{"id":24253,"date":"2019-02-11T17:02:34","date_gmt":"2019-02-11T22:02:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=24253"},"modified":"2019-02-11T17:02:34","modified_gmt":"2019-02-11T22:02:34","slug":"on-covering-webcams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2019\/02\/11\/on-covering-webcams\/","title":{"rendered":"On Covering Webcams"},"content":{"rendered":"

John Gruber<\/a> (tweet<\/a>):<\/p>\n

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I have never understand the mass paranoia over laptop webcams — which have in-use indicator lights, which I’ve seen no evidence can be circumvented on Macs from the last decade — and the complete lack of similar paranoia over microphones, which cannot be blocked by a piece of tape and which have no in-use indicator lights. And I don’t see anyone taping over the cameras on their phones. This story is only going to feed that paranoia, because the takeaway is going to be “The Wall Street Journal says you should cover up your webcam.”<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

The problem isn’t your camera, it’s malware. Don’t install any software from unknown or sketchy sources, keep your OS up to date, and you should be fine. And if you do have malware on your Mac, the webcam is likely the least of your problems.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I cover my Mac’s camera with a piece of tape, not because I’m terribly worried about it, but because it’s easy to do, so why not<\/a>? But I think something like Little Snitch is probably better protection. I don’t really care whether an app is using the camera or microphone so long as it isn’t sending data anywhere.<\/p>\n

Phone cameras and microphones should probably be of greater concern, but there’s not much you can do about them. It’s not practical to cover sensors that you use throughout the day. Third-party phone apps are harder to audit. And intelligence agencies can allegedly<\/a> activate the microphone and camera, anyway.<\/p>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n