Hugely sophisticated, it can collect files on a machine, take screen shots, and even activate the microphone on a computer to record conversations.

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Prosecutors said Mix deleted a string of more than 200 messages from his iPhone about October 4, 2010, after he had been told to collect electronic files related to the disaster and prepare to turn them over to a company working for the oil giant's attorneys.

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The music industry begrudgingly complied, as they had no other way to collect on digital music files.

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"All the monitors observed during the study would connect to file-sharers and verify that they were running the BitTorrent software, but they would not actually collect any of the files being shared, " he said.

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The NSA director, General Keith Alexander, is coming under scrutiny after he told a crowd gathered at the Def Con hacker conference that the spy agency "absolutely" does not collect data from and maintain files on American citizens.

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At least in New York, as the law stands now, it appears that vendors who provide molecular structure files for home replicators will not be required to collect sales tax.

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If a customer files for bankruptcy, the company often lines up with other creditors to collect whatever assets are left.

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