this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2026
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Full disk encryption doesn't help much if the pc is running anyway since the key will be in memory
How will they carry the running pc if it’s not a laptop?
They have a battery attached to flat wires. When you give a couple millimeters of room from the plug, they insert the flat wires and the computer will be powered from the battery.
HotPlug Field Kit
If the computer is logged in, they have a USB device that mimics a mouse. It makes the mouse pointer move back and forth to prevent it from going to sleep or the screen saver.
They use forensic tools to clone the RAM before moving it. Probably depends on exploits so whether it will work may depend on your OS, but they have access to the hardware so there are a lot of possibilities.
Is this actually practically achievable or mostly theoretical in a lab? Is it confirmed that the cops have actually managed to do this?
For password guessing they make clones of the computer so they can make countless instances of it to endlessly guess the password at the speed of dickheads to get around the systems cutting the guesser off after a number of attempts.
You can do this for servers. Desktops would be no problem
At least in Germany, I would be surprised if the cops could point to the RAM inside a computer. They will not open it before they take it with them.
Careful. There are levels to it, and from stories that I heard, those levels don't always communicate with each other. If you get the regular "normal cops", then no, they won't know anything more than the average joe about computers.
If get in deep enough shit, you might get a visit from the specialised cops, either the state or federal variety, and those guys know what they are doing.
That's definitely the case in the Netherlands. I wouldn't trust the average cop to find the power button. But that doesn't mean the specialized teams don't have some really good ones.
And the guys who usually search houses aren't average cops, they know how to search houses, because they search houses regularly. They've had dozens of cases in the past that couldn't be solved because someone has unplugged a pc too soon. They have regular trainings where they are updated on the newest developments. They have learned by now. We're not living in 2005 anymore and neither do the cops.