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The hardware switch won't tell you that your computer has been hacked. The camera light will. And a lens cover won't protect your microphone or your personal da

The hardware switch won't tell you that your computer has been hacked. The camera light will. And a lens cover won't protect your microphone or your personal data.

dndln 10y ago
If you are hacked, the camera light won't tell you. The camera light also won't protect your microphone or your personal data.
- yoz-y 10y ago
  But the light won't tell you because of a flawed design. It should be trivial to design a webcam LED which can not be turned off while the camera is being used.
- Houshalter 10y ago
  It should tell you. That's the whole point.
  - jjnoakes 10y ago
    If I'm hacked and the attacker doesn't touch my camera, then it can't tell me. That's the whole point.
    - Houshalter 10y ago
      But if they do touch your camera then you will know. If they don't touch your camera, then putting a piece of tape over it is pointless anyway.
onion2k 10y ago
The issue is the camera being used to violate your privacy. A hardware switch that lets you physically disable the camera, or a a lens cover that stops it seeing anything, stops the possibility of that happening completely. You'd obviously need a second system in order to stop an attacker using your microphone. All a light does is inform you that the camera is active. That is not a defence. It doesn't tell you that you've been hacked because an attacker might not access the camera (a mic and data are still accessible), and the camera light might activate if you haven't been hacked (eg any piece of software that you're using might result in the camera activating regardless of whether you want it to or not) which would lead to many false positives and as a consequence people would ignore the light. A light is only information, and any amount of information won't stop an attack. Information is only available after you've been attacked, so you haven't stopped or mitigated the problem. A hardware solution that stops people accessing the camera mitigates the result of an attack before it happens. That's why it's much better. You just have to remember that blocking the camera only stops attacks that use the camera. You still need to be diligent about other attack surfaces.
- Houshalter 10y ago
  I really don't understand this reasoning at all. If you just block the camera you won't know that your computer is being hacked. The piece of tape isn't going to stop the hacker from doing much. Knowing my computer is hacked is far more important than stopping the attackers from seeing me. If you have a false positive that is also very concerning and should be dealt with. At the very least I can put a piece of tape over the camera after the light turns on, if I believe it's a false positive.
  - onion2k 10y ago
    At the very least I can put a piece of tape over the camera after the light turns on At which point it's already too late - the hacker has had access to your camera for some period of time, until you notice the light. If you're interested in stopping people seeing you then you've failed. Putting a hardware block on the camera (eg tape) before you're hacked means that the hacker won't ever get access to your camera to see you. The hardware block is about stopping people accessing your camera. It has no effect on anything else. Regardless of what you do with your camera you still have to defend against other ways you can be hacked.
    - Houshalter 10y ago
      >At which point it's already too late - the hacker has had access to your camera for some period of time, until you notice the light. Yeah for like 10 seconds. Who cares? The problem with webcams is they can spy on you for days and weeks on end, and record your sensitive conversations.
      - tantalor 10y ago
        Recording conversations has nothing to do with the camera. You might be thinking of the microphone. Should we put a little LED on that too?
        Houshalter 10y ago
StavrosK 10y ago
Then a camera light that tells you when the camera is on, and a hardware switch that prevents image data from going to the computer.

The hardware switch won't tell you that your computer has been hacked. The camera light will. And a lens cover won't protect your microphone or your personal data.

dndln 10y ago

If you are hacked, the camera light won't tell you. The camera light also won't protect your microphone or your personal data.

yoz-y 10y ago
But the light won't tell you because of a flawed design. It should be trivial to design a webcam LED which can not be turned off while the camera is being used.
Houshalter 10y ago
It should tell you. That's the whole point.
- jjnoakes 10y ago
  If I'm hacked and the attacker doesn't touch my camera, then it can't tell me. That's the whole point.
  - Houshalter 10y ago
    But if they do touch your camera then you will know. If they don't touch your camera, then putting a piece of tape over it is pointless anyway.

onion2k 10y ago

The issue is the camera being used to violate your privacy. A hardware switch that lets you physically disable the camera, or a a lens cover that stops it seeing anything, stops the possibility of that happening completely. You'd obviously need a second system in order to stop an attacker using your microphone. All a light does is inform you that the camera is active. That is not a defence. It doesn't tell you that you've been hacked because an attacker might not access the camera (a mic and data are still accessible), and the camera light might activate if you haven't been hacked (eg any piece of software that you're using might result in the camera activating regardless of whether you want it to or not) which would lead to many false positives and as a consequence people would ignore the light. A light is only information, and any amount of information won't stop an attack. Information is only available after you've been attacked, so you haven't stopped or mitigated the problem. A hardware solution that stops people accessing the camera mitigates the result of an attack before it happens. That's why it's much better. You just have to remember that blocking the camera only stops attacks that use the camera. You still need to be diligent about other attack surfaces.

Houshalter 10y ago
I really don't understand this reasoning at all. If you just block the camera you won't know that your computer is being hacked. The piece of tape isn't going to stop the hacker from doing much. Knowing my computer is hacked is far more important than stopping the attackers from seeing me. If you have a false positive that is also very concerning and should be dealt with. At the very least I can put a piece of tape over the camera after the light turns on, if I believe it's a false positive.
- onion2k 10y ago
  At the very least I can put a piece of tape over the camera after the light turns on At which point it's already too late - the hacker has had access to your camera for some period of time, until you notice the light. If you're interested in stopping people seeing you then you've failed. Putting a hardware block on the camera (eg tape) before you're hacked means that the hacker won't ever get access to your camera to see you. The hardware block is about stopping people accessing your camera. It has no effect on anything else. Regardless of what you do with your camera you still have to defend against other ways you can be hacked.
  - Houshalter 10y ago
    >At which point it's already too late - the hacker has had access to your camera for some period of time, until you notice the light. Yeah for like 10 seconds. Who cares? The problem with webcams is they can spy on you for days and weeks on end, and record your sensitive conversations.
    - tantalor 10y ago
      Recording conversations has nothing to do with the camera. You might be thinking of the microphone. Should we put a little LED on that too?
      - Houshalter 10y ago

StavrosK 10y ago

Then a camera light that tells you when the camera is on, and a hardware switch that prevents image data from going to the computer.