5 ms·

also tape your laptop's camera

jdavis703 5y ago
My laptop is mostly closed and plugged in to an external monitor. The mic is so muffled by then, it would take expert audio recovery to understand what was being said. (In other words, it would be hard to scale it for ad purposes, but obviously a targeted attack could still be devastating).
tmsbrg 5y ago
That doesn't protect your microphone from being exposed though.
- newbamboo 5y ago
  Don’t talk to your computer. When you do talk, talk about stuff that you want them to look into.
- beeboop 5y ago
  this is why we need hardware switches for microphones
  - michael-ax 5y ago
    fwiw, there's a switch in every ext. mic. jack. plug in an un-wired connector, cut of the wiring post, smooth with a nail-file or put on a crowning drop of glue so it won't rip your bag and you're done.
    - myself248 5y ago
      Often these are software, though. Yes there's a switch, but it just tells the audio subsystem to automatically select the plugged-in mic. You can still tell it to select the screen-frame mic instead.
    - deadbunny 5y ago
      A software switch. You can test by pluggin in your unwired plug then go set to any program and select the internal mic and it'll work fine.
  - fsflover 5y ago
    https://puri.sm/products/librem-14 https://puri.sm/products/librem-14 - this device has the kill switch.
  - dheera 5y ago
    I just got a Framework laptop (https://frame.work https://frame.work) and it has this. Take that, Apple fanboys.
- kadoban 5y ago
  An icepick/paperclip does.
  - russh 5y ago
    Yes, but travel is expensive and time consuming. Not to mention the effort it would take to track down the responsible party.
  - criddell 5y ago
    You should also destroy any speakers. https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1611/1611.07350.pdf https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1611/1611.07350.pdf
    - kadoban 5y ago
      Oof, that's unfortunate. Thanks for the tip.
      - hutzlibu 5y ago
        But that hack requires deep OS access and is not trivial, but for those with a nation state agency behind them, good to keep in mind
- 5e92cb50239222b 5y ago
  Disable it in system settings, browser settings, and prevent access through something like firejail. It is not as reliable as a hardware kill-off switch, but puts a lot of barriers to overcome.
- reaperducer 5y ago
  That doesn't protect your microphone from being exposed though. And ripping out your microphone doesn't stop evildoers from viewing the camera. What's your point?
- aasasd 5y ago
  Well tape the microphone too. With thick soft tape.
  - bogwog 5y ago
    Or open up your laptop and (carefully) destroy it. I can’t remember the last time I used the built-in mic on a laptop, much less the last time I bought a laptop with a mic that was actually worth using.
    - denton-scratch 5y ago
      > Or open up your laptop and (carefully) destroy it. OK, I destroyed it (carefully). Now it won't boot. What do I do next?
      - bogwog 5y ago
        Get a refund from the guy who sold you that janky ass laptop that won’t boot without a microphone.
        denton-scratch 5y ago
        OIC. Well, I destroyed the laptop, not the microphone, because that's what OP said to do. I guess I didn't read the directions carefully enough. /s
ratww 5y ago
My company is now giving us those to use in our company laptops: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61l+gnZORVL._AC_SY355_.jpg https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61l+gnZORVL._AC_SY355_.j... They're pretty convenient and look nice
- zulln 5y ago
  Those are too thick for my laptop, so I use these adhesive stickers instead: https://supporters.eff.org/shop/laptop-camera-cover-set-ii https://supporters.eff.org/shop/laptop-camera-cover-set-ii
- jspash 5y ago
  Be careful with those on laptops. I had a 2016 Macbook Pro and put one of those one it. About 1 month later I had a nice big crack in display straight down the middle of the screen. I'm not 100% certain that was the cause. But the guy at the Apple store seemed to think it was, which meant they wouldn't pay for it. And a quick google shows others who are convinced. The bezel on that laptop was really tiny and I can easily see it might have contributed to the crack. I now have a 2021 model and the bezel is much thicker. But I'm not taking the chance.
  - rovr138 5y ago
    >I'm not 100% certain that was the cause I'll leave this, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211148 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211148 >Make sure the camera cover is not thicker than an average piece of printer paper (0.1mm). >If you install a camera cover that is thicker than 0.1mm, remove the camera cover before closing your computer.
- vultour 5y ago
  Our HP laptops have that built in
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - 5y ago

