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FBI Director James Comey: Cover Up Your Webcam (thehill.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Hill: The head of the FBI on Wednesday defended putting a piece of tape over his personal laptop's webcam, claiming the security step was a common sense one that most should take. "There's some sensible things you should be doing, and that's one of them," Director James Comey said during a conference at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "You go into any government office and we all have the little camera things that sit on top of the screen," he added. "They all have a little lid that closes down on them. "You do that so that people who don't have authority don't look at you. I think that's a good thing." Comey was pilloried online earlier this year, after he revealed that he puts a piece of tap over his laptop camera to keep away prying eyes. The precaution is a common one among security advocates, given the relative ease of hacking laptop cameras. But many found it ironic for Comey, who this year launched a high profile battle against Apple to gain access to data locked inside of the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino, Calif., terrorists. Many viewed that fight as a referendum on digital privacy.
But you also need a switch on your microphone to turn it off. It's a bigger risk than the camera since eavesdropping on a conversation can reveal a lot more than the camera can when it comes to company secrets.
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
Like the NSA, doing illegal mass surveillance on their own citizens?
Another thing would don't trust your corporate overlords with 'managing' your laptop and stop using Windows as an admin user or stop using Windows altogether.
Hacking a laptop is fairly hard to do if it's properly secured without remote access. Things like SELinux or Mac's Gatekeeper or any Unix-type OS can be set so that only specific applications have access to certain hardware.
If you want to use tape, you should also snip out your microphone and speakers, glue your USB ports shut and fully encrypt your system with a third party, open source encryption.
Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
I agree - the microphone has been ignored largely, both on phones, tablet and laptops. I do think companies should provide a MECHANICAL means for disabling microphones and cameras.
Anyone wanting to develop a SECURE device should be seriously looking at that option.
That switch to turn off your microphone and video camera. Should not just send a digital bit to the OS to decide what to do with it. It should physically cut circuit that provides the device power. Also the same with the LED on camera to show that it is recording this shouldn't be a feature that is programmed in the software it should be hard in the device.
The only real trade off with a mechanical switch is that it will take up more space. So your device will be a bit bulkier and heavier... However my point of view is how much security do you want to compromise for form factor.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Well if a good portion of the population votes for the actual person they feel will win, instead of wallowing in their own self delusion that the it is too corrupt for them to do anything.
If you want to do something.
1. Do your research on who is running and what they stand for.
2. Pick the person who you like independant on if you think they will win or not, or if you think your vote will detract from your most likely candidate.
3. Go to the polls and vote.
Here is the cool thing about the power of voting third party. The two major parties are not stupid, they track trends and voter demographics like any big data company. While they may not necessary know who at every household has voted for they can get a feel of the political temperature within a few miles of the polling place.
So while most polling places will most of the vote for the major party, your third party vote is useful unaveraged bit of information. There is this one guy who voted for third party out of a hundred who voted for the establishment. Now that data is useful. So if they voted Green Party, then that may tell the Democrats that your area may have some additional concern about environmentalism, if they voted libertarian then the person may be concerned about their personal liberty. Now if there are enough 3rd party votes say 1% overall trending in a direction, that will tell the parties that they will need to incorporate aspects of that third party into their base policy as to adapt to the electorates wants.
While your vote may not win the election. It can change the direction of the next one.
Take a look at the Tea Party. Like them or despise them, they were able to get national recognition and many of its aspects became core of the republican party. Because that group voted in local elections, than for their representatives and senators creating a large party growth. Sure they were backed by some big names that sneaked their agenda in it. However the people voted them in. While those liberals complaining on how bad those guys were stayed home during the off year election and allowed them to get in power.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Except the parties don't "incorporate aspects of that third party into their base policy," they only say they will and then don't, with some lame explanation why... but they are still the major party that claims it supports that third party policy, so people vote for them anyway. I'm libertarian - people think republican party must be the party to vote for if you're libertarian (they falsely only look at certain economic issues), or you are effectively voting for democrats - but neither republicans nor democrats are libertarian in any way. The only difference is which of your liberties and freedoms they don't care about.
Stupid sexy Flanders.