Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Hardware microphone disconnect (2021)

support.apple.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

391–400 of 405 posts

Re: Hardware microphone disconnect (2021)

#391

Post by kube-system »

raxxorraxor wrote: post #380
kube-system wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When it comes to privacy, for the vast majority of users, sane defaults are better than requiring the user to take manual action.

It is still the correct solution. A sensible default doesn't conflict here, but hardware switched are the only solution where you can be entirely sure.

The problem is a separate switch leaves mainstream non-paranoid users unprotected, because it requires conscious activation by the user.

And anyway, a lid switch is a hardware switch. But most importantly, it activates passively during normal usage patterns.

Re: Hardware microphone disconnect (2021)

#392

Post by mingus88 »

hungryforcodes wrote: post #356
unxdfa wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Feds is not an attack vector that concerns me. My coworkers or kids changing my wallpaper or getting access to my kit is.

I guess you don't travel alot...

If you're traveling a lot and not using a burner laptop, well...

Re: Hardware microphone disconnect (2021)

#393

Post by gligorot »

threeseed wrote: post #137
gligorot wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think those are connected…or at least it would be silly for that to be the case. Say your laptop was stolen when your BT was off for some random reason - does that mean you won’t be able to find it?

Bluetooth is a fundamental part of the Find My and broader Location Services stack. Low power devices like AirTag rely entirely on Bluetooth LE and the Find My network to determine their location.

Yes but does it matter if your BT is turned off _visually_? The device can still send data.

Besides, receiving consumes more power than sending, theoretically Apple can just shut off the receiving part and send intermittently (every 2 sec or so) and achieve very minimal power usage.

Again, this is just speculation, I’m genuinely interested in the details.

Re: Hardware microphone disconnect (2021)

#394

Post by gligorot »

threeseed wrote: post #131
gligorot wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And you can’t turn bluetooth off without logging in first, a feature which is available for WiFi. Horrendous UX decisions by Apple.

> a feature which is available for WiFi I am not able to disable WiFi from the login screen. I think it would be a horrendous decision to allow random people to do this.

All this is available on an iPhone, including wifi, cellular, bluetooth, airplane mode, hotspot and airdrop control.

But maybe that’s beside the point, I’m interested why you see this as a bad thing?

Re: Hardware microphone disconnect (2021)

#395

Post by highwaylights »

garblegarble wrote: post #319
highwaylights wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t really trust it. The sports bands (which I find most comfortable) are especially vulnerable to being “scooped” off the wrist with two fingers in a single motion without interrupting the presence detection.

Do you have any more info on that? I've been able to find videos of people taking the sports band off, but it didn't look like any of the techniques were attempting to avoid interrupting the wrist presence detection

You can try this on yourself pretty easily.

Two fingers under the watch (far enough to cover the heartbeat sensor) and a swift upwards yank will pop the strap underneath and it’ll lift right off.

The thing is, if someone has your unlocked watch, what can they really do? This is a question I’ve never really known the answer to and doubt you ever would know clearly.

Certainly banking apps don’t seem to have a lot of functionality on watchOS, but I’m unsure to what extent being signed in on an unlocked watch is the same as being signed in on an unlocked phone. Can i authorise a new phone just from the watch? I can certainly get 2FA codes to the watch, so the answer I guess is maybe.

Re: Hardware microphone disconnect (2021)

#396

Post by somehnguy »

SamuelAdams wrote: post #335
zamnos wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For those of us without both in our lives, can you be more specific on the differences that makes Window's system better?

Sure, so I primarily use Macbook Pro's that companies provide me. I work from home and use USB-C docks to connect the Macs to external displays, keyboards, and networking. In general, Windows 10 computers work on boot in clamshell mode. Drivers load, external USB devices are useful, displays work. On Apple devices, corporations *must* enable FileVault, a full disk encryption utility, to meet some compliance standards…

I have 2 MacBook Pros, both with FileVault enabled, one managed by my employer and the other personal. My USB-C dock also uses DisplayLink and I primarily use the machines in clamshell mode.

I don't have the issue you're referring to unless I completely shut off either machine, which I almost never do. Do you completely power off your machine at the end of each day? When the machine is just locked my external displays power up and display the login screen just fine.

Re: Hardware microphone disconnect (2021)

#397

Post by garblegarble »

highwaylights wrote: post #395
garblegarble wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any more info on that? I've been able to find videos of people taking the sports band off, but it didn't look like any of the techniques were attempting to avoid interrupting the wrist presence detection

You can try this on yourself pretty easily. Two fingers under the watch (far enough to cover the heartbeat sensor) and a swift upwards yank will pop the strap underneath and it’ll lift right off. The thing is, if someone has your unlocked watch, what can they really do? This is a question I’ve never really known the answer to and doubt you ever would know clearly. Certainly banking apps don’t seem to have a lot of fu…

Well I'll be damned, so you can. With a watch alone they'd have limited access, but if you steal somebody's watch without the watch realising it's been removed & also steal their phone you can almost certainly unlock the phone with the watch (my partner + I use that all the time when driving... they pick up my phone, show it only their eyes, and the phone assumes it must be me wearing a mask and so it uses my unlocked watch on my wrist to unlock the phone).

The good news, however, is that you don't appear to be able to use the Apple Watch mask unlock feature to pass further Face ID checks deeper in the system once unlocked, so your banking apps & password manager is safe... but your messages & e-mails are not...

Re: Hardware microphone disconnect (2021)

#398

Post by starky »

Reptur wrote: post #144

Should just be a hardware switch you can flip. We should be able to decide whether the webcam or mic is physically connected.

This is one of my favourite features on my Framework laptop. I use it primarily for video conferencing when working from home. It is no nice that I can flip the switches and then don't have to worry about Google trying to automatically turn my camera or mic on.

Re: Hardware microphone disconnect (2021)

#399

Post by cj »

natch wrote: post #364
cj wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similarly, whenever I'm working at my kitchen table I always "lose" my mouse as if there's another monitor connected. I realized a couple weeks later MacOS display continuity (or "sidecar"?) was connecting to my Mac Mini located directly upstairs using it as a 2nd monitor while I'm downstairs. My apple watch also regularly unlocks my Mac Mini when I'm downstairs (Mac Mini in a bedroom upstairs). All of these features…

How do you know it’s unlocked upstairs when you are downstairs?

The watch vibrates and makes a noise whenever it unlocks a device.

Re: Hardware microphone disconnect (2021)

#400

Post by Toutouxc »

graynk wrote: post #385
JohnBooty wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Overwhelmingly, it does "just work" as Apple intended. However, it's often quite opinionated. So Apple's intended functionality may or may not jive with your preferences. This is neither a defense nor criticism of Apple, and it's not a defense or criticism of your preferences either. I will point out that anecdotally, I don't hear too many people wanting their mouse's scrolling to work in the opposite direction as th…

> I will point out that anecdotally, I don't hear too many people wanting their mouse's scrolling to work in the opposite direction as their trackpad. I think Apple's probably got well over 99% of the userbase covered with the defaults and opinions here. OK, this is my biggest pain point after switching to MacOS for work, so let me go on a rant. Not only can't I imagine this particular scenario covering 99% of the us…

> I can't imagine anyone wanting this behavior with a regular mouse that has a scroll wheel (as opposed to buying Apple's Magic crap, which Apple wants you to do).

I had to edit some values in Windows Registry to get my gaming machine with Windows and a scroll wheel to scroll the same way my Mac does (which I prefer). Now you can imagine.

Post reply on HN