6 ms·
Your computer and phone are big balls of blind faith in software/firmware.
by taopao 13y ago
Your computer and phone are big balls of blind faith in software/firmware.
- katbyte 13y agoMy computer doesn't have a webcam or mic plugged in all the time pointed at my living room.
- Groxx 13y agowould you recognize one if it were on the motherboard? it's not like microphones are big.
- katbyte 13y agono, but i've never heard of a motherboard having an internal mic. Is that a thing now?
- Groxx 13y agoWell, laptops. But we never heard of prism before now, which doesn't make it not a thing. I'm completely building this into a paranoid delusion, but then this whole thread is a demonstration that we lack / are denied the knowledge to dispel paranoid delusions, and sometimes they're right.
- scott_s 13y agoMy computer has a webcam and microphone pointed at me whenever I'm using it. Same for many, many people.
- rjd 13y agoAnd unsurprisingly there are many accounts of this being abused already, heres a few high profile examples: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbins_v._Lower_Merion_School_District http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbins_v._Lower_Merion_School_... , http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/03/rat-breeders-meet-the-men-who-spy-on-women-through-their-webcams/ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/03/rat-breeders-meet...
- scott_s 13y agoIndeed. But it happens rarely enough that its usefulness to video chat with friends outweighs the risks for me and many other people. Most people are already okay with a camera on a device that is constantly pointing at them.
- katbyte 13y agoI dare say most people are blissfully unaware of how often and how easy it is for someone to use their webcam to spy on them. Either way thats not the point, I don't have a webcam or mic plugged in, except when i am using it for video chat or gaming, and afterwards i unplug them. The xbox's cannot be removed like my PCs.
- katbyte 13y agoBut you have the option of unplugging the mic and camera, apparently that is not the case with the xbox.
- scott_s 13y agoI do not have that option with my Macbook, nor do I think people have such an option with most laptops that have an integrated camera and mic. I could physically cover the lens and mic, but you can do that with a Kinect, too.
- dominicgs 13y agoMany new smart TVs do, and they have already begun to be exploited - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA_2AiaAkvk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA_2AiaAkvk
- LaurelCrowned 13y agoYour computer or phone doesn't need a conventional microphone to record sound. They could very easily be hidden in software, or by anything that can detect vibration. Not that I'm worried about a console doing this anyway.
- katbyte 13y agoI'm pretty sure a computer with no mic is unable to record sound...