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> The light is connected to the actual power of the camera and cannot be disabled unless the camera is also disabled. This was proven false when malware was di
by snacktaster 8y ago
> The light is connected to the actual power of the camera and cannot be disabled unless the camera is also disabled.
This was proven false when malware was discovered that accessed the camera on Mac laptops without activating the LED light. It's mentioned in the article.
- alphabettsy 8y agoThe reasearch to prove that vulnerability was done on Macs made up until 2008 if I’m not mistaken. It’s not clear if that attack is still possible.
- isostatic 8y agoAm I the only one who has tape over my laptop camera? (Specifically a peppa pig sticker)
- jnaina 8y agoI bought these for all the laptops being used by my family. Especially useful when you are in a group video conference and you need a quick and foolproof way to blank the video. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2018-WebCam-Cover-Laptop-Camera-Cover-Shutter-Magnet-Slider-Plastic-Webcam-Camera-Cover-for-ipad-smartphone/32868385250.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2018-WebCam-Cover-Laptop-Cam...
- ambicapter 8y agoI have an EFF sticker specifically for this.
- mortenjorck 8y agoThe article TechCrunch links to, about Patrick Wardle’s research on the FruitFly malware, actually never mentions defeating the webcam LED: https://www.zdnet.com/article/new-analysis-fruitfly-mac-malwware-almost-undetectable-backdoor/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/new-analysis-fruitfly-mac-malw... It’s possible that Wardle’s Black Hat paper does, but the link doesn’t back up the assertion in the TechCrunch piece.
- dpkonofa 8y agoThis was not proven false. The malware that was discovered only affected iMacs and MacBooks from 2008 and prior when the light was not directly connected to the camera's power. That didn't happen until early 2009.