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All iPads How to disable webcam without voiding warranty?
- Thread starter scissorband
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Wow, this thread either has a bunch of people posting just to get a rise out of others, or there are some seriously delusional people on the boards. Or maybe there are a bunch of subversives, terrorists, criminals that are really interested in Apple rumors...
This idea that the "government" is using your devices' cameras to secretly record you is just plain crazy. Do I think elements in the government can and are recording data and info on certain people - of course they are. But for the rest of the 99.99% of the population who are about as unimportant as it gets, this type of delusion and fear is something that suggests to me the need for better education. It also suggests to me that some people have an unhealthy level of self importance, to think they are worth anyone's time to spy on.
This idea that the "government" is using your devices' cameras to secretly record you is just plain crazy. Do I think elements in the government can and are recording data and info on certain people - of course they are. But for the rest of the 99.99% of the population who are about as unimportant as it gets, this type of delusion and fear is something that suggests to me the need for better education. It also suggests to me that some people have an unhealthy level of self importance, to think they are worth anyone's time to spy on.
We don't know the original poster's situation, he or she could very well be a "person of interest"; or just paranoid (most likely).
However, after watching the 60 minutes (US television news show) story on the NSA last night we learned that: the NSA has the call records of every call made, by every person, in the USA for the last 5 years. It wouldn't surprise me if they had similar for most other countries in the world. In fact, the call tracking example was showing phone call connections between "Somali pirates."
So while 99.99% of us are not bad people, apparently we are still worth watching to some degree. Is the NSA watching us through our web cams? Doubtful for all but a select few, but that doesn't mean non-government folks aren't trying to do so.
Perhaps the original poster is the victim of an abusive spouse, or stalker. I've known people who we're being stalked online. It is really scary when your computer pops up with a message from the stalker describing what you are wearing and what sites you are browsing.
Maybe the original post was a troll, or maybe someone was just looking for a "safer" way to use the internet.
Shame on yourself...Turning the camera off with a software setting wouldn't do anything if the device was hacked. The hacker could just turn the camera back on.
The tape was not a bad idea. It is cheap, reversible, and 100% effective.
From a sociological standpoint, this type of fear of people (gov't or otherwise) watching you / spying on you, is always present in a select group of people.
As far as the NSA collecting my phone call data - how could I possibly care if they're doing that - other than wasting my tax money and time. So do we (as a society) think that someone is listening in on and taking notes about our conversations - or what we're wearing, where we're driving, shopping, what we're reading and watching on tv? And if they are - what are they going to do with all this worthless data? What are they going to "control us" with or for? People don't seem to realize that the government is us and the army and police are us too?
Frankly, people should be more worried about what big business and big banks know about us, because that can have an impact on our lives. But again, if you're living your life in a paranoid state, there is something wrong that shouldn't be blamed on society.
Whether the NSA has it or not, the fact is the cellphone companies already retain the data. I sat on jury in a trial where expert witnesses (provided by two cell carriers) explained the call logs the prosecutor had subpoenaed. We viewed the call logs for every call placed or answered by the defendant and the victim over the course of a couple months. Data fields were: date, time, duration, answered or not, number dialed or incoming callerID, as well as which tower call started on, which tower the call ended on, and which of the three antennas at each tower handled the call.
Pretty much exactly what I'd expect a cellphone company to keep records of, so no surprise really. The data is there.
Yep.
How Target Figured Out A Teen Girl Was Pregnant Before Her Father Did
The difference between government and business is that business doesn't have the authority (yet) to serve a no-knock warrant with armed people busting into your house to take you away. The government does have that authority.
Regardless, we've basically labeled the original poster as crazy or clinically paranoid, but he or she could be trying hide from a determined stalker, rather than a government. I've seen that scenario in real life and it is not a good way to live. This, in fact, is a much more likely scenario than the one we've invented with our own paranoid assumptions.
To the original poster...though the ipad isn't perfect, you are much safer with an ipad than a PC, and use black tape over the camera.
The point was that the information is out there and the hypocrisy of those who freely give out their personal details to any business that offers them a shiny bauble for it, yet go all tin-foil-hat over the thought of a government having even less info. The reality is that whether it's in the hands of businesses or in the hands of governments is a mere formality of a appropriate subpoena. Or even without; with a statement of exigent circumstances a police agency can request a cell carrier to perform an active ping of a cellphone and obtain real-time GPS coordinates of that phone, tracking it over time. (As testified by police and cell carrier representatives in a trial in which I was on the jury)
Careful not to paint everyone with a broad brush. You'll note that the OP had an effective answer within three minutes of posting.
Wow, i am really amazed how paranoiac people are ( not mentioning you bro, my all friends doing this except me ) , the thing is actually, i really wonder what you are doing on your computer? or on iPad. c'mon
( not mentioning you bro, my all friends doing this except me ) , the thing is actually, i really wonder what you are doing on your computer? or on iPad. c'monWow, i am really amazed how paranoiac people are
Does a person trying to hide from a abusive husband or wife deserve a
or ? What about an activist who protests against an oppressive regime?Does a person trying to hide from a abusive husband or wife deserve a
Do you think those are who CrossX is referring to here, including "all [his] friends"? What proportion of the posters in this thread do you believe fit these categories? Are these abused spouses or activists the only people who would post their worries of being watched through their ipad camera?
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fxGqcCeV3qk&desktop_uri=/watch?v=fxGqcCeV3qk
Do I have to point out that in the history of the world, failing to have a healthy skepticism toward your own government has lead to some of the nastiest, most abusive dictatorships? I am not paranoid by nature, but there have been many stories about the capabilities of our government to spy on us. They cannot be ignored.
