101–110 of 241 posts
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plug a square card reader in the jack.
Doesn't physically turn off the internal microphone. I've found out the hard way: I have a headset with a hardware mic switch. If this switch is in the "off" position when headphones are put into the jack, the mic built into my mac still operates. This is with a mid-2012 macbook model.
I would be more concerned about the microphone. I can easily cover the camera with tape. Also, random pictures of me programming or reading HN are probably less damaging audio recordings of conversations I might be having.
I want hardware on/off switches for camera, microphone, wifi, bluetooth, and maybe even external speakers. These should be power switches, not switches that make a polite request to firmware for the firmware to act as if the devices are off.
I'd pay someone $10 if I could figure out a way to make sure that my macbook never plays the "I AM NOW TURNING ON" sound.
I really would hate to taint my MBP with ugly duct tap on the camera, but I may have to in the future. Months ago I read about a company that rented laptops for people to make payments on and eventually own. They installed spy software so they could locate the laptops had the user not made a monthly payment. Employees were spying on users while they were having sex and other things. This wasnt on MBPs but they still…
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Hey, I find the hard drive light very helpful in determining whether my system is thrashing for virtual memory, or likely stuck on some CPU-bound process.
99% of computer users have no idea what you just typed. HDD light blinking? That means it's working correctly. Am I right?
In a lot of ways that is correct. Generally, when something is thrashing the hard drive it is making actual progress on its task, and its task is relativly short lived. This means that if your computer is going slowly, and the HDD LED is active, you can likely wait for the HDD LED to quiet down. In contrast, when your computer is going slowly (or not responding at all) and your HDD LED is off, it is much more likely that something is wrong and won't resolve itself.
Honestly, I don’t understand why it’s so difficult to create a camera chip not susceptible to any software hack. The camera sensor needs electrical current to work. Simply place the LED inline or in parallel to the camera and you are done. Any time current is sent to the camera sensor, the LED cant help it but light up. My knowledge of electronics is limited, but I know for a fact that this can be achieved without th…
It's such an obvious solution that I really thought that WAS the case until just now. Why in the world would you tackle this problem any other way?
I would be more concerned about the microphone. I can easily cover the camera with tape. Also, random pictures of me programming or reading HN are probably less damaging audio recordings of conversations I might be having.
Same here. Even nude photos would be embarrassing, but audio recordings could have effects far worse than some prude shame. Especially since there is no LED to signal the microphone is active, it doesn't need to point anywhere. If it could be activated while the laptop is closed (force wake up a part of the OS for just a few minutes here and there for instance) it would be a really tough problem.
Honestly, I don’t understand why it’s so difficult to create a camera chip not susceptible to any software hack. The camera sensor needs electrical current to work. Simply place the LED inline or in parallel to the camera and you are done. Any time current is sent to the camera sensor, the LED cant help it but light up. My knowledge of electronics is limited, but I know for a fact that this can be achieved without th…
Honestly, I don’t understand why it’s so difficult to create a camera chip not susceptible to any software hack. The camera sensor needs electrical current to work. Simply place the LED inline or in parallel to the camera and you are done. Any time current is sent to the camera sensor, the LED cant help it but light up. My knowledge of electronics is limited, but I know for a fact that this can be achieved without th…
I've heard that this was a serious flaw in Google's opinion, and they went through great efforts to ensure that the LED for the chromebook pixel was actually hard-wired into the camera's electronics. Which if true, shows that it's indeed possible.