Is Your Laptop's Microphone Spying On You?

[@aaronpower8741]

As the Tick Tock device is air-gapped from the laptop, and the laptop has no way to determine if it is there or not, I would say the obvious use would be as a research tool. Grab a standard "in use" laptop from grandma or Joe from accounting and see if anything is silently turning the mic on when it isn't expected.

[@rustile306]

Yeah, it really only seems practical as a research tool, especially as a way of testing if a device really turns off mic input when you tell it to. Building it into a laptop seems completely insane because you would lose the whole 3rd party nature of it being something unexpectedly auditing whether the mic is active or not.

[@pchris]

Even then it seems a little redundant to me. I have a headset where when the mic is active it repeats everything it records back to the speaker part. This isn't done with software but with hardware. I have no way of turning this functionality on or off or adjusting any settings through the computer. I just know when my mic is active because I suddenly hear a soft static and anything I say being repeated back to me. Windows has no idea that my headset is doing this and has no way of stopping it. On top of being a nice feature because I don't have any input lag when listening to myself talk, this same kind of functionality could easily be used as a more practical way to implement a check like this that will work on a wider veriaty of devices. Just disconnect the built-in microphone if one is present, and plugin a research headset instead. Any application trying to record audio will use the default device/only device connected. It appears to just be a regular headset to the computer and functions exactly like one. Their approach seems very convoluted.

[@MrCosa8888]

i really thought he was going to talk about results on seeing wether certain programs turned on the microphone but then he went on to call it overengineered without thinking about the research utility

[@dinred_]

And framework laptop has a Killswitch that physical disables not only the webcam, but also the microphone !

[@frederik1201]

Mine will have one to. 5 days left until it will arrive here.

[@vaisakh_km]

🥺🥺 but they are not shipping world wide, I have waited 1 year for it, even then they told me to go and buy a thinkpad or something rather than waiting for it... now i had to buy another lap after suffering 1 year just using a raapberry pi

[@benjaminjooste6388]

@@vaisakh_km Thinkpad T16

[@ProjSHiNKiROU]

If plaintext password is sent to Google, then credit card numbers + other info are unintentionally sent as well. There’s a way to label a form field as “credit card info” in HTML to allow them to be filtered out from spellcheck in theory, but most websites don’t label them that way.

[@MultiRmetal]

Why would they though? Google wants all your data period. Besides if they 'fix' it, they will add a new feature next month that ends up sending all your data "anonymously". Only the 100 billion'th time a company has remote data home for no other reason then spying.

[@GrantGryczan]

@@MultiRmetal Because it's a security issue, not a privacy issue (and this data doesn't help them make more money anyway since private credentials don't contribute to ad personalization)

[@defavltt]

the mic data clock radio detector is way too complicated to be useful, also good luck using that on a regular analog mic that has it's adc on the motherboard far from it, only solution is to start making devices with a physical switch breaking the connection (low chance of that happening), or modding that yourself

[@Pomelu]

there is a video of a guy on a new PC, never had any dogs, never talked about dogs, he shows us the adds he gets on google, they are all random, he continues to talk about dog toys for several minutes, later on all the adds he gets are for dog toys...

[@_GhostMiner]

**ADS!*

[@haydenhockman5433]

I wish he would have used a more specific keyword. I believe the hypothesis, but something more unique would have been stronger proof imo

[@foryou6888]

Is the possibility of him having shown interest in dogs from his ip previously taken into account?

[@Millionaires.Empire]

I've heard this story like 4 times already. think of something new. nice try though

[@wrathofainz]

I think I remember that video. He tainted the results by clicking a related ad or running a search. I could be misremembering. Edit: he clicked on the first plush toy he found and the rest of the results were tainted. It is the case that he encountered it after talking about it though.

[@Amipotsophspond]

The other thing is duel mics like that might actually be able to use echolocation, (not on your own computer) but if you send the sound to a big ML Ai network on running on cloud. it might be able to make a full 3d map of the area in range of the microphones, no web cam needed. I know they do this with wifi but you could use sound.

[@consciousness4721]

Having the microphone covered will definitely dampen the sound, my bit of paper coincidentally covers my microphones and webcam, wasn't going to kill another laptops camera by putting bluetac on it day one.

[@StephenGillie]

My laptop has a built-in slider to cover the camera - you can see it move over the camera to show a red spot instead. Likewise, I keep my microphone muted because I interview frequently on my laptop and need to be able to talk to my interviewers. I'm too lazy to set up automation to disable and enable through the registry - instead of doing that, if I find motivation to address the issue, I'll move to Ubuntu or another Linux desktop OS.

[@8jn9]

Linux is cool, especially in terms of privacy and security, because it's open source with thousands of people scanning all the code for privacy concerns. It's quite easy to get started, so you might want to give it a try.

