back to article Zuck covers up mic and webcam because sharing isn't always good

A PR snapshot of Mark Zuckerberg's desk has shown quite how seriously the king of the information sharing economy takes his own privacy. On Tuesday, the Behoodied One shared an at-work picture to celebrate hitting 500 million active monthly users on Instagram. But a closer look by California startup employee Chris Olson shows …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Had cardboard over my camera since the Sub-Seven days. As a bonus, it keeps the lens clean if I decide to use it.

    Don't know how a bit of tape over an input jack is going to help in any way though.

    1. LaeMing

      Just to remind you not to plug in a mic, I am guessing.

      Possibly not even security-related. I was always plugging my headphones into my mic jack in the dark under my desk until I changed cases and my new one has lit front panel port-icons.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Don't know how a bit of tape over an input jack is going to help in any way though.

      A physical reminder to never ever plug anything there, perhaps, in case you might have a moment of weakness?

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "Don't know how a bit of tape over an input jack is going to help in any way though."

      I wonder if they meant the laptop's built-in microphone?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        On a Macbook Air at least, the internal microphone is next to the combined microphone/headphone jack.

        Taping over the internal microphone makes sense, as at least it would make it harder to hear what's being said.

        Taping over the jack makes no sense at all.

        1. David Webb

          Taping over the mic has no effect at all, it's just another membrane.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Taping over the mic has no effect at all, it's just another membrane.

            Sellotape won't do much, but Duck tape will have quite an effect.

            1. AndrueC Silver badge
              Joke

              Re: Taping over the mic has no effect at all, it's just another membrane.

              Sellotape won't do much, but Duck tape will have quite an effect.

              Sounds quackers to me.

            2. Alistair
              Joke

              Re: Taping over the mic has no effect at all, it's just another membrane.

              @Voyna, I'm assuming that all the quacking will cover the real discussion.

            3. Paratrooping Parrot
              Coat

              Re: Taping over the mic has no effect at all, it's just another membrane.

              Duck tape will have an echo. ;)

        2. Dan 55 Silver badge

          Taping over the mic jack might make sense if you set the microphone input to the mic jack in preferences (and hope malware doesn't change it back to the internal microphone).

          But a better way to do this would be disconnecting the microphone internally... Maybe they do that too.

    4. TallGuy

      If you cut off the cord from a microphone jack, plug it in and tape it in place, your internal mic will be disabled. It means it's impossible (or a lot harder) to sneak in audio from the mic.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        > If you cut off the cord from a microphone jack, plug it in and tape it in place, your internal mic will be disabled. It means it's impossible (or a lot harder) to sneak in audio from the mic.

        It's a combined jack, so that will cut off your internal speaker as well.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Childcatcher

    I actually spy on my camera and mic

    I really do! I audit access to certain kernel modules and device nodes. TBH I only did it as a proof of concept. After six months of non use, I compiled out support for the webcam and added some rather odd UDEV rules that make it unlikely that it will work without me noticing 8)

    I'm far more scared of my internet connected telly. It's on the SEWER VLAN for devices that scare me more than "THINGS" and has to run the gamut of a lot of firewall rules. It does regular port scans and discovery sweeps, probably to enhance my viewing pleasure. Cheers Samsung.

    1. LaeMing
      Terminator

      Re: I actually spy on my camera and mic

      You know your telly is really 'smart' when it starts hacking you for its own amusement and profit!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Childcatcher

        Re: I actually spy on my camera and mic

        Never ascribe to malice ... yes, I think you are almost certainly right: the reconnaissance is probably to try and round out a customer profile, rather than anything else.

        I have to say I was quite taken aback when I found the anti virus update settings on it and suddenly realised I had bought a really thin wall mounted computer, with a microphone built in.

        I must get around to seeing if I can man in the middle it or something but to be honest it's pretty low on the list of stuff to do. Oh dear, I'm doing the general user "meh" thing.

        1. AndrueC Silver badge
          Boffin

          Re: I actually spy on my camera and mic

          I have to say I was quite taken aback when I found the anti virus update settings on it and suddenly realised I had bought a really thin wall mounted computer, with a microphone built in.

