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Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera

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Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera

#671

Post by pfranz »

Wingman4l7 wrote: post #366
apecat wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Recent Apple laptops have a separate SoC dedicated to secure boot as well as making sure macOS has no direct control over that camera indicator light, and more https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/07/29/what-apples-t2-ch... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Silicon#T_series

The handy-dandy T2 also helps to soft-brick laptops, destroying that pesky second-hand market! Poor Apple had already destroyed that for iPhones and iPads but just couldn't do it for their laptops, until now ! https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/akw558/apples-t2-security...

I think it's a bit overstating that it destroys the secondhand market. I still see non-working Macs on ebay for hundreds of dollars. The resale value of a well-maintained Mac continues to be much higher than any other brand. These kinds of changes have also made great strides in reducing the incentive to steal phones. There was a specific update that the NYPD pointed out reduced iPhone thefts significantly.

But, I do wholeheartedly endorse right to repair. I'm very bummed about the recovery options for newer laptops with non-removable drives. I was also bummed to hear that ARM-Macs won't have Target Disk Mode.

Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera

#673

Post by pfranz »

dathinab wrote: post #109
gtm1260 wrote: post #20

I was very skeptical of the camera covers, but then through conversations with some of my co-workers, I realized that they weren't being used because people were worried about spies secretly turning on the camera. It was 90% of the time just peace of mind that their camera was actually off, instead of having to find the sometimes hard to see options in video chat programs etc.

That is what I like with the Lenovo webcams in T480s and probably later versions. They have a small slider with the camera protection "glass" build in which can cover the camera and will "show" a red dot if it's covered.

Old Apple iSight cameras (the stand alone tube shaped cameras) twisted an aperture closed to block the lens. It was also how you turned it off and on.

Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera

#674

Post by m00x »

hunter-gatherer wrote: post #661
bloody-crow wrote: post #648

This 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. I'm not disagreeing with your other points nor am I saying that this isn't the case nor am I a fan of any apple products... However designed circuits to implement such functionality is quite common. [0]; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Series_and_parallel_circuits

If the circuit turns on when the camera is on, how does it have always-on True-Tone? Is it a different sensor or is Apple just full of shit?

Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera

#675

Post by rozap »

NovemberWhiskey wrote: post #54
miles wrote: post #23

> "Designed to protect your privacy, Mac notebooks have a camera indicator light to let you know when the camera is on. ... Published Date: July 02, 2020" Perhaps Apple missed these? 2013: iSeeYou: Disabling the MacBook Webcam Indicator LED https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/36569 2016: Your Mac’s Camera Can Be Hacked https://www.intego.com/mac-security-blog/your-macs-camera-ca... 2016: Former NSA emp…

>2013: iSeeYou: Disabling the MacBook Webcam Indicator LED https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/36569 ... applies only to older Mac notebooks from like 2008 period which are long since obsolete according to Apple's announced support policy. >2016: Your Mac’s Camera Can Be Hacked https://www.intego.com/mac-security-blog/your-macs-camera-ca... . ... refers specifically the exploit above. >2016: Former NSA…

Oh this is very welcome and good news that computer exploits have been solved.

Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera

#676

Post by nardi »

m00x wrote: post #674
hunter-gatherer wrote: post #661

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> First, you have to trust Apple that the indicator _really_ can't be disabled. I'm not disagreeing with your other points nor am I saying that this isn't the case nor am I a fan of any apple products... However designed circuits to implement such functionality is quite common. [0]; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Series_and_parallel_circuits

If the circuit turns on when the camera is on, how does it have always-on True-Tone? Is it a different sensor or is Apple just full of shit?

Different sensor.

Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera

#677

Post by jmull »

m00x wrote: post #674
hunter-gatherer wrote: post #661

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> First, you have to trust Apple that the indicator _really_ can't be disabled. I'm not disagreeing with your other points nor am I saying that this isn't the case nor am I a fan of any apple products... However designed circuits to implement such functionality is quite common. [0]; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Series_and_parallel_circuits

If the circuit turns on when the camera is on, how does it have always-on True-Tone? Is it a different sensor or is Apple just full of shit?

True Tone is a different sensor ( which isn’t a camera)

Re: Don't close your MacBook with a cover over the camera

#678

Post by mproud »

bloody-crow wrote: post #648

This 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…

The article also goes on to say users can use something thin like paper as an alternative, or simply remove it before closing the lid.
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