Covering your camera and disabling microphone

For less than $5 I bought a pack of 3 sliding camera lens covers on Amazon - I disable 'Bluetooth' on everything I can along with disabling the mike through 'Settings'. Somehow my wife has a force field guarding her Chromebook so that I can't get near it to install an alternate Linux system instead of the ChromeOS (Linux) that drives her Chromebook.

I'm not paranoid! As long as my protective tinfoil headgear is in place!
 

Last edited:
PeppermintPatty said:
How would I sing into my microphone if the mic is disabled? How do you all take pictures if your camera is disabled.?

Do you guys never use your phone to take photos ? I always use my phone to take photos.
Click to expand...
I have put a sticky label on the camera. I think indeed the microphone is more tricky and I have had to reactivate it in order to speak on the phone. I think there may be a way of stopping other apps permission to use it. Anything to make it harder to hijack for sinister purposes.
 
Roadwarrior said:
For less than $5 I bought a pack of 3 sliding camera lens covers on Amazon - I disable 'Bluetooth' on everything I can along with disabling the mike through 'Settings'. Somehow my wife has a force field guarding her Chromebook so that I can't get near it to install an alternate Linux system instead of the ChromeOS (Linux) that drives her Chromebook.

I'm not paranoid! As long as my protective tinfoil headgear is in place!
Click to expand...
I've seen those sliding lens covers and may get them.

I am so glad we are at least alerted on here. Nobody is safe from criminals. I now don't take my phone into the bathroom or anywhere sensitive. The way to regard it is just to be aware, not in a daydream.
 

Rose65 said:
I have put a sticky label on the camera. I think indeed the microphone is more tricky and I have had to reactivate it in order to speak on the phone. I think there may be a way of stopping other apps permission to use it. Anything to make it harder to hijack for sinister purposes.
Click to expand...
Thank you Rose
I think I gave permission ; I remember clicking
allow use of microphone which is in my headset. It doesnā€™t work properly without it
 
you gotta do what you gotta do,,me,i never sign out of anywhere i been on internet,i open scam mail,how else would i know what the scam is,i never log out of forums,whats the point,if you use google,they know all about you anyway,as for looking at you through the camera,i find that funny,if it aint turned on,hows that work? just saying
 
As a Mac desktop user I can disable camera for all external apps etc but I am not overly concerned about this anyway...

.....just a word for other Mac users from Mac forum..

Don't close your MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro with a cover over the camera. Closing your Mac laptop with a camera cover on it might damage your display. Designed to protect your privacy, Mac laptops have a camera indicator light to let you know when the camera is on.Aug 22, 2023
 
Mizmo said:
As a Mac desktop user I can disable camera for all external apps etc but I am not overly concerned about this anyway...

.....just a word for other Mac users from Mac forum..

Don't close your MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro with a cover over the camera. Closing your Mac laptop with a camera cover on it might damage your display. Designed to protect your privacy, Mac laptops have a camera indicator light to let you know when the camera is on.Aug 22, 2023
Click to expand...
Using a Mac would be extra incentive to a crook. Know the location of high end laptops. Just saying.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
How would I sing into my microphone if the mic is disabled? How do you all take pictures if your camera is disabled.?

Do you guys never use your phone to take photos ? I always use my phone to take photos.
Click to expand...
My laptop's camera is covered, but I leave the mic on to record music. I remove the camera when doing Zoom meetings. The phone is a different story. I do not cover the camera or turn off the mic.
 
Mizmo said:
As a Mac desktop user I can disable camera for all external apps etc but I am not overly concerned about this anyway...

.....just a word for other Mac users from Mac forum..

Don't close your MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro with a cover over the camera. Closing your Mac laptop with a camera cover on it might damage your display. Designed to protect your privacy, Mac laptops have a camera indicator light to let you know when the camera is on.Aug 22, 2023
Click to expand...
I have had two Macs for almost 10 years, and I have been covering their cameras all this time. I have not seen any damage to their displays, so I'm not sure if the Mac forum is correct.
 
Roadwarrior said:
Using a Mac would be extra incentive to a crook. Know the location of high end laptops. Just saying.
Click to expand...
Quickest way for a stupid thief to get caught would be for him/her to steal a Mac book and try to use it :ROFLMAO: I remember when things started going crazy around 4 years ago, a huge gang of bored teenagers assembled and broke into the Apple Store here in Scottsdale. Many of them were caught because of course the security cameras but a few of the really dumb ones tried to activate the stolen merchandise and were traced down that way.
 
MarkinPhx said:
Quickest way for a stupid thief to get caught would be for him/her to steal a Mac book and try to use it :ROFLMAO: I remember when things started going crazy around 4 years ago, a huge gang of bored teenagers assembled and broke into the Apple Store here in Scottsdale. Many of them were caught because of course the security cameras but a few of the really dumb ones tried to activate the stolen merchandise and were traced down that way.
Click to expand...
Thanks to the security cameras many were caught, you make a valid point. The thread is about no fear of their information being posted. Any information can be valuable & marketed. In the early days of cameras in TVs and online it was pointed out what a crook can garner from any visual information for their trade.

In this day and age there are eyes-cameras everywhere. But they still have people thinking they are not being watched. Well, maybe just the really dumb ones.

FYI - of the 16,000 MACs stolen last year, only 3% were recovered. It's called 'Apple Picking'. The police nor Apple were no help. Any gambler will tell you, the odds are against you. Using a Mac to surf the web is akin to driving a Lamborghini to WalMart. Problems usually are from emails, links, updates or downloads - web functions.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
palides2021 said:
My laptop's camera is covered, but I leave the mic on to record music. I remove the camera when doing Zoom meetings. The phone is a different story. I do not cover the camera or turn off the mic.
Click to expand...
Thereā€™s nothing on my laptop but I think Iā€™ll disable the mic and cover the camera. I use it so little that Iā€™m not worried about it.

I use my phone to do karaoke. It wonā€™t record properly if I donā€™t use the earphones and I never film myself singing. Iā€™m there to sing and / or play my saxophonesā€¦ period. Iā€™ve never done zoom and donā€™t talk to anyone privately. In other words, Iā€™m not doing anything Iā€™d be ashamed of.

Iā€™m using a browser that doesnā€™t allow tracking. I could still be tracked but I donā€™t really care. My life isnā€™t that exciting.

I use my camera a lot. We get all kinds of wild animals that I enjoy watching. Sometimes I take photos but most times I just watch.

We donā€™t have game cameras but do have other cameras that capture wild animals. Itā€™s usually at night so the pics arenā€™t great. The deer get red eyes etc; not good photography.

My iPhone takes far better photos. Itā€™s got 15 times zoom. Then I can zoom in and crop for better photos. Thatā€™s how I get my photos.
 
Just a little more info from Apple for users

If your work environment requires you to cover the camera on your Mac laptop, follow these guidelines to avoid damaging the display:
  • Make sure the camera cover is not thicker than an average piece of printer paper (0.1mm).
  • Avoid using a camera cover that leaves adhesive residue.
  • If you install a camera cover that is thicker than 0.1mm, remove the camera cover before closing your computer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top