I used to have to use a USB adapter on my laptop because the built in one was turned off by default and had a Windows only software switch to enable it.
What about Intel ME, Microsoft Pluton, the one for AMD. The secret chips that have direct access to your hardware. Basically a blackbox. Same with cellphones. SoC.
System76 has some machines with hardware camera killswitches too. Big fan of Framework's open-source hardware and firmware microcontroller firmware though.
Their firmware isn't opensource. At least not fully. Only the EC firmware has been opensourced, that is the firmware for the micro-controller responsible for the battery, keyboard, buttons, LEDs, sensors, and so on...
The boot firmware, responsible for getting the CPU and hardware in a bootable state, is absolutely proprietary. There is initial support for one specific framework motherboard in coreboot, a partially libre boot firmware, but it's very new and I don't know exactly what is and isn't supported...
I simply don't own a webcam. Last time I actually had a use for one was sometime around 2003. That said, I'm still fucked because I made the mistake of buying a phone that uses the camera as the light sensor.
I think I saw videos of you last week on one of those revenge porn sites. You were going to town on yourself. I’m guessing you didn’t send the bitcoin?
Get a laptip with a real hardware switch for the cam and the mic. Best peace of mind knowing that they're really off. Neither tape, nor the non-electrical built-in plastic sliders do that.
I mean, someone will do for every model. That would be enough to ensure security. If manufacturer faked it, and one in a thousand customers found it, then it will be a news or a lawsuit
Sure beats literally no protection which is what most laptops have. I have a switch and sometimes forget it's off and my webcam/mic definitely don't work, on any OS.
They don't neccessarily need to, you can pretty much always just look at reviews. Now you can make a point about trusting reviewers, but all that is still better than trusting the manufacturer or microsoft.
You're right though, there is trust involved, but only if you don't verify things yourself.
Unless you have a framework, and can remove the bezel and confirm that they work!
I'm really happy with my new framework's switches, I actually trust them for once! I went to find a thing on how they work to post here:
"(They) saw the mention of the switches and that they are optical somewhere, but can’t remember to quote the source.
As far as I can tell each switch is a U channel with a light emitter on one side, and a detector on the other. The part you move on the bezel just breaks the light beam. This creates a electronic on/off hardware switch.
Using an actual physical switch would tend to be a source of an intermittent connection over time. Hence the use of optical technology. Same thought process for the screen open switch being a Hall Effect sensor, which can work through a cover."
I'd like a proper hardware light. Something physical such that the camera cannot send the image back to the board without the light being on. And yes, a physical cutout switch would definitely be nice.
Either buy a sticker cover with a slider or get lenovo laptops that have that builtin; even though the slider is confusionary since when it's closed it's a red dot. Im sure that there must be other brands that integrate it as well
The problem with those is that it's often just a piece of plastic, so the microphone isn't cut off from power. The webcam sees noching, but sound is unaffected.
I am joking of course. I am a privacy freak myself:
All my computers run Linux
I self-host all what I can and encrypt as much as I can by myself too
On desktop, Mic and Cam are connected to a USB hub with individual switches such that they are powered ON only when I need them
Laptop is a Framework 13 with HW switches for both Cam and Mic
There is something about the webcam switch on the Lenovo from work, that I like better than the Framework: The switch also physically blocks the camera. It makes me feel more safe and it's actually much more intuitive to understand when it is disable. On Framework, the switch shows either red or black, but I never know what is enable and disable. Is it red for "Careful, it's active !" or red for "Disable" ? (It's Red=Disable, Black=Active).