My laptop is mostly closed and plugged in to an external monitor. The mic is so muffled by then, it would take expert audio recovery to understand what was being said. (In other words, it would be hard to scale it for ad purposes, but obviously a targeted attack could still be devastating).

tmsbrg 5y ago

That doesn't protect your microphone from being exposed though.

newbamboo 5y ago
Don’t talk to your computer. When you do talk, talk about stuff that you want them to look into.
beeboop 5y ago
this is why we need hardware switches for microphones
- michael-ax 5y ago
  fwiw, there's a switch in every ext. mic. jack. plug in an un-wired connector, cut of the wiring post, smooth with a nail-file or put on a crowning drop of glue so it won't rip your bag and you're done.
  - myself248 5y ago
    Often these are software, though. Yes there's a switch, but it just tells the audio subsystem to automatically select the plugged-in mic. You can still tell it to select the screen-frame mic instead.
  - deadbunny 5y ago
    A software switch. You can test by pluggin in your unwired plug then go set to any program and select the internal mic and it'll work fine.
- fsflover 5y ago
  https://puri.sm/products/librem-14 https://puri.sm/products/librem-14 - this device has the kill switch.
- dheera 5y ago
  I just got a Framework laptop (https://frame.work https://frame.work) and it has this. Take that, Apple fanboys.
kadoban 5y ago
An icepick/paperclip does.
- russh 5y ago
  Yes, but travel is expensive and time consuming. Not to mention the effort it would take to track down the responsible party.
- criddell 5y ago
  You should also destroy any speakers. https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1611/1611.07350.pdf https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1611/1611.07350.pdf
  - kadoban 5y ago
    Oof, that's unfortunate. Thanks for the tip.
    - hutzlibu 5y ago
      But that hack requires deep OS access and is not trivial, but for those with a nation state agency behind them, good to keep in mind
5e92cb50239222b 5y ago
Disable it in system settings, browser settings, and prevent access through something like firejail. It is not as reliable as a hardware kill-off switch, but puts a lot of barriers to overcome.
reaperducer 5y ago
That doesn't protect your microphone from being exposed though. And ripping out your microphone doesn't stop evildoers from viewing the camera. What's your point?
aasasd 5y ago
Well tape the microphone too. With thick soft tape.
- bogwog 5y ago
  Or open up your laptop and (carefully) destroy it. I can’t remember the last time I used the built-in mic on a laptop, much less the last time I bought a laptop with a mic that was actually worth using.
  - denton-scratch 5y ago
    > Or open up your laptop and (carefully) destroy it. OK, I destroyed it (carefully). Now it won't boot. What do I do next?
    - bogwog 5y ago
      Get a refund from the guy who sold you that janky ass laptop that won’t boot without a microphone.
      - denton-scratch 5y ago
        OIC. Well, I destroyed the laptop, not the microphone, because that's what OP said to do. I guess I didn't read the directions carefully enough. /s

ratww 5y ago

My company is now giving us those to use in our company laptops: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61l+gnZORVL._AC_SY355_.jpg https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61l+gnZORVL._AC_SY355_.j... They're pretty convenient and look nice

zulln 5y ago
Those are too thick for my laptop, so I use these adhesive stickers instead: https://supporters.eff.org/shop/laptop-camera-cover-set-ii https://supporters.eff.org/shop/laptop-camera-cover-set-ii
jspash 5y ago
Be careful with those on laptops. I had a 2016 Macbook Pro and put one of those one it. About 1 month later I had a nice big crack in display straight down the middle of the screen. I'm not 100% certain that was the cause. But the guy at the Apple store seemed to think it was, which meant they wouldn't pay for it. And a quick google shows others who are convinced. The bezel on that laptop was really tiny and I can easily see it might have contributed to the crack. I now have a 2021 model and the bezel is much thicker. But I'm not taking the chance.
- rovr138 5y ago
  >I'm not 100% certain that was the cause I'll leave this, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211148 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211148 >Make sure the camera cover is not thicker than an average piece of printer paper (0.1mm). >If you install a camera cover that is thicker than 0.1mm, remove the camera cover before closing your computer.
vultour 5y ago
Our HP laptops have that built in
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- 5y ago