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Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera

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Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera

#141

Post by finger »

planar_vector wrote: post #98

Can someone help me understand the extent of possible damage by having a webcam cover? This might at least inform me if its worth the risk. When Apple says "you might damage your display because the clearance between the display and keyboard is designed to very tight tolerances" , do they mean? - the display itself could have scratches? - the display connector at the hinge has a chance of weakening? - others?

I had a basic post-it like bookmark sticker on my macbook pro camera for years. Over time the black coating on the bezels started wearing off where the sticker was placed. Not much of an issue though, as this was purely a cosmetic issue.

Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera

#142

Post by callmeal »

jeffrallen wrote: post #72

Seriously Apple, just stop blaming your users. Camera covers are a totally reasonable response to the threats we all face. If your precious computers can't have them installed, build one in. I am a longtime Apple hardware user, but it's just getting so hard to keep using them...

>Seriously Apple, just stop blaming your users.

C'mon you know you should not be holding cellphones in that way...

Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera

#144

Post by causality0 »

NovemberWhiskey wrote: post #99
dvfjsdhgfv wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is in the design: by not providing a hardware switch, all we have is trust. As we can see from the past, unfortunatly it's not enough.

But you just moved the goal-posts from a discussion about whether the implementation was faulty (and Apple was misleading their product owners) to one about whether the design compromises are right. Apple claims that the LED comes on when the camera is active, which it claims helps protect your privacy. That seems to be true, and certainly no-one seems to have any contradictory examples that are not 12+ years old. I…

The question is whether this is a firmware implementation that's just waiting for a 0-day or if the +V for the CMOS sensor is literally wired to the LED. If the latter I'd like to see a picture of it.

Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera

#145

Post by stouset »

gist wrote: post #67
adrianmonk wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think they are saying that a vulnerability currently exists. I think they are saying that people don't trust these lights because they have a bad track record. It could be that the current implementation is better, but how is an end user supposed to know it's better? It's kind of a matter of fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

> that people don't trust these lights because they have a bad track record. No tech people who think about and obsess about this type of 'risk' don't trust the lights. Most Apple customers vast majority don't think and don't care.

I would wager money that precisely zero of the "tech people who think about and obsess about this type of 'risk'" have had their privacy compromised as a result of an Apple laptop misrepresenting the on/off state of the camera.

It's been twelve years since a vulnerability in this was reported, and by all reports the LED power state is now implemented in hardware. It's long since time to obsess over other sources of risk, instead of the dead ghosts of previous ones.

Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera

#146

Post by miguelmota »

dathinab wrote: post #109
gtm1260 wrote: post #20

I was very skeptical of the camera covers, but then through conversations with some of my co-workers, I realized that they weren't being used because people were worried about spies secretly turning on the camera. It was 90% of the time just peace of mind that their camera was actually off, instead of having to find the sometimes hard to see options in video chat programs etc.

That is what I like with the Lenovo webcams in T480s and probably later versions. They have a small slider with the camera protection "glass" build in which can cover the camera and will "show" a red dot if it's covered.

This should really be the standard for laptop webcams. The T480 webcam cover is flush with the bezel and you barely even notice it because it's so subtle. One of my favorite features.

Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera

#147

Post by hanniabu »

ashtonkem wrote: post #41
gtm1260 wrote: post #20

I was very skeptical of the camera covers, but then through conversations with some of my co-workers, I realized that they weren't being used because people were worried about spies secretly turning on the camera. It was 90% of the time just peace of mind that their camera was actually off, instead of having to find the sometimes hard to see options in video chat programs etc.

With regard to privacy, the microphone is 100x more sensitive than the camera most of the time, and it’s much harder to secure.

Mic-Lock: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KRC3G7R/

Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera

#148

Post by alanbernstein »

Reading this, I had the idea to create a sliding cover, in the same style as the bulky plastic ones, but made out of a sticky note. Turns out this was not an original idea, and the person who beat me to it has a much slicker design than what I had in mind, using a single sticky note, cut in two pieces, with a symmetric design.

http://www.linux-works.de/Wiki/OrigamiWebCamCover?action=Att...

Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera

#149

Post by hanniabu »

duxup wrote: post #11

This seems like a pretty mild warning for folks who might stick a bulky cover on their camera and press down / pack their laptop tightly and now have wedged part of the screen open with the cover. I'm a fan of using painters tape.... pretty low profile, easily removed, stays on really well. Also the weird blue glow you get when the camera is on tells you pretty quick "Hey there's a cover on there" where sometimes wit…

For the whole damage from using a camera cover thing, I simply bought as low a profile one as I could find and used a few small felt pads in the top 2 screen corners and next to the camera just outside the width of where the touch pad is (keeps pressure off the pad so the sensor doesn't crack).

Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera

#150

Post by duxup »

hanniabu wrote: post #149
duxup wrote: post #11

This seems like a pretty mild warning for folks who might stick a bulky cover on their camera and press down / pack their laptop tightly and now have wedged part of the screen open with the cover. I'm a fan of using painters tape.... pretty low profile, easily removed, stays on really well. Also the weird blue glow you get when the camera is on tells you pretty quick "Hey there's a cover on there" where sometimes wit…

For the whole damage from using a camera cover thing, I simply bought as low a profile one as I could find and used a few small felt pads in the top 2 screen corners and next to the camera just outside the width of where the touch pad is (keeps pressure off the pad so the sensor doesn't crack).

I had a laptop that just was a pain to pick at with your fingers to open... I just shoved a bunch of paper in there for a while before I went with your solution, some little rubber clear grippy pads in the corners to get it to stand away from the body just a bit.
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