          I was a bit taken aback when I discovered that the one of the hidden menu items on my TV enabled a CLI. Mind you I couldn't do much with it as it doesn't have a USB socket so no way for me to attach a keyboard. I can only assume that either there's a hidden USB socket inside or perhaps someone makes keyboards that use an HDMI cable.

          1. LaeMing

            Re: I actually spy on my camera and mic

            Does your TV support BlueTooth?

            1. AndrueC Silver badge

              Re: I actually spy on my camera and mic

              Nope, no Bluetooth. It does have an Ethernet socket but it's not enabled on my model.

              1. Lusty

                Re: I actually spy on my camera and mic

                Sure it's Ethernet and not a Cisco style console port?

    2. goldcd

      We all devices that "pay for themselves"

      I presume your TV, but setting up its own direct debit via your banking app on your phone.

    3. Disgruntled of TW
      Thumb Up

      Re: I actually spy on my camera and mic

      @gerdesj "SEWER VLAN" - Inspired.

  3. Gene Cash Silver badge
    Coat

    Old joke

    I was worried the NSA was spying on my through my webcam, then I remembered: this is Linux, and even *I* can't make that work!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Old joke

      To be honest: it was a right bugger to get going in the first place. My little extras make it *really* unlikely it will ever work again 8)

    2. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

      Re: Old joke

      Years ago I did a quick web searches to identify a cameras that worked with Linux before purchase. Now, they just work until I tape them over.

      There were rumours that Microsoft put pressure on OEMs to select standards compliant UVC cameras. If this is true, then a big thank you to Microsoft for doing something constructive.

  4. as2003

    Bad CMS! Bad!

    Your CMS is cropping out the two things the entire article is about.

    Here's a link to the uncropped image which shows the offending tape over the camera and the two microphone holes that can be found on the side.

    1. VinceH
      Facepalm

      Re: Bad CMS! Bad!

      You do realise there's a link to it (albeit via Twitter) in the article? But good point, though - not showing the [relevant part of] the actual picture should be a facepalm moment for El Reg.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Zuckerberg is running Thunderbird

    Read the thread on the tweet! That icon is not Tbird - it's a Cisco AnyConnect VPN client icon. Zuck has truly given up on security.

    Also, as someone pointed out in that thread, it is not necessarily his 'puter.

    1. Mark 85

      Re: Zuckerberg is running Thunderbird

      Also, as someone pointed out in that thread, it is not necessarily his 'puter.

      I wondered about that. How many CEO's sit out a bullpen setup or open office?

      1. Oengus

        Re: Zuckerberg is running Thunderbird

        Our CEO prefers to work in the open area despite having a private office allocated to him. He does use the office for meetings etc.

    2. m0rt

      Re: Zuckerberg is running Thunderbird

      Whether it is tbird or Cisco VPN client, the following:

      "The picture also appears to show that Zuckerberg is running Thunderbird. It kind of makes sense – when Zuck cut his coding teeth, Mozilla's email client was very popular and nostalgia is a powerful force in software."

      Nostalgia nothing. It is because it is the only decent Email client out there.

      1. The Mighty Biff

        Re: Zuckerberg is running Thunderbird

        TBird is a bit of a bloated lump these days, but it is still the best. I ditched Eudora for it years ago, and despite intermittently trying out the competition I'm still happy with it. I'm open to suggestions for an alternative on Win 7.

        1. Mayhem

          Re: Zuckerberg is running Thunderbird

          I would love to have a decent email client for Windows, but these days we're pretty much stuck with Thunderbird or Outlook. Nothing else really works or is actually productive.

          I hated myself for leaving Eudora for Outlook, but the shift to badly formatted HTML mail pretty much killed it.

          Sad days.

          1. Gotno iShit Wantno iShit

            Re: Zuckerberg is running Thunderbird

            Pegasus still works just fine. It's a very, very good email client and dumb as rocks when it comes to dangerous content. It can't play Flash or the zillion other corruptible things so if you get sent a dodgy one it cannot get launched. Whatever comes in is just attached data. KISS rules.

