cross-posted from: https://lemmy.bestiver.se/post/121053
I just use some gaffers tape to cover the camera.
One complaint I have is a lot of laptop manufacturers who do put a camera slider in, paint the slider red when it’s closed and black when it’s open. It should be the opposite. Red is dangerous live.
I fix it just using some enameled nail polish. But it seems opposite of what it should be
That’s not possible, because the sensor is black (or at least very dark).
The problem here is that the led was software controlled which always struck me as more of a bandaid then a solution.
A proper hardware switch solution would mean the led and webcam are wired so if the webcam receives any power the led jumps on. The computer shouldn’t even know that led exists. Not sure how many devices actually do this though.
The tape on cam solution works on video but might still record sound which is in many cases more dangerous for sensitive information.
Of course one also has to wonder how much it matters having typed this on a phone with cam and microphone uncovered and no indicators.
Both android and crapple phones have mic & cam indicators nowadays, tho, and if a piece of software has a level of access high enough to bypass those, you kinda have bigger issues… Also, the webcam receives power by default currently; as the repo mentions, it’s just another USB device (well, it’s 3v3, and not 5v, but it doesn’t really matter here)
The problem with that is a USB device is powered even if it’s not being used. You can’t communicate with it to identify it as a webcam without powering it. So the light will be on any time it’s plugged in.
The camera module itself can be powered off if properly designed and the led should be powered from the same source.
Yeah, but that’s additional design complexity, and most consumers, given the choice, would pick the cheaper option.
I believe Framework has their webcam LED setup like this. At a minimum the physical switch cuts power to the whole webcam assembly.
That is exactly how the webcam light is setup in a Framework. The light is wired up to the camera sensors power, so whenever the camera has power, so does the light. The switch also fully disconnects it from the computer itself. At least in Linux, you can verify it using lsusb. You can see the camera indicated as Realtek Semiconductor Corp. Laptop Camera. Whenever the switch is flipped though, it disappears all together from the list.
Most Thinkpad’s have a slidy cover not sure about the mics though
Anyone else ever join large conference calls from the shower?
