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Micro Snitch – Know when someone spies on you

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Re: Micro Snitch – Know when someone spies on you

#111

Post by AsyncAwait »

dstroot wrote: post #56
vtail wrote: post #43

If you stop for a minute to think about it, it's a very sad state of affairs that you need to buy a closed-source app for the most secure consumer operating system, and pay constant attention to its status, in hope to avoid (or detect) spying. I'm personally re-thinking my approach to security and anonymity online, esp. in light of recent news re: Facebook (Cambridge Analytica, account breach), Google (Chrome 69, inc…

>similar/better specs vs Macbook Pro at half the price I hear people say that and I always get excited. Then I just went to Lenovo’s site and I configured one and for a small margin on error they are the same. Why do people say this when it doesn’t seem true? Is there a “50% Off all Thinkpads” website I don’t know about?

The XPS line is significantly cheaper than the MBP, at least in the UK.

Re: Micro Snitch – Know when someone spies on you

#112

Post by wlesieutre »

fao_ wrote: post #105
closetohome wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because they didn't actually look at MacBooks, they're just guessing the price and specs. Also for some reason people who say this never mention that they're happy with a 1080p screen.

> Also for some reason people who say this never mention that they're happy with a 1080p screen. Sorry what? Let's look at my work laptop from the year before last. It's a macbook pro with a retina screen from 2013. The CPU is a 2.4GHz dual-core i5 processor. (I'm specifically looking at the ME864LL/A). Currently they're selling for 500£, second hand. A quick look on thinkwiki.org shows the equivalent is an X201 or X…

Today you learned that used Macs hold their value well! This works out well for you when buying new because if you spend a couple hundred bucks extra, you can anticipate getting it back when you sell it.

Re: Micro Snitch – Know when someone spies on you

#113

Post by pbhjpbhj »

thebeefytaco wrote: post #74
pbhjpbhj wrote: post #69

Visiting LinkedIn website and Android tells me LinkedIn want access to my microphone ... nothing in the web page about mic usage, just visiting the homepage ... scary. Good that Android catches this now though.

I'd wager that there's some small feature you don't know about which uses audio input and it's requesting permissions too early rather than it being something malicious. I wouldn't grant it either way though.

I've heard they integrated voice messaging, so could be that, but I'd want to explain myself on a website before asking for mic access.

Re: Micro Snitch – Know when someone spies on you

#114

Post by fao_ »

wlesieutre wrote: post #112
fao_ wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Also for some reason people who say this never mention that they're happy with a 1080p screen. Sorry what? Let's look at my work laptop from the year before last. It's a macbook pro with a retina screen from 2013. The CPU is a 2.4GHz dual-core i5 processor. (I'm specifically looking at the ME864LL/A). Currently they're selling for 500£, second hand. A quick look on thinkwiki.org shows the equivalent is an X201 or X…

Today you learned that used Macs hold their value well! This works out well for you when buying new because if you spend a couple hundred bucks extra, you can anticipate getting it back when you sell it.

I'd rather save more money, by not spending that amount of money on such a machine in the first place. Also, I'm not sure how "halving in price" is "holding it's value well". Investing 1,000 to 4,000£, or more, in something that in a few years will be worth 500£, does not sound like a good deal to me.

Besides, that only works if you, as a mac owner, treat your machine well. From looking at second-hand macbooks, it's very difficult to find one where the screen isn't bent, or badly damaged, or where the battery (which is not easily user-servicable) actually holds a charge.

Personally I'm not even sure how you accidentally bend a laptop screen in the first place. All the thinkpads I've bought have been not only in fantastic condition, but almost every problem that presents itself (If any does, of course) is fixable for less than the price of a new machine.

I also believe I forgot to mention, that the older thinkpads have not only screen upgrades, but people in China producing motherboard upgrades? I could upgrade my $60 X200 to a recent-generation i7, with USB3 / USBC ports, fast graphics, etc. for even less than I could have bought that other Thinkpad with the same specifications, for.

Oh, and for the final dose of laptop superiority: Almost all thinkpads since before the X200 have keyboard drains. If I spill my drink on my laptop, my laptop still works.

Re: Micro Snitch – Know when someone spies on you

#115

Post by tylerl »

crunchiebones wrote: post #31
drtse4 wrote: post #4

Or just install Oversight, it's free, does the same thing. And if you want you can support the author on Patreon. https://objective-see.com/products/oversight.html

why are these all for MacOS? are windows and linux not targeted by similar malware?

Have you ever tried getting audio capture to work on Linux? Now imagine trying to automate that workflow across devices as part of a spyware package.

People would install it on purpose just to get their damn pulseaudio config sorted out.

Re: Micro Snitch – Know when someone spies on you

#116

Post by michaelcampbell »

closetohome wrote: post #80
dstroot wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>similar/better specs vs Macbook Pro at half the price I hear people say that and I always get excited. Then I just went to Lenovo’s site and I configured one and for a small margin on error they are the same. Why do people say this when it doesn’t seem true? Is there a “50% Off all Thinkpads” website I don’t know about?

Because they didn't actually look at MacBooks, they're just guessing the price and specs. Also for some reason people who say this never mention that they're happy with a 1080p screen.

> Because they didn't actually look at MacBooks, they're just guessing the price and specs.

Yeah, that's the reason.

Re: Micro Snitch – Know when someone spies on you

#117

Post by wlesieutre »

fao_ wrote: post #114
wlesieutre wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Today you learned that used Macs hold their value well! This works out well for you when buying new because if you spend a couple hundred bucks extra, you can anticipate getting it back when you sell it.

I'd rather save more money, by not spending that amount of money on such a machine in the first place. Also, I'm not sure how "halving in price" is "holding it's value well". Investing 1,000 to 4,000£, or more, in something that in a few years will be worth 500£, does not sound like a good deal to me. Besides, that only works if you, as a mac owner, treat your machine well. From looking at second-hand macbooks, it's…

For sure, I'd rather keep the money. But it makes comparisons a bit less straightforward, if you saved $200 on a laptop but could have gotten $300 more back on a Mac at the end, was it really cheaper?

I haven't kept track of Thinkpads (had a brief foray into Surface Pro land, then went back to an iPad + Mac for Apple's better stylus when they finally supported one), but I've been told the drains aren't a standard thing anymore? Some models have it, but Thinkpad doesn't list them in the specs so it's hard to even tell which.

For instance, the T480 does, but I think the T480s (slim) does not. And the T480's webpage doesn't mention it: https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-t-ser...

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