I do not believe it is happening BUT it is possible. I am going to make two assumptions about your computer system which may or may not be true. If they are true (and I believe they are true for 99% of the FFLs), this is easy for the ATF to do and if the assumptions are not true then the ATF will only be missing a few stores worth of data. Assumption number 1 is that you are running the software on a local computer that is connected to a server for data storage. If this is not true and you are running the software and the data all on one local computer, then your store is so small the ATF would not care. But this makes assumption 2 almost guaranteed to be true and that is the critical one. Assumption 2 is that your server is connected to the internet. I doubt there are very many computers not connected to the internet any more. There are definitely a few, but not enough to worry about.mrvmax wrote: ↑Thu Feb 10, 2022 4:44 pm Explain to me how the ATF is hacking into my PC to access software I purchased to do firearm transactions. I don't think you guys understand the idea behind it. It's not a program run by the ATF, private businesses develop the software and FFLS buy it. The ATF is not involved in any of it except to approve it's use.
And the key to this whole thing working is that the ATF has to approve the sale of the software for it to be valid to use. So, in order to approve the software, the ATF requires the source code to be provided to them. They may not need the whole source code but will definitely require at least the data file structure to be reviewed, along with some other technical data. The next assumption is not about you or anything you control, but about the ATF. Assume they are corrupt enough to do something that is against the law, such as collect a database of gun owners. This is actually more of a proven fact than an assumption, IMO. So, suppose a corrupt ATF announces they are accepting software to review. After they receive it, they tell the publisher that it will not be approved unless he puts certain functionality in it AND he does not tell anyone it is there. The secret function is a file transfer of data to the ATF of all sales made in the previous 24 hours.
And that is how it could be done.
The problem with this is that I am a big believer in the old motto of three can keep a secret only if two of them are dead. This is the flaw with most conspiracy theories. But then you run into things like the JFK assassination where the public story has been told (and is probably true) and anything else is considered a conspiracy theory but the government is still keeping some of the records on this top secret 60 years after the fact. That makes me think there is something in the files that the public should know and that we don't. And that something could only be that the publicly released story is not true.
So, it is possible to do this, but it is not likely to be happening.