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Comment by user24 | Hacker News Reader

This is why I have a piece of cardboard hanging over my webcam. That would have seemed extremely paranoid last year.

That may or not be paranoid, but it's not really on topic. The users in this case had were actively using their webcams and sending images over the Internet to chat partners.

Yeah, in this case.

It doesn't fill me with confidence that 'they' aren't remotely activating and recording images without our knowledge though.

As to topicality, it depends how narrow your interpretation of the topic is.

FBI has already done that for years in US. This is how they "protected us" - by not telling anyone about such bugs for years. How can you then trust anything they say about "cyber security"? They don't care about cyber security, only cyber offense.

http://nypost.com/2013/12/08/fbi-can-turn-on-your-web-cam/

Offense seems way easier and cheaper than defense. (I'd like to say similar things about US military operations.)

I hope you have unsoldered your microphone also.

The mic issue is actually more worrying, but as you point out, there aren't such easy solutions.

Hacksaw a 1/4 inch jack, insert. Disable what you can at software level, remove drivers/codecs for recording. Not easy though.

"iMac has two built-in microphones"

https://www.apple.com/imac/features/

So that won't work for me, sadly.

i'm sure there are some environments that have strict no mic's requirements, i wonder what they do to disable mic's on the iMac. Perhaps they don't use iMacs or disable sound in the bios?

I found that 2 layers of etape over my laptop microphone muffles it quite nicely -- no signal even when I shout. Easy to remove and reinstall, too.

Only completely ignorant people[1] would have called you paranoid. Any device left to the mercy of such vulnerable software cannot be trusted. Even if societies pushed back against this surveillance machine and there were someday open, transparent modes of government -- even then -- still only fools would mock others who act out of caution and practical wisdom. RATting alone is reason enough, nevermind basic hacks that lead to total compromise. Webcams and mics have been easy targets since they've first existed in the mainstream (mid 90s). Further, if one's rightly concerned, unplug XBOX One and such devices when they're not in use. Built-in mics are the truly annoying part to counteract.

[1] only the vast majority of people (both computer savvy and illiterate)

Anyone have any recommendations for a nicer looking manufactured version of this?

Yeah, I would like a nice one-piece aluminium thing instead of a cut-in-half loo roll!

Use one of the EFF stickers https://supporters.eff.org/donate ;)

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