The Absolutely Simplest Thing You Can Do To Protect Your Online Privacy
The whole subject of online privacy and security can be a daunting one, especially if you're not a particularly technical person.
There is a cacophony of news, online advice, reviews, products and some considerable confusion about what the threats are, how it is best to defend against them and whether it is even worth trying. (It is!)
So, whilst I plan to write in more detail about all these topics, I thought I’d kick off with the simplest and easiest-to-implement piece of advice I could think of. Something that just about everyone could agree is worth doing, something worth spreading the word about, and something easy to achieve, even if you know nothing about computers, tablets or phones.
And here it is:
Cover up your webcam. With sticky tape.
This is perhaps the most common place I start discussions about online privacy with people I meet and it never ceases to surprise me how few people have heard about why it is important.
Why cover up your webcam?
If you don’t yet know, webcams of the sort built into laptops, tablets and mobile phones (or bought separately and plugged into your device) are easy for hackers to access and use to record unsuspecting victims. This is true for Windows, Apple and Android devices alike.
Photos and videos taken via hacked webcams way are of interest to peeping toms and ‘sextortionists’ (something to think about if you have kids), used in corporate espionage and by government agencies to spy on suspects and political adversaries.
The person spying on you could be half the world away and you cannot rely on the camera indicator light to alert you that it's happening.
Entire websites exist that stream live images from people's private devices, without the victims knowing.
With sticky tape? Seriously?
Yep.
The most advanced and determined hackers can’t hack through a piece of sticky tape (or paper, or Blu-Tack). Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg covers up his webcam and it’s recommended by FBI director James Comey.*
So, when you’re not using your webcam, cover it up. And remember to restore the bit of sticky tape (or whatever you choose to use) when you’re done. Of course, opaque sticky tape is best, but even the translucent stuff - if that's all you have handy - can work. If you're in doubt, you can always fire up your webcam/favorite video chat program to see how effective the tape is.
If you’re especially bothered by a piece of sticky tape’s unappealing aesthetics or concerned you’ll simply lose the bit of tape and forget about it, you can buy specially designed covers that slide to reveal and cover the camera lens as needed (such as these or these). Or consider supporting the Electronic Frontier Foundation - one of the internet's 'good guys' - by buying one of their these sticker packs.
Note that it’s possible to hack a webcam in various ways. If your device is infected with malware that activates the webcam, the sticky tape will block it from taking photos or videos but, obviously, it will not deal with other privacy and security problems that malware might cause. Nevertheless, the sticky tape remains a sound thing to use; it is simple and effective.
What else can I do?
The next simplest precaution you can take is to keep your devices up to date and resist installing random apps that appear to give you something for nothing. Out-of-date software exploited by malicious apps is a constant problem.
A closely-related precaution to the webcam issue it to switch off your microphone when you’re not using it. It too can be used to snoop on unsuspecting users. Switching off phone mics isn't so convenient, but something to consider at least for stationary computers and laptops.
For some advice about that see here for Windows and here for Mac.
Otherwise, keep your eyes peeled on Room101; I'll be back with more detailed discussions and advice about online privacy.
For more information on webcam hacking, here's a short video:
*The irony of the idea that Facebook and FBI, whose MO relies on harvesting people’s private information, is not lost on me. But the advice to cover up webcams is sound.
Not just cover up the webcams, but also remove the built in microphone and use an unpluggable ones like a headphone.
I wrote an extensive guide on this, might want to check it out:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/df6fmj5innus1ac/ULTIMATE_PRIVACY_%26_SECURITY_GUIDE_V1.4.pdf
I don't disagree, except removing the built in microphone is unlikely to be something non-technical people or complete online privacy beginners are likely to pursue. Also, and no offence but, I'm not sure it's wise to recommend that people should download and open unfamiliar files on their computers. It's not a habit people should be in, for security reasons.
It's not built-in as in built inside the circuit board. The microphone is usually located next to the webcam or next to the keyboard, so it's usually a long black cable that comes out of the board with a bean sized black mic at the end. It's usually pluggable-off.
Otherwise the wire can be soldered off, and they can put an insulator tape on the remaining wires. Of course people should do this carefully, the PC should be plugged off from the socket and the battery should be removed before they attempt to do anything like this. And if they don't know what they are doing, then they shouldn't.
However, removing the mic is also important. The mic can gather a lot more information about people than a camera,so its a worse surveillance tool.
I wrote the guide. Or are you implying that I've put some hidden malware inside the book?
You can easily virus scan it if you don't trust me:
https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/1caff5e3081f825dc2fa0178c22960fd256de4643308e4eec77a9bd238cf6e27/analysis/1494181213/
Firstly, what I said remains true: non-technical computer users, and especially those who weren't even aware that their webcams might be used to spy on them, are very unlikely to disassemble their computers to any extent. Let alone solder anything. This guide was written for them.
That does not mean I think you are wrong about what you said. You are correct, that it's safest to unplug the microphone entirely. I stress again, just in case you missed it, that the focus of what I wrote here was something easy and non-technical just about anyone could do to enhance their online privacy.
Secondly, laptops are built very differently, from brand to brand. And whilst its true that most have their microphone cables in a similar position, the difficulty and method of accessing it can be very different. On a Clevo laptop it's essentially trivial. On every Asus I've tried it with, getting under the keyboard has been painfully inconvenient.
Finally, I implied nothing about your trustworthiness. But it's a good idea to promote scepticism amongst non-technical users when it comes to opening downloaded documents from sources they don't know, for much the same reason as clicking links in emails isn't generally a great idea if you aren't certain who the sender is/what the motive is (at a minimum).
It's not about you; it's about helping non-technical people improve their privacy in an accessible way.
Yes, it's very shocking to see the complacency and ignorance in people. I could understand older folks, but young people who were brought up in this tech world and having no clue about the dangers of them, is pretty schocking. And it's also a parenting issue for the most part.
So yes education is crucial, this is not the kind of thing that your teacher will teach you. Not even in an IT university. They are clueless for the most part.
I see, no problem, I just misinterpreted your reply.
Yes skepticism is important, but if people want to really be careful, they should download stuff only in a virtualized environment on a throwaway computer from the beginning. There is always a threshold of safety vs convenience that people will put up with. It's their choice to decide.
I have had several laptops, Lenovo, Mac, my fiansee has a Dell, and in each of them I found the mic and removed them easily. It's really not that hard, there are plently of youtube tutorials how to open the case, and of course safety guides to not damage the board or hurt yourself.
I've been removing the mic for about 10 years now, even before the Snowden revelations. It was just common sense to me that anything can be hacked, and having a mic and webcam spy on you passively is not fun.
I any case, I like your posts, I will be following you and looking forward to work. I like how your username is a reference to an Orwellian Society, room 101 from the 1984 novel.