To know or to trust? I would always choose to know if I can afford.
Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera
721–730 of 990 posts
Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera
#722Earlier quoted context omitted.
Closing the camera isn’t required to use it, only to disable it. Flip phones required opening to use them (and closing to fit in your pocket). And yes, 90% of people aren’t going to remember to close the camera cover every time. The LED indicator is all you need as long as its hardwired like Apples is.
Your argument to not having a cover is that some people will occasionally forget to use it. That's preposterous, and I can't imagine applying that argument with a straight face to something like seatbelts or gun safety mechanisms. > The LED indicator is all you need as long as its hardwired like Apple's is. An LED indicator does nothing to stop someone from snooping.
A camera cover does nothing to stop snooping, because it’s unlikely to be used. You have four calls a day, are you always going to remember to close that cover? People also have to train themselves to wear seatbelts, but it’s the law so it made that easier.
A LED indicator makes snooping obvious, exposing them immediately. Someone snooping your spy camera needs to record hours upon hours of recording to find anything they can use to blackmail you with.
Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera
#723Earlier quoted context omitted.
On new Macs the light is a minimum 3 seconds even for a single frame photo. Anyone monitoring you has to turn the light in just to see if you are there, and what you are doing, and will likely have to watch for hours to catch any incriminating footage. You will have plenty of notice.
> will likely have to watch for hours to catch any incriminating footage It's not just 'incriminating footage' that's the problem. There are perfectly legal sites I visit that I'd prefer didn't have a photo identifying me. Takes only seconds to snap such a picture if using an exploit like the safari one in April.
They can take a photo of you, not the web site.
Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera
#724This statement has a number of issues. First, you have to trust Apple that the indicator _really_ can't be disabled. You also have to trust that there isn't a vulnerability Apple is not aware about that could allow rolling the camera without the light coming on. This has happened in the past [0] and there are known Apple products that are vulnerable, yet the statement never mentions this making you believe it's impos…
> First, you have to trust Apple that the indicator _really_ can't be disabled. You also have to trust that there isn't a vulnerability Apple is not aware about that could allow rolling the camera without the light coming on. I have made this point several times throughout this thread, so I apologize for repeating myself: Every laptop Apple has manufactured in the last ten years has an LED connected to the same circu…
Can one power up the camera for only a few milliseconds? Enough to take a still photo, without the LED getting bright enough for a human to notice?
Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera
#725Earlier quoted context omitted.
> First, you have to trust Apple that the indicator _really_ can't be disabled. You also have to trust that there isn't a vulnerability Apple is not aware about that could allow rolling the camera without the light coming on. I have made this point several times throughout this thread, so I apologize for repeating myself: Every laptop Apple has manufactured in the last ten years has an LED connected to the same circu…
I trust you absolutely and toally on this. Why wouldn't I? But if you had your entire net worth riding on it, would you trust yourself to be infallibly correct or would you trust something along the lines of a post-it note to be completely sure? You know, if your life depended on it on every single possible model of apple laptop in all circumstances imaginable? (Do we include if your laptop was interecepted and alter…
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Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera
#726This statement has a number of issues. First, you have to trust Apple that the indicator _really_ can't be disabled. You also have to trust that there isn't a vulnerability Apple is not aware about that could allow rolling the camera without the light coming on. This has happened in the past [0] and there are known Apple products that are vulnerable, yet the statement never mentions this making you believe it's impos…
> First, you have to trust Apple that the indicator _really_ can't be disabled. You also have to trust that there isn't a vulnerability Apple is not aware about that could allow rolling the camera without the light coming on. I have made this point several times throughout this thread, so I apologize for repeating myself: Every laptop Apple has manufactured in the last ten years has an LED connected to the same circu…
That is exactly what OP meant: you need to
A) trust that in your actual laptop in front of you, this mechanism is correctly implemented.
B) trust that you are not in the vulnerable phase where your LED broke and you did not notice yet. (Especially when you rarely use your camera).
Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera
#727This seems like a massive UX issue in that a lot of people want it closed and that they're putting the light sensor close to it. In the future, they should put a lid over it. People seem to be more worried about accidentally opening FB live or Zoom rather than hacking.
Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera
#728Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I'm a fan of using painters tape.... pretty low profile, easily removed, stays on really well The cleverest solution I've seen that is 1.) easily toggled, and 2.) harmless to screens is a coworker who built a little vinyl veil that attaches to the top back of their monitor. They can flip it forward to cover the camera, or flip it back to use it. But if you close even the tightest of lids with a couple microns of vi…
My wife uses a tiny speck of Blu Tak. It’s soft so just gets squashed flat when the lid closes and it’s designed to be infinitely reusable and come off things without leaving a mark. She just pulls it off and sticks it a few cm to the side of the camera when she wants to use it. She’s been doing it for 3+ years (same piece) and it’s genius.
how does it not lose stickiness over 3 years?
Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera
#729Earlier quoted context omitted.
> First, you have to trust Apple that the indicator _really_ can't be disabled. You also have to trust that there isn't a vulnerability Apple is not aware about that could allow rolling the camera without the light coming on. I have made this point several times throughout this thread, so I apologize for repeating myself: Every laptop Apple has manufactured in the last ten years has an LED connected to the same circu…
Can one power up the camera for only a few milliseconds? Enough to take a still photo, without the LED getting bright enough for a human to notice?
No, because the LED doesn't need nearly as much power as the camera. And it takes the camera more than a few miliseconds to start working.
Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera
#730Earlier quoted context omitted.
I leave my laptop in my hotel room while I go out for dinner, so point 3 is valid.
You expect someone to take apart the fused display assembly and modify the intricate power pins to both the LED and camera while you’re having dinner? I hope you’re a billionaire with secrets because otherwise this is pure paranoia.
What about replacing the laptop and just cloning the content. I wouldn't notice.