4 ms·
Do you ever notice that your Mac's camera and microphone do not have a physical off-switch? Just like 1984.
by FellowTraveler 13y ago
Do you ever notice that your Mac's camera and microphone do not have a physical off-switch?
Just like 1984.
- harrytuttle 13y agoNeither does my Sony all in one, my ThinkPad or my three Nokia phones and you're singling out the mac?
- FellowTraveler 13y agoYou're right: Sony, ThinkPad, and Nokia are therefore also systems of slavery. How hard can it be to manufacture a product with an off-switch?
- superuser2 13y agoI'm guessing you never supported an environment where laptops had hardware switches for the WiFi card. I can't even begin to quantify the amount of support time that wastes. If a users asks for something to happen (like a Skype call) it should just happen. To end-users, having multiple points at which the functionality they want can be switched off is just frustrating, and it costs manufacturers call center time and customer satisfaction. The paranoid can tape over cameras and cut mic cables if they feel it's really necessary. You really might want to consider whether "slavery" is the appropriate word for switches implemented in software.
- FellowTraveler 13y agohttp://sourcefednews.com/xbox-one-is-watching-you/ http://sourcefednews.com/xbox-one-is-watching-you/
- harrytuttle 13y agoThat is by design, not for the sake of convenience.
- harrytuttle 13y agoWe have these things called transistors which allow us to turn things off these days. It's been a long time since we had the big red IBM XT flip switch. Even my calculator doesn't have a physical off switch.
- scott_karana 13y agoI guess they didn't have masking tape in 1984.
- superuser2 13y agoNeither do most PCs. And even when they do, they're often implemented in software. Which is part of why the NSA guide to securing a machine recommends that you decide whether or not you actually need the camera and microphone, and if not, you open the case and physically cut the cables.
- quantumpotato_ 13y agoWhere is this guide?
- superuser2 13y agohttp://www.nsa.gov/ia/mitigation_guidance/security_configuration_guides/operating_systems.shtml http://www.nsa.gov/ia/mitigation_guidance/security_configura... In addition to being a signals intelligence agency, NSA is also responsible for IT security for the federal government (and, to some extent, the nation). While it's possible they leave some of the more interesting tricks out of the public versions of these guides, their publication is in line with NSA's advice and assistance on open-source cryptography, etc.