Now, as to whether you are doing anything "interesting" enough for the government to take notice of you, that's another question. But innocent people deserve privacy as much as -- more than -- guilty ones.
Well now, that certainly makes for a very strong and grounded argument.
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/12/30/nsa-was-able-to-capture-live-data-from-compromised-iphones-in-2008-including-live-camera-gps-and-more/
I knew exactly what I was talking about. Like I said, don't be so naive all your life.
Are you running from the law or something? I don't think they're talking about iOS devices. Even if they are, I wouldn't give a **** since I'm not a criminal.
So all that proves is that the NSA could install software on devices it had physical access to, which anyone can do even today. That is very different from someone remotely installing software without the user's permission. The article only said it was possible the NSA had improved its software so remote installation would be possible, not that it had ever successfully done so. As the article also said, it's likely those doors were closed by Apple. Therefore, the article proves nothing at all.
By your own admission the article proves that the NSA had the ability to install software that could capture web cam photos on an iPhone in 2008. So to say there is proof and at the same time it proves nothing? I fear your logic is flawed.
Anyway, that compromise was 5 years ago. Read through the article and watch the 45 minute video by Appelbaum. If for some reason you still believe that the NSA can't hack an iPhone/ipad whenever it wants on whomever it wants, then I feel sorry for you.
We started this thread with fanboys saying that it was impossible to hack an iOS device. We've now shown definitive proof that this statement is false. I feel like the only thing that will convince some people is if their own personal devices are hacked. As someone was hacked many years ago (said incident led me into a sub-career in computer security), I can tell you it changes your whole outlook on life. Luckily, for most people, the likelihood of a serious NSA style hack is small, unless you are a journalist, or political protestor, or Muslim, or ex-girlfriend of an NSA spook, or other ever expanding categories to be named later...
Whether the original poster has real cause to be concerned we'll never know. But if you he/she is only worried about a web cam,then some black tape will cure that worry. Of course, black tape won't solve the problem of being spied on through you USB cable, wireless, cellular, etc.
We are talking about history here, 5 years ago!
Just imagine how the NSA techniques have advanced in 5 years.
What we are hearing about is just the tip of the iceberg.
My question is did Apple cooperate with the NSA?
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Sorry but when we no longer worry about what our government is doing . . . well we end up with what we have today!
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What I am doing is expecting privacy.
Just imagine how the NSA techniques have advanced in 5 years.
What we are hearing about is just the tip of the iceberg.
My question is did Apple cooperate with the NSA?
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Sorry but when we no longer worry about what our government is doing . . . well we end up with what we have today!
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Wow, i am really amazed how paranoiac people are
What I am doing is expecting privacy.
You read news articles, but you were careless.
1. This doesn't affect iPads. It affects certain MacBook models from around 2008. It is very, very unlikely that iPads use the same webcam as 2008 MacBook models.
2. They cannot start the webcam without the light turning on. They can only permanently disable the webcam light, so if you fear this happened to your Mac, just start Facetime or Photobooth and check if the light is on.
3. They cannot just do this; they have to find a way to hack into your computer first. The first step to doing this is to make you run an app that isn't sandboxed. Can't do that on an iPad.
All that said, tiny bit of opaque sticky tape does the job just nicely.
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I feel sorrier for you if you believe it. Before the last jail break, nobody but Apple was capable of reading data on a passcode locked iPhone; that may still be true today and it will be true again when 7.1 is released which will remove whatever exploit they used. There is no jailbreak possible without having the phone physically in your hands. Reading data is not possible without having the phone, and it is impossible if you have a random 10 digit passcode - Apple designed the encryption so that decryption must be done by the phone itself, no array of supercomputers can help. And any decryption attempt takes about 1/10th of a second, so a four digit passcode takes 1000 seconds to break, 7 digits takes a million seconds or 12 days, 10 digits takes a billion seconds or 30 years.
Please explain why. It is a very cheap solution, very easy to apply by anybody without the slightest bit of knowledge about technology, it is very easily verified, and it works 100%.
I think you should read it before you attempt to dismiss my point. It says iPhones. iPhones are iOS devices. No one has to be a criminal to be angered at this breach of privacy. Since you don't I'm sure you wouldn't mind someone gaining access to your device and watching you get dressed or listening in on private conversations.
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I feel sorry for you if you feel they don't have the power to do this. iOS devices aren't out of the NSA's reach.
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How do you know the NSA have not found their own exploits? Don't forget that they have many more resources available than the jailbreak community and probably pay hundreds of people to work fulltime on such things. The recent revelations show that they are not interested in helping companies fix security holes. They intentionally keep them for themselves so they can exploit them (and of course that also leaves the holes open for other blackhats who find them).
Remember Jailbreakme? If the NSA has found a browser-based exploit, they have the infrastructure in place to redirect any browser to their exploit site without the user knowing it (google for "Quantum Insert" if you want to know more).
And then there is also the possibility of Apple cooperating with the NSA, just like some of the other companies that have already been revealed.
I recently downloaded and installed an app on my iPhone 4S that can capture photos - and videos - from the iPhone's camera. In fact, such an app comes pre-installed on iOS. So no, the fact that the NSA did this 5 years ago means nothing.
They didn't hack an iPhone. They simply installed an app on an iPhone that they had physical access to. iPhone users do this millions and millions of times per day.
Nothing is impossible, but the fact is that it has not been done.
You really need to read what has been published. Here is a quote from the NSA document detailing "DROPOUTJEEP":
None of this is possible using regular apps.
And for those who think that the NSA cannot install "implants" remotely:
This was 5 years ago. You can bet that they have even more refined methods today.