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Plastic webcam covers, especially the slide-out type, gained popularity in the 2010s as a low-tech way to keep hackers from eavesdropping on compromised machines. The concern was justified then. But by 2020, Apple started issuing warnings that these covers weren’t actually necessary and could even damage the MacBook’s display.
For this Safety bitelet’s put our tinfoil hats aside and talk about features like webcam covers that don’t significantly improve privacy. True Tone it’s more likely to malfunction and damage your screen than to stop someone from spying on you.
The myth of the green light indicator
More modern Mac— Apple Silicon and Intel (post-2008) ones — a malicious hacker also can’t turn on your webcam without triggering a green privacy indicator. The hardware of the camera module does not allow this.
Macs manufactured before 2008 are a different story. security researchers at Johns Hopkins has been published A 2013 document showing that Macs released before 2008 could be forced to launch the camera without a green LED indicator under certain sophisticated attacks. Considering those times, Apple integrated the camera sensor and pointer with software.
However, this changed in late 2008, when Apple redesigned the camera module so that the sensor and green light shared the same physical circuit. This way, the camera can’t get power without the LED either. Fast forward to today and there is still no known malware that can bypass this hardware design, there is likely no software to compromise anymore.
There is also a neat tool called OverSightCreated by an Apple security researcher Patrick Wardle Objective-Bax notifies you when the webcam is active. This is useful because some macOS malware will even wait until you’re away from your Mac before trying to activate the camera, so tools like this help expose this behavior.
Paper thin screen space
Aside from the privacy threat, there’s also the danger of seriously scratching your MacBook’s screen.
Apple expressly warns against attaching any MacBook (Air or Pro) with a thickness greater than 0.1 mm between the screen and the chassis. Today’s Retina panels are very thin and fit to extremely tight hinge tolerances. When you snap the cover over the camera and close the cover, you apply concentrated pressure to one of the most fragile parts of the screen.
I wouldn’t dream of wearing one on me M4 MacBook Air The daily driver already shows ghostly marks where the screen presses against the keyboard in my backpack.
In short, these accessories do more harm to your device than good for your privacy.
Security Bite is 9to5Mac’s weekly deep dive into the world of Apple security. every week Arin Waichulis Forming an ecosystem of more than 2 billion devices, it opens up new threats, privacy issues, vulnerabilities, and more.
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