151–160 of 307 posts
http://blog.erratasec.com/2013/12/how-to-disable-webcam-ligh...
TLDR: Webcams follow the UVC standard and, according to this standard, the LED indicator light is controlled by the host software. So a simple hack is to find the webcam driver DLL, find the function that controls the LED (such as TurnOnOffLED()), make it return immediately, done.
From all they ways I can be spied, the webcam is the one that concerns me the least. At the end, all they will see is a bearded man staring to the front. May they be able to see me naked? Well, probably, but I honestly don't think that they will make a lot of money by selling my naked pictures... My wife tells me that I still look good, but I suspect that she is being nice to me. What would scare more is that they ma…
You're displaying a common trope I see sometimes with security: > "because this particular thing does affect me personally, it doesn't matter. And because it doesn't matter to me it doesn't matter at all" Blackmailing people with pictures taken from webcams is not theoretical. It happens[0] and it's good advice to tape up your cam. It may not affect you personally, but it may affect your wife, daughter, or sister in…
How can one blackmail a person with webcam pictures where the person just stares into a screen?
If you mean NSFW pics I don't think they're done with a computer's webcam cam. Nowadays, people use phones for that use case.
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I think you're being a bit quick to judge people here… Having an integrated camera is obviously a lot easier to deal with, logistically, than lugging along an external USB camera. I think a lot of the people here would love to have hardware-level kill switches for their video camera. And mic. And WiFi. (I would; I used to own a Thinkpad with a hardware kill switch for WiFi. It was useful, even aside from the privacy…
I think you're neglecting a key detail: alternatives are hardly even on the shelves, and NO ONE QUESTIONS IT. > Oh, well, that's just supply and demand, of course! > Everyone just WANTS an always on internet connection! > Why would anyone ever remove the battery from their cell phone??? > It's more cost effective to build the device like that. Common sense! > Everyone wants a unique identifier, GPS and 911 service. I…
Sort of a cruel prank. Those in the best position to release the yoke, are only motivated to tighten it.
Isn't this really just a sign of flawed hardware design? In my opinion hardware should be designed so that the camera LED lamp should always be lit if the camera is used. If there is a malfunction with the LED, then the camera should also not work. Also there should be a hardware LED for when the microphone is being used which should work in the same fashion for laptops with built-in microphones. In the webcam driver…
That would only inform the user that the camera is on, and that isn't good enough. If the user is paying active attention to the computer then they can take action, but if they're not then they can't - noticing an LED has switched on when you're busy doing something else in the same room is quite unlikely. Even if you're actively using the computer you could miss it if you're focused on a task.
A hardware switch that disables the camera or a lens cover that blocks it entirely (eg tape) are the only safe options.
in this day and age how come we don't see laptops carry a physical on/off switch for the microphone and camera?
This is the day and age of removing headphone jacks to make a phone slimmer, taking away your disk drive, etc. Most companies care more about aesthetics than functionality at this point.
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You're displaying a common trope I see sometimes with security: > "because this particular thing does affect me personally, it doesn't matter. And because it doesn't matter to me it doesn't matter at all" Blackmailing people with pictures taken from webcams is not theoretical. It happens[0] and it's good advice to tape up your cam. It may not affect you personally, but it may affect your wife, daughter, or sister in…
> Blackmailing people with pictures taken from webcams How can one blackmail a person with webcam pictures where the person just stares into a screen? If you mean NSFW pics I don't think they're done with a computer's webcam cam. Nowadays, people use phones for that use case.
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If the LED were simply wired in series somehow with the mic power supply I imagine it would be easier to tell. The problem with the Mac LED indicator was that it was controlled by a microcontroller that was ultimately accessible via user land. It's harder to surreptitiously bypass a simple electrical circuit.
Sorry, but how do you tell the difference? I agree that the Mac LED indicator was poorly designed, but...
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Written backwards so you can read it in the mirror, right? They wouldn't be able to read it, since they get a non-mirrored image.
Unfortunately, I only use palindromic passwords made up of symmetric letters, so they're readable both directly and in the mirror.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You're displaying a common trope I see sometimes with security: > "because this particular thing does affect me personally, it doesn't matter. And because it doesn't matter to me it doesn't matter at all" Blackmailing people with pictures taken from webcams is not theoretical. It happens[0] and it's good advice to tape up your cam. It may not affect you personally, but it may affect your wife, daughter, or sister in…
> Blackmailing people with pictures taken from webcams How can one blackmail a person with webcam pictures where the person just stares into a screen? If you mean NSFW pics I don't think they're done with a computer's webcam cam. Nowadays, people use phones for that use case.
There was a case about 5-6 years ago when a guy recorded and streamed his secretly gay roomate having sex in the dorm. The gay roomate committed suicide later.
Work computers can be taken home or to business trips where things can happen in the hotel after the deal is struck.