Welcome to Stupid Design.
Here's the thing, and here's why it's stupid.
(singing)
Stupid Design
(yelling)
--It's so stupid!
Mark Zuckerberg broke the
news recently when it was revealed
that he covers the webcam
on his laptop when he's not using it.
Though it may seem paranoid,
security experts agree with him.
You see, nefarious hackers could at any
moment be using their digital wizardry
to spy on you through your
webcam without you even knowing it.
"Wait," you say, "I've got a light on my
webcam that lets me know if it's being used.
Surely, I must be safe, right?"
Wrong! Even those of you that have a light next to your webcam indicating it's working should be wary.
You see, with the right hacking skills that light can be disabled independently from the camera,
and that, dear viewer, is the stupid.
The mere fact that this is
even possible is woefully stupid.
The light should provide no doubt that the
camera is operating or in fact that it's not.
The hardware designers and engineers
who designed these webcam modules
have overlooked the most
simple solution to this problem.
In fact, the solution is so simple it can be
demonstrated with a garden-variety power strip.
Let's pretend that this microwave oven is a camera.
Notice that it's currently completely powered off with not even the clock showing the time.
That's because it's plugged into this power strip,
and the power strip is currently turned off.
I also have a genuine Swedish lamp
located on top of the microwave,
and you may notice that it is also not working.
It's not illuminated.
That's because they're both plugged into the power
strip, and neither of them are receiving power.
But when I turn on the power strip, two things happen.
Not just one, but two.
Turning on the power strip does two things,
and the things are as follows.
Here are the things.
First, turning on the switch turns on the light.
But also first, as indeed the things happen
at the same time simultaneously,
the microwave receives power at the same time.
If I wish to cook some food,
the microwave must receive power.
And since the lamp receives
power along with the microwave,
the lamp must be lit if the microwave is able to work.
If a condition arises where the light is not lit,
that being that the power strip has been turned off,
the microwave also loses power, and thus
the cup of coffee that you forgot about
and are reheating stays cold.
Observe that the ability of the microwave to function
is governed by the position of
the switch on the power strip,
and the light always illuminates
whenever the power strip is turned on.
This means that the light serves as an
indicator of the microwave's potential to cook,
not necessarily that it is cooking, but that it could.
If any condition arises where the light is not lit,
then the microwave can't possibly be working.
Now, returning to the laptop computer,
here we find an indicator designed to tell you,
the user, if the camera is watching.
Now as we've learned from security experts,
clearly this indicator is on its own switch,
able to be controlled independently from the camera regardless of whether the camera is on or not.
This is stupid.
That light should be on the same
power supply as the camera,
and there should be no switch between
the light and the camera's power supply.
This way if the camera is operating,
the light has to be on,
and if the light's not on the camera can't operate.
I've actually lied to you.
See, this lamp has its own switch, too.
Because the lamp and the microwave
can be controlled independently,
the lamp does not serve as an indicator
of whether the microwave can work.
But if the switch weren't there,
and the lamp had to be on with the microwave,
the lamp would always serve as a reliable indicator
of whether or not the microwave
could possibly function.
Without the switch no amount of hacking skills
would be able to turn on the microwave/camera
without the light also turning on.
If the webcam had been designed in this fashion
without the light on its own switch or power supply
then, this security flaw would have been impossible.
If a hacker was able to gain remote access
to your camera and turn it on,
well, that light would have to come on
alongside it giving you fair warning.
Of course now, it's too late.
Even if manufacturers decided to start using their heads
and produce webcam modules designed in this fashion,
would you believe them if they told you it was safe?
Probably not, and thus, thanks to the stupid of the past,
we're stuck with slapping bits
of post-it notes on the screen.
Goodbye.
(fast violin music playing)
