Duct Tape Collection
I am on a quest to end the needless slaughter of masking tape that happens everyday around the world.
Tiny strips of this precious resource are needlessly sacrificed to cover up cameras on iMacs and MacBooks everyday and it need not be the case.
So far as I can tell this habit came about from a radio or news paper article that claimed these cameras were vulnerable to attack. Hackers could get into your PC (yes, it was an article about Wintel machines and only mentioned “older macs” in passing) and they could rig up software that started your camera without your knowledge.
This is – or rather was – true but it skimmed over – or perhaps this bit has been overlooked by the collective consciousness – that this vulnerability required physical access to the unit. Someone had to sit down at your computer (or be given remote access) and they have to insert the code using your admin password. Not very likely.
The little green light is designed to come on the your camera has been activated
However, this has no longer been the case for years and years as hardware and software has improved and tightened security. In short, the camera has always been safe from hacking. So if you have been doing this but hated the way it looks, you can now set that tape free and let it live a long and meaningful life. This goes for band aids, blobs of Blue Tac and those sticky dots from Officeworks.
But… on the other hand… there are those who claim covering your camera is a good thing to do. The former head of the FBI said covering the camera was a sensible thing to do in a Government department and Mark Zuckerberg was pictured a few years back with his camera covered. It does make you wonder what they know. But in all the years I have been doing this I have never come across the Malware that causes this and I have never known of anyone who has actually had their camera hacked. On balance I think it is safe to assume you have more chance of being flattened by a shark falling on your head while walking down Northbourne Ave.
But all of that having been said… if you’d still rather cover the camera but hate the way it looks there is always this option – the sliding camera cover.
