically, a man dies, and leaves lots of porn on his computer. And let's just say that some of it might be worse than the usual. And his widow, in trying to clear up accounts in the days after, happens to stumble upon all of this. And on one hand, she's shocked about finding it (the usual jokes about men and internet porn aside - and also she's no prude) but she's also very concerned. She's not computer savvy enough to know how to get rid of the stuff for good. And she's very hesitant to tell anyone about this because she fears there might be legal issues, even though the only viewer/collector of this material is now gone. (I'm the only other person who knows.)

So far, the only solution has been not to deal with it at all. But when the day comes that she really wants to get rid of that laptop, or get it erased and fixed, or ask someone for advice - what's the best thing to do? 

I could figure out how to remove the hard drive, but then, what happens to that?

Asking for a friend. (Literally.)

Good advice from @FrankR. I would only add that it is usually best to deal with these things sooner rather than later.  They don't age well and tend to fester. 👍

[+ Coolwave35]

I have a plan in place with my bestie that upon my death, he knows what drawers and iPads to clear out before my family starts looking. 
 

When my grandma was nearing the end of her life she got rid of all sorts of things. Her most shameful (that she told me about) was a love letter from a man that wasn’t my grandfather.  She kept it for 70 years. Only god knows the contents but it’s amazing that that letter brought her joy and shame for 7 decades. 

[+ poolboy48220]

5 minutes ago, Coolwave35 said:

I have a plan in place with my bestie that upon my death, he knows what drawers and iPads to clear out before my family starts looking.  

Agreed.  I've recently started estate planning and part of that is designating a 'porn buddy' who gets first shot at my computer to download or wipe all my porn.

[+ Pensant]

I wonder if my lawyer could handle this?

[MikeBiDude]

10 hours ago, bostonman said:

I could figure out how to remove the hard drive, but then, what happens to that?

Follow @FrankR suggestions above for looking for cloud backups. Use software mentioned to wipe the drive, take it out, drill multiple holes thru the hard drive case. Soak in acetic acid or stronger. 

[Boink]

 

[liubit]

I keep all my porn -700 GB and growing 😳- in the cloud in my Dropbox, nothing locally on my hard drive(s). When I depart, my husband only has to delete the Dropbox account and everything will disappear into oblivion. Or he just has to stop paying the hosting fee and the account will eventually be cancelled by them. 

[bostonman]

Thanks for the suggestions so far, everyone. 

I think the question really comes down to whether or not she should try to get the laptop fixed (right now it won't even start up correctly). Were she to bring it to Best Buy or some other place to get it repaired, and they saw something that raised a red flag, would they ignore it, or would they be bound to report what they saw? 

Or would it be better to just remove the hard drive, destroy it, and be done?

[MikeBiDude]

3 minutes ago, bostonman said:

would they be bound to report what they saw? 

Or would it be better to just remove the hard drive, destroy it, and be done?

Yes, and yes

[bostonman]

Thank you, Mike. I wasn't sure if the contents would be a huge deal or not, but then again, your answer doesn't surprise me. 

I will make that suggestion.

[keefer]

I agree with @MikeBiDude;  laptops are cheap, hard drives are cheap -- just destroy it.

At work we remove all drives and destroy content with degauss before shredding;  if I wanted to destroy a drive I'd probably just remove from the laptop or computer; open the drive (normally just torx screwdrivers); if possible feed the platters through a shredder, or if not follow some of the earlier recommendations to destroy.   if feeling particularly paranoid - then discard the pieces in lots of locations.

   

Edited June 3, 2022 by keefer

[Guest]

On 6/3/2022 at 7:53 AM, MikeBiDude said:

...Use software mentioned to wipe the drive, take it out, drill multiple holes thru the hard drive case. Soak in acetic acid or stronger.