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Comment by ary | Hacker News Reader

This is a testament to how helpless the average person is when it comes to using, much less understanding, modern computer technology. It is the equivalent of "duct tape and WD-40" to repair a broken down vehicle.

As a software developer I'm regularly ashamed by the inaccessibility of computer technology. The non-technical individual's inability to control what happens to them and around them in regards to electronics and software is rapidly outstripping their capacity to act in their own self interest.

It's kind of depressing.

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I think the low-tech solution is the correct one in this case. If one wants to be sure their camera is not recording them they can a) audit the entire source code of their OS and relevant applications (including the complete chain of compilers that have ever been used to compile compilers for their device all the way back to the very first one), device firmware, and inspect the circuit layout of all integrated circuit devices in their computer to look for backdoors or b) they can put something in front of the lens.

I agree that this is a pretty regrettable state of affairs that we basically can't trust anything with a turing-complete processor in it somewhere.

For this specific case I'd argue that a switch which severs the power from both the camera and the mic simultaneously is the right solution. A physical sheath could also cover the camera for peace of mind. As others have pointed out the mic is probably the more dangerous of the two.

As a software developer, I know enough to realize that this is in fact the only solution for this particular problem.

Apple and others have decided they will happily save 1 millionth of a cent for a proper hardware solution and instead relegated camera LED indicator control to software. And obviously, it is impossible to prove that software will not activate the camera without also activating the LED.

True, duct tape would work, but you can never be 100% sure whether the device is being used without disconnecting the cables, which is difficult for some laptops and displays.

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