            1. AndrueC Silver badge
              Meh

              Re: Zuckerberg is running Thunderbird

              I'm clinging on to TheBat. It has a good macro language. I just wish they'd fix a couple of issues with IMAP. One of them means it can't read some emails in text only mode.

          2. Dan 55 Silver badge

            Re: Zuckerberg is running Thunderbird

            None of Mailbird, Postbox, Unseen, or Airmail (Mac) are any good?

        2. jay_bea

          Re: Zuckerberg is running Thunderbird

          The Bat? I've been using it since version 1.x, not long after it was first released in 1998, converting from Eudora after seeing a review in PC Mag. I occasionally think about trying something new, but haven't found anything with the same powerful filtering and template capabilities and a focus on mail management rather than a flashy UI. It is still actively developed.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Zuckerberg is running Thunderbird

            Another vote for The Bat here...I've not found another email client that even comes close.

        3. Sandtitz Silver badge

          Re: Zuckerberg is running Thunderbird

          "I'm open to suggestions for an alternative on Win 7."

          Forte Agent. I haven't used that last couple of major versions but it was much better than TB back then.

      2. dvd

        Re: Zuckerberg is running Thunderbird

        Not decent; just the least sucky in an ocean of suck.

        You wouldn't think that a decent email client would be too much to ask for in 2016.......

  6. Shadow Systems

    I used to have fun with this...

    Knowing that others might take control of a connected webcam, I intentionally purchased a brand/model that was very popular at the time & thus almost certainly sure to have code out in the wild to hack it. It had a nice long USB cable & little gripper feet so you could perch it atop a monitor while it was plugged into a computer tower that might be located under a desk, which made the next step very easy. I built a tiny diarama of a bedroom scene so that it looked almost tromp loi (trump loi? I can never remember the spelling, damn my old age) & set the cam inside. I put a naked Barbie & Ken doll inside in various interesting positions, & ran porn music inside to give the cam watchers something to listen to as the little voyeur's got their rocks off. It was always fun to watch the network traffic monitor spike like an EKG on a Speedball surge as the bastards kept waiting to see if "the people in the feed" (Barbie & Ken under a blanket) would actually start rompin & ruttin. Then I'd turn the cam to point at a sign I'd put on the back wall of the diarama that read "I know you're watching, I've recorded your IP, & now I'll be sending in the goons to beat the shit out of you. Have a nice day, at least what's left of it!" I'd laugh my ass off as all the traffic suddenly vanished as IP address' dropped off like rats abandoning ship.

    I wish I could still see so I could do more shit like this. Now I can't see to make sure the diarama looks right & so have to make do with redirecting their traffic to CSPAN instead. *Sigh* It sucks being blind. =-j

    1. FrogsAndChips Silver badge

      Re: I used to have fun with this...

      It's "trompe l'oeil" ("deceives the eye").

      1. Shadow Systems

        @FrogsAndChips, RE: the phrase.

        Thanks! Enjoy a pint on me for providing that. I'll try to remember it for the next time I use it.

        *Shakes a palsied fist*

        Now get off my LawnCam ya danged WipperSnapper!

        =-D

      2. Alistair
        Joke

        Re: Trompe l'oeil

        Hmmm.

        A prescient french expression.

        Trump lol.

        *cough*

        <je suis canadien, merci>

  7. rcoombe

    4th thing about this photo of Zuck

    His office seems to be based inside a branch of Ikea.

  8. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

    dadada

    Facebook has spent around $16m keeping its head honcho secure

    pity it didn't occur to him or anyone of his team to use secure and different passwords across sites

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: dadada

      That was the cloning fee, you see these are not the real Zucks, it's Russian roulette hacking.

      Actually 16M got quite a few copies as he turned out to be a remarkably simple organism, consisting mainly of smarm and avarace.

  9. 0laf

    Goes with teh job

    Well in fairness he's probably a bigger target than most of us.

  10. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

    Interesting. Whatever happened to "privacy is no longer a a social norm"?

    What's that? "Do as I say, not as I do." Oh. Well, that's allright then. As you were.

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