u/hejter_skejter

I am considering buying a used rtl-sdr v4, and the seller provided screenshots of software supposedly recognising the device model. Is this an actual thing?

Also, how reliable is outside appearance when spotting a fake? The photos the seller provided check all the boxes, like the offset screws etc, but I'm not sure if that gets faked too these days. Or is buying from unofficial sources not advised in general?

Another question of mine is if the rtl-sdr is a durable device that is worth buying used, especially since they're no longer in stock. Am I risking it breaking soon, having been used by another person for a long time and whatnot?

Guy on a long distance train asked me for wifi to supposedly get his ticket from his email. I saw his laptop's screen the whole time and he did seem to log into some gmail, but using the 'I forgot my password' recovery thing which was kinda sketchy. Also, he was using a ThinkPad with Linux, so the most hacker combo ever, and had a bunch of tabs already open, which I only realised after the fact. Obviously he might’ve been doing something else in the background, which I didn't see. In the end, he did log into the account, and I saw it had some Interrail emails on it, but he didn't find his supposed ticket and left, so it seemed sketchy. After that, I turned off the hotspot. I feel really stupid for agreeing to help.

Suppose they conducted illegal activity, would there be no way to prove it wasn't me? Is this a known exploit, that criminals may attempt, or am I being too paranoid and there are more efficient ways of covering up their identity if they wanted to? Is there anything I could do right now to improve my situation or am I cooked?

Guy on a long distance train asked me for wifi to supposedly get his ticket from his email. I saw his laptop's screen the whole time and he did seem to log into some gmail, but using the 'I forgot my password' recovery thing which was kinda sketchy. Obviously he might’ve been doing something else in the background which I didn't see. In the end, he did log into the account, and I saw it had some Interrail emails, but he didn't find his supposed ticket, so it seemed sketchy. I feel really stupid for agreeing to help.

Suppose they conducted illegal activity, would there be no way to prove it wasn't me? Is this a known exploit, that criminals may attempt, or am I being too paranoid? Is there anything I could do right now to improve my situation or am I cooked?