
Mark Zuckerberg covers his camera and audio mic jack - satyajeet23
https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10102910648972921?comment_id=1051574398253584&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R9%22%7D
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capote
I don't get this. If someone gets unauthorized access to your computer's
camera, all this prevents is them seeing your face staring into your computer.
This doesn't solve the underlying problem of someone getting unauthorized
access to your computer. It just solves the problem of someone seeing your
face, which is not such a terrible problem to have, at least if you're as
handsome as I am.

Just covering up the camera is like putting a bandaid on a small cut when you
have internal bleeding.

~~~
zeta0134
All sorts of people do all sorts of things in their bedrooms that have nothing
to do with their face staring into their computers. There have been quite a
few instances of livestreamers forgetting to turn off their streams, and
accidentally broadcasting themselves naked, or having sex with their partners.

I personally don't have any cameras in my room for this reason, but the risk
of capturing something sensitive is quite real.

~~~
capote
I suppose. The underlying problem is still greater, though, than someone
seeing you having sex. Someone getting unauthorized access to your webcam, I'd
imagine, has the ability and skill to do much worse than look at you naked
(which, on the other hand, would be problematic to me because my body is
flabby and unattractive).

Wouldn't a better solution be software-based, or some more advanced hardware
(like added network security)?

But this picture is taken at an office, where presumably sex isn't happening,
and anything confidential will likely not be in large font on a sheet of paper
held up in front of a camera that is presumed inactive.

~~~
Jemmeh
That would cost money, as opposed to 1¢ of tape doing the same job.

~~~
capote
1¢ of tape solves the issue of someone gaining unauthorized access to the CEO
of Facebook's laptop? I think not.

~~~
zeta0134
Unauthorized access to the laptop is a very different thing than the user
(Mark Zuckerberg, in this case) browsing to a website that utilized a camera
API, or accidentally clicking Allow, or being caught by some weakness in the
Flash API without realizing it. He's probably also got all sorts of other
protections on that laptop, but having an extra $0.01 bit of security never
hurts.

I think microphones are more dangerous actually; it's hard to glean much
meaningful data from most webcam streams (besides perhaps some less than
flattering pictures of the user) but a microphone can pick up all sorts of
confidential conversations.

~~~
capote
I always thought that problem was solved by the little light next to the
camera turning on when the camera is on.

And if the light doesn't turn on, it's likely something more problematic is
happening.

~~~
Jemmeh
If you can hack someone's camera, you can make it so the camera turns on
without turning on the light and letting people know you're watching and
listening.

~~~
capote
That's what I meant by "something more problematic is happening." If a hacker
can turn on Mark Zuckerberg's camera without having the light turn on, then
there's a big problem, and it needs to be rectified to a greater extent than
just covering up the camera.

~~~
Jemmeh
Again with the security is not a 1-fix kind of thing. You put a lot of
measures in place to make things secure. This is just one of many security
measures that should be in place. The enemy has breached the outer wall, but
now we have 3 more inner walls protecting the most important stuff that they
also have to breach.

And tape over the mic and webcam aren't really things that can be broken
through remotely.

~~~
capote
This makes sense. I guess I was pointing things out just to point them out.

------
jedberg
He's the CEO of a multibillion dollar company. He's legally required to be
paranoid to meet his fiduciary responsibilities.

~~~
satyajeet23
Indeed!

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milesokeefe
The page is now down, here's a reupload of the image Zuckerberg posted:

[http://i.imgur.com/3oNniEh.jpg](http://i.imgur.com/3oNniEh.jpg)

Zoomed in with the covers outlined:

[http://i.imgur.com/laM8qEJ.png](http://i.imgur.com/laM8qEJ.png)

~~~
satyajeet23
The link is working fine, page is not down.

~~~
milesokeefe
Huh, must have to do with my FB session. Still shows as missing from my
account but loads fine in incognito.

------
crispytx
I did that too after the "Snowden Revelations"!

~~~
satyajeet23
I cover it too, perhaps everyone should.

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asax
Why cover the audio mic jack?

~~~
satyajeet23
Check out the last paragraph here: [https://www.wired.com/2014/03/webcams-
mics/](https://www.wired.com/2014/03/webcams-mics/)

~~~
jonknee
> Muting the mic won’t work, since it’s possible for an intruder to unmute it.
> Your best defense is probably to insert a dummy plug into the microphone
> jack to prevent sound from being picked up by the internal mic. You can
> create a dummy plug by simply cutting off the unneeded portion of an old
> microphone plug. This won’t prevent someone from listening to your
> conversations when you need the mic, such as when using Skype, but it will
> at least thwart them from using the microphone on their own without you
> knowing.

The question stands, why tape the headphone jack? The microphone is not inside
the headphone jack.

~~~
unicornporn
Put a dummy plug in there and seal with tape?

~~~
jonknee
But that's not where the microphone is (think about it, a microphone stuck
down a port wouldn't work well at all).

~~~
zeta0134
Right, but having a dummy plug will cause the vast majority of laptops to
disable their built-in microphones and instead listen to whatever you plugged
in. (In the case of a dummy, this would result in a dead line.)

The idea is to fool the system into having no physical microphone, and even a
hacker/malware that compromises the operating system is going to have a hard
time dealing with whatever soundcard firmware is responsible for making that
switch in the hardware.

------
x1798DE
I don't know why I would care about Zuckerberg in particular doing this, but
while we're on the topic, can anyone recommend a decent retractable camera
cover for mounting on a laptop?

~~~
threeio
"Nope."

[http://www.bungajungle.com/products/nope](http://www.bungajungle.com/products/nope)

I use these on my work machines, however I suggest placing the magnet combo
vertically as opposed to horizontally like in the photo so that it defaults
into that position.

[Yes I know I could get thin magnets much cheaper from somewhere else, I give
them credit because they were the first one I found when looking for a
solution a few years ago]

------
bennylope
How about this: Mark Zuckerberg poses for picture sitting next to [someone's
MacBook] with covered camera and audio jack.

~~~
dogma1138
That's his office, it's quite known that he sits in the open space with all of
the employees, I don't think there are any private offices in Facebook other
than finance/payroll and some HR which are private due to regulations.

~~~
bennylope
Sure, and none of that means that's his desk or his computer. Unless you have
specific knowledge about what he keeps on his desk, this entire thread is a
lot of silly speculation based on an unwarranted assumption.

------
baconhigh
yet he used the password "dadada"

~~~
beamatronic
Is that confirmed? Do you have a source for that? Wow.

~~~
HappyTypist
Just Google it...

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T0k9sY
What benefit would it be using tape over the jack hole? The built in mic I
could understand. But, surely it wouldn't work unless something was plugged
in? Or is it a reminder to himself and yo prevent him from pluging in
headphones with inline microphone? Genuinely curious.

~~~
astrodust
On the MacBook that's a combination 3.5mm audio jack and SPDIF port, one that
can emit laser light if it's confused about what's plugged in or not.

So it could be to block that light, or to prevent cruft from going into it, or
to fight the urge to use headphones at work.

------
drvdevd
Does this make any sense in an open workspace where you're surrounded by a
million other laptops and cell phones anyway?

------
skynetv2
He may be doing it to prevent snooping from Corporate spies, hackers, and the
like, not just for privacy, even if the reason of privacy is ironic.

~~~
pigeons
How is "prevent snooping from Corporate spies, hackers, and the like" not
exactly "for privacy"?

