Shulou(Shulou.com)06/01 Report--

Everyone who exists online should be concerned about privacy. It is important to protect your digital data. However, your webcam is a bigger loophole.

The bridge between the real world and the virtual world is easy to use. It is also an important tool that you may have been using all the time, so you need the easiest and most efficient way to control the objects that have access to it.

There are many reliable ways to stop webcams, but they also have some disadvantages. Fortunately, the new features available in macOS Mojave make it easier and safer to turn the webcam off and back on when needed.

MacOS Mojave Patcher for mac (official Patch tool)

Old-fashioned methods (macOS and earlier)

Before we examine the new options available in macOS, let's take a quick look at some older ways to block camera access. These options are best suited for users running macOS Sierra or earlier because they still have drawbacks.

Duct tape covers the camera.

It's a classic. When not in use, use masking tape or paint tape and cover the camera. You can easily do this with materials that are readily available at home, and you can easily remove the camera when you actually want to use it.

For a more elegant approach, you can even get a stylish webcam case to easily switch between blocked and unblocked.

Unplug the camera.

This is an easy approach when most webcams are external USB devices. However, on Mac, the webcam is built-in, so unplugging the webcam requires some hardware knowledge and courage to invalidate the warranty.

In future models, the cable may be welded to the logic board, which means that you may not be able to disconnect at all. In addition, this method will make it impossible for you to easily use the webcam when you actually need it. Only for people who want to get rid of the camera forever.

Disable the camera

If you are used to using a terminal, you can use a script to disable the camera. Again, this can be troublesome when you want to re-enable the camera later, but at least you don't have to turn on the entire computer.

Don't forget the microphone.

The biggest drawback of using any of these methods (except for scraping glue from the webcam for the next job interview), they don't block the microphone, so anyone who monitors you remotely can still hear you. There are solutions, but none of them are ideal.

You can tape the microphone to mute it slightly, but this is not foolproof.

Alternatively, you can try to fix it quickly by going to system preferences > Sound > input. Keep the input volume of the microphone to a minimum to prevent it from picking up sound. However, if someone gets root access to your computer, you just need to back it up again.

There are terminal commands to disable sound drivers, but they may also disable audio output, which means that the speakers will not work.

Similar to the camera, trying to turn on Mac and disable the microphone may also work, but it will certainly invalidate your warranty. Depending on the model, this may not even be possible.

New School method (macOS Privacy feature)

Fortunately, Apple has recently introduced a number of new privacy protection features that make it fast, easy and customizable to manage access to cameras.

Safari site preferences

If you have macOS or later, you can use Safari to enable or disable cameras and microphones for some websites.

Go to Safari > preferences > websites > camera to customize which sites you can visit. On the right, you will see a list of currently open sites. You can change the settings to deny, allow, or ask for a licensed website when using the camera.

Safari Technology Preview for Mac (Apple Safari browser)

Apple's Safari browser is the best way to view websites on iPhone,iPad and Mac. Safari Technology Preview gives you an early understanding of the upcoming Web technologies in macOS and iOS. Get the latest layout techniques, visual effects, developer tools, etc., so that you can provide information on how to implement and provide a best-in-class user experience on all Apple devices.

2020-05-1546.42 MB English software

At the bottom, you can also set the default policy for all new sites. Even better, you can use the microphone with the same function. Just switch to the microphone tab on the left to manage.

Disable camera settings for Safari

Privacy Protection in macOS Mojave

The "privacy protection" introduced in macOS Mojave introduces the above concepts from Safari and adds them to every application in the system. No matter what is installed, if you want to access your camera or microphone, you must grant it permission.

If an application tries to access your camera or microphone, you should see a prompt that can be used to confirm or deny access.

Prompt allows Skype to use the camera on the Mac

You can manage which applications have access at any time. Go to the Privacy section of system preferences > Security and Privacy, and then select camera. The list of applications that want to access it is in the right window. Uncheck the check boxes for any applications you do not want to access.

Follow the same steps to grant or revoke permission to use your microphone. If your Mac is not compatible with Mojave, you can try using a free tool from Mac security developers, which will remind you of all webcam usage.

T2 chip

The latest products in MacBook and MacBook Pro models come with Apple's T2 security chip, laying the foundation for other macOS security features such as FileVault encryption and Touch ID. Another security feature provided by the T2 is that when the lid is closed, it will completely disconnect the microphone of the Mac laptop.

The best part about this feature is that it is hardware disconnected. This means that even if someone has root access to your computer, they cannot enable the microphone when the cover is closed.

Apple points out that this operation on the camera is unnecessary because its field of view will be blocked anyway when the lid is closed.

MacOS Mojave still has many functions.

Safety is just the tip of the Mojave iceberg. After completing these steps to ensure digital security, take some time to check for other new features in the Mojave update. Use "dark mode" to protect yourself from eye fatigue, use iPhone as a portable scanner, use Stacks to clean your desktop, etc. And it's a completely free upgrade.

Stacks Mac (RapidWeaver web page creation plug-in)

The above is the editor's "the best way to stop cameras and microphones on Mac". I hope you can benefit from following macdown updates continuously!

Https://www.macdown.com/news/4786.html

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