WaPo: Research shows how MacBook webcams can spy on their users without warning

[Newsjock]

Source: Washington Post

... Most laptops with built-in cameras have an important privacy feature — a light that is supposed to turn on any time the camera is in use. But Miss Teen USA Cassidy Wolf says she never saw the light on her laptop go on. As a result, she had no idea she was under surveillance.

That wasn’t supposed to be possible. While controlling a camera remotely has long been a source of concern to privacy advocates, conventional wisdom said there was at least no way to deactivate the warning light. New evidence indicates otherwise.

... Now research from Johns Hopkins University provides the first public confirmation that it’s possible to do just that, and demonstrates how. While the research focused on MacBook and iMac models released before 2008, the authors say similar techniques could work on more recent computers from a wide variety of vendors. In other words, if a laptop has a built-in camera, it’s possible someone — whether the federal government or a malicious 19 year old — could access it to spy on the user at any time.

... Luckily, there’s an easy way for users to protect themselves. “The safest thing to do is to put a piece of tape on your camera,” researcher Charlie Miller says.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/12/18/research-shows-how-macbook-webcams-can-spy-on-their-users-without-warning/

[XemaSab]

1. I have a band-aid on mine

[Coyotl]

4. A piece of folded paper over mine. I knew about this already.

[City Lights]

5. Same here. nt

[OnionPatch]

8. Mine's covered with a little square of electrical tape.

It blends in nicely.

[Elwood P Dowd]

9. Same here. First thing I did when I got my MacBook 3 years ago. (NM)

[politichew]

2. People with a fetish for double chins from awkward angles are salivating over this story. nt

[frazzled]

3. No kidding

Now everyone is going to worry that someone ("THEY&quot are going to remotely disable the camera light and spy on them ... um, sitting in front of their laptop, reading or typing?

I think everyone needs a big collective slap. There are truly many more important things to worry about.

And yet again another headline with Apple in the title ... even though the article explicitly states that it is only Macs made before 2008 that were tested and that more current models from every other vendor are probably subject to this.

In the end, though, this is a big whoop de do about nothing.

[Coyotl]

6. Until your topless photos appear on a porn site or a pedophile hacker attack your daughter

Your " a big whoop de do about nothing" is a huge tragedy to the victims!

Webcam Hackers Sell Ability to Watch Their Victims Online
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/webcam-hackers-spy-victims-sell-photos-trojan-481130

.... Posing as a computer security enthusiast, one BBC radio producer made contact with several webcam hackers from the UK and abroad, and found that hackers exchange photos of "ugly" victims - also known as slaves or 'bots' - and found a site where men would swap photos of female victims.

One hacker, who is reported to live near London, estimates he has hacked 100 computers and viewed webcams on almost half of them. The hacker told the BBC: "I wasn't really looking for anything on their webcams, just their reactions. I'd open up random sites - shock sites - they'd see a scary picture or someone screaming, and you'd see they were scared

"There are creepy people who post pictures of ugly or female slaves. I'm not really into that...Yeah, it is illegal. But the risk of getting caught, that someone would do something about you trolling people, isn't that much. It's just a bit of a laugh."

The Childnet International charity suggests users of webcams should think carefully about where they are left and what they point at: "Make sure that webcams connected to computers are not located in bedrooms ......

=============
Paedophile hackers are 'secretly recording victims in their bedrooms and using pictures to blackmail them'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2455873/Paedophile-hackers-secretly-recording-blackmailing-victims-charity-warns.html

Charity The Cybersmile Foundation says problem is 'scariest we've seen'
Abusers use computer viruses switch on victims' webcams
They threaten to post pictures online if child doesn't cooperate

==============

I could gop on at length, but you should do your own research before posting such bullshit.

[frazzled]

10. Sorry, I don't sit topless in front of my computer

And I assume most people don't. Honestly, the best protection for this is to not have a webcam aimed at your bed or your shower, etc. It's kind of "d'oh."

Have you been following the stories of the likelihood of winning the lottery? I'd say the chances of a random hacker catching you (or your daughter) in a compromising position in front of a web cam are about as slim.

[Coyotl]

12. Why do you keep dismissing the seriousness of this crime. The odds of getting murdered are small

too, but that is no reason to make light of it.

People use laptops everywhere in their homes. This is a serious matter. Like I said, do some research first. You should be able to discover some facts and statistics that will surprise you.

[RandySF]

7. I hope they enjoy the show.

[SoCalDem]

11. small sticky note on mine

I have NO interest in having my mug on view

[Vashta Nerada]

13. That's why I keep duct tape on mine.