[4480] in Privacy_Forum
[ PRIVACY Forum ] MacBook webcams vs. spying
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (PRIVACY Forum mailing list)
Wed Dec 18 15:42:44 2013
Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2013 12:14:17 -0800
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MacBook webcams vs. spying
http://j.mp/1dne8bt (Washington Post)
"The built-in cameras on Apple computers were designed to prevent this,
says Stephen Checkoway, a computer science professor at Johns Hopkins
and a co-author of the study. "Apple went to some amount of effort to
make sure that the LED would turn on whenever the camera was taking
images," Checkoway says. The 2008-era Apple products they studied had
a "hardware interlock" between the camera and the light to ensure that
the camera couldn't turn on without alerting its owner ..."
- - -
There is considerable variation in how these hardware/software
interlocks are implemented, and for some it remains impossible to use
the camera without lighting the light. But this is something
manufacturers can fix to always be true -- it's not rocket science. In
fact, protecting yourself from the camera is pretty easy -- just cover
it up when not in use. Integral mics are much harder to protect
against, and really, they also need hardwired activity lights in this
day and age.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
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Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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