no-one tell him the mic is still always on
The FBI Director Puts Tape Over His Webcam
101–110 of 218 posts
Re: The FBI Director Puts Tape Over His Webcam
#102How stupid do you have to be to doubt the security of your laptop enough to put tape over your webcam, but not enough to stop using it all together. If you are concerned that your laptop might be compromised, then you should stop using it. If hackers have access to your webcam, they most certainly also have access to your keyboard, mic, and every file on your system as well. So, what you are basically saying to the world is you don't care enough about your personal communication, files, and speech to properly secure your laptop, but by god, no one shall see you in front of your laptop. It's like sitting in a car that's on fire and saying to your self: "I know, I'll turn on the air con!"
Re: The FBI Director Puts Tape Over His Webcam
#103Earlier quoted context omitted.
A lot of people ask why the light isn't automatically turned on when it's in use. I think the problem is it's easier to turn it on through software than hardware. Plus, if you can treat the webcam as just a microphone, then anytime a device accesses the microphone (games for example), the light would turn on. Not a problem, per se, but the light would be turning on and off a lot if you use a push to talk game. Someth…
Just make it have a 3 second fade time where instead of the LED being at 100% intensity, have it as 75% intensity so it's not distracting by coming on and off.
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Re: The FBI Director Puts Tape Over His Webcam
#104How stupid do you have to be to doubt the security of your laptop enough to put tape over your webcam, but not enough to stop using it all together. If you are concerned that your laptop might be compromised, then you should stop using it. If hackers have access to your webcam, they most certainly also have access to your keyboard, mic, and every file on your system as well. So, what you are basically saying to the w…
"Stop using it altogether" isn't a viable option, because it's not this particular laptop whose security is questionable, it's every laptop.
Re: The FBI Director Puts Tape Over His Webcam
#105How stupid do you have to be to doubt the security of your laptop enough to put tape over your webcam, but not enough to stop using it all together. If you are concerned that your laptop might be compromised, then you should stop using it. If hackers have access to your webcam, they most certainly also have access to your keyboard, mic, and every file on your system as well. So, what you are basically saying to the w…
"Stop using it altogether" isn't a viable option, because it's not this particular laptop whose security is questionable, it's every laptop.
That may be true, but again, what do you care about more, your files and key strokes, or your webcam. If you have tape over your webcam but you still use online banking, you are a fucking idiot. You either have faith in the security of your computer, and log into your bank (risking hackers stealing all your money) or you don't. But if you don't think twice about saying anything you want in front of your computer or logging into your bank, but still chose to have type over your camera, I am sorry, but you are a idiot.
Re: The FBI Director Puts Tape Over His Webcam
#106Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Stop using it altogether" isn't a viable option, because it's not this particular laptop whose security is questionable, it's every laptop.
That may be true, but again, what do you care about more, your files and key strokes, or your webcam. If you have tape over your webcam but you still use online banking, you are a fucking idiot. You either have faith in the security of your computer, and log into your bank (risking hackers stealing all your money) or you don't. But if you don't think twice about saying anything you want in front of your computer or l…
If you have that much faith in the security of your computer, you are "an idiot". That's not within your control.
It's not dumb to take whatever precautions you can.
And people do worry about having their pictures taken. Remember the scandal when a school took pictures of children undressed at home with their laptops' cameras?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbins_v._Lower_Merion_School...
Re: The FBI Director Puts Tape Over His Webcam
#107Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Stop using it altogether" isn't a viable option, because it's not this particular laptop whose security is questionable, it's every laptop.
That may be true, but again, what do you care about more, your files and key strokes, or your webcam. If you have tape over your webcam but you still use online banking, you are a fucking idiot. You either have faith in the security of your computer, and log into your bank (risking hackers stealing all your money) or you don't. But if you don't think twice about saying anything you want in front of your computer or l…
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Re: The FBI Director Puts Tape Over His Webcam
#108Is it just me or is there at least one other person laughing their ass-off. Honestly, I am not sure to know if I am laughing at or feeling sorry for the FBI director. I felt that the director of FBI would not be scared of anyone monitoring him.
Re: The FBI Director Puts Tape Over His Webcam
#109All these little wires [0] emit electromagnetic radiation that be intercepted and turned back into whatever you see (and more). Despite what you read on Hacker News no amount of encryption or software trickery is going to stop this. [0]: http://imgur.com/IHXKlNw
I like to believe that converting those EM signals back into something useful is beyond the ability of current technology, but I'd be happy to be proven wrong
The NSA publishes standards for how to protect against this kind of attack: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempest_(codename)
We can speculate about whether the tech exists, but read their guide to securing your Red Hat box and decide for yourself how good they are at publishing defense against attacks they won't tell you about: https://www.nsa.gov/ia/_files/os/redhat/rhel5-guide-i731.pdf
Re: The FBI Director Puts Tape Over His Webcam
#110Earlier quoted context omitted.
That may be true, but again, what do you care about more, your files and key strokes, or your webcam. If you have tape over your webcam but you still use online banking, you are a fucking idiot. You either have faith in the security of your computer, and log into your bank (risking hackers stealing all your money) or you don't. But if you don't think twice about saying anything you want in front of your computer or l…
If you have that much faith in the security of your computer, you are "an idiot". That's not within your control. It's not dumb to take whatever precautions you can. And people do worry about having their pictures taken. Remember the scandal when a school took pictures of children undressed at home with their laptops' cameras? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbins_v._Lower_Merion_School...
Yes, I read that story. But you are missing the point. I do not trust in the security of my laptop implicitly, or any laptop for that matter, but I weigh my risks proportionally. I care a lot about the security of my laptop because I care about my bank accounts, my files, and things that I discuss in the privacy of my own house. Out of all those things, people stealing pictures of me in front of my computer are not even on the horizon of my concern. If you have my bank account, all my passwords, and all my files, why the hell would I care if you also happen to have a picture of me in my underwear? The problem with the tape over camera "solution" is that people feel safer when they have tape over their webcam, and they should NOT feel safer, because, unless you are a celebrity, no one gives a flying fuck about your pictures. Tape over webcam my FEEL safe, but it's dangerous when it's "implemented" instead of actual diligent computer security. I know, anything can be hacked, no matter how careful you are. But some tape over your webcam isn't going to stop it, or mitigate the damage in any significant way when it does occur.