[@8jn9]

btw the default Ubuntu Desktop is quite slow and buggy, and pop os is a better choice for desktop users

[@TheJunky228]

my thinkpad lets you disable the webcam in the bios so it doesn't even exist to the OS. I think it also applies to the mic as well

[@StephenGillie]

@@TheJunky228 This makes them hard to use during work meetings or over Discord. These aren't just evil machines that invade my privacy, they're also the tools that I use to do my day job.

[@TheJunky228]

@@StephenGillie well if I need to use the camera I wouldn't disable it

[@charatabban8728]

The theory TNT were trying to confuse the researchers makes a lot of sense to me. If you found out you had been spotted, the next best thing would be to minimize your apparent threat level to hopefully make investigating them too deeply look like a waste of time.

[@sleaf6]

I wonder if theres a way to emit a strong signal (around the clock speed) that would impede the bugged mic without damaging the hardware. Essentially building off the idea of jammers

[@anteshell]

A microphone is no different from any other signal receiver on how it can be jammed. Everything can be jammed by noise signal strong enough to overcome the actual information signal. Why would you even think about mics being any different?

[@vgamesx1]

I mean sure, but just like what these guys are doing, that seems like very silly and overcomplicated way of doing things, we already have microphone jammers, they're called white noise machines, speakers are already a heck of a lot easier and cheaper than doing something goofy like that or as seytonic also pointed out, a simple on/off switch is by far the easiest and most cost-effective solution.

[@oleksandrmusiiaka2334]

Yes, but that will likely glitch other circuitry nearby. And there is always a risk of damage. If you a paranoid, just disconnect your laptop mic/webcam wiring harness from motherboard and connect external webcam when needed.

[@ZeldagigafanMatthew]

This is easy to do with wireless tech, unfortunately it's also quite illegal as you'd likely be interfering with the ability for others to use their own tech. (jammers are almost universally illegal) Wired connections however aren't that vulnerable to attacks like this that doesn't also risk damaging connected hardware. Best practice would be to have a switch that can terminate any connection between the amplification circuit(s) and power.

[@sleaf6]

@@ZeldagigafanMatthew If you needed something in a pinch; it would be a good tool to have. Especially if you are out where I live in the boonies where no one would ever be effected by any fairly low powered jamming devices.

[@JessicaFEREM]

I think laptops should be required to come with a kill switch, along with Wi-Fi kill switches (real physical switches)

[@hamidrezabokharaei5779]

Until then, you can just disconnect the antennas from the Wi-Fi adapter in the motherboard. But you probably don't need to.

[@hamidrezabokharaei5779]

@@sheepy0125 PSPs have it too

[@greatcanadianmoose3965]

Laughs in Panasonic Toughbook. (Wifi kill switch, no microphone or webcam)

[@LetrixAR]

Has ever happened a case where the software switch failed?

[@squirrelmasters]

Anything with Speakers can be used to spy on you as Speakers can be used as Mics just as easily in a pc or smart tv Cell phones tablets

[@theironworks6797]

**Starts yelling slurs at my laptop to see if I get swatted**

[@shadmansudipto7287]

Samsung has the feature where you hold the Bixby button to speak. It's a better solution than the wake word thing, also uses less battery.

[@apple_m2_delight]

"Is Your Laptop's Microphone Spying On You?" yes, absolutely. there is a great chance that both your laptop's microphone and your laptop's webcam spy on you. that's why it is highly recommended to cover your webcam with a solid tape and to disable your microphone via windows registry or edit your .plist files in your preference folder if you are on mac

[@Millionaires.Empire]

or just rip it out right?

[@user-yv7mu9en6v]

@@Millionaires.Empire put laptop in microwave for 30 seconds, it takes out all the chinese hackers.

[@PushyPawn]

Don't forget to wear your foil hat. That is *more* important.

[@liveemt]

Our phones still spy 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@vaisakh_km]

@@liveemt So we should always keep it under water, As what we talk can't hear from underwater :)

[@jeremywp123]

I would like to know if gramarly also sends passwords to their servers. I've been using them instead of enhanced spell check, so it would be good to know.

[@Ethorbit]

Please people, stop using the products made by the company who created Chrome (starts with G) There are better alternatives. (Ungoogled-Chromium, any other email service, searx-based search engine, etc, etc) had to rephrase so many times after YT kept hiding this.

[@DirkGently1972]

Thanks for the heads-up on the spell checker in Chrome. Mine was set to basic but have disabled completely.

[@StephenGillie]

Tha'ts also bad advce that ca nlead to all kind sof mispeled words.

[@adzey123]

@@StephenGillie not sure if this is satire or not

[@StephenGillie]

@@adzey123 Por que no los dos?

[@tibblescat2918]

encryption doesnt work quite like that. It maybe true that to try every possible combination might take longer than the age of the universe. But you could get lucky and get it right on your first, hundredth, or ten thousandth try. so worth a shot ?

[@ATechGuy-mp6hn]

Instead of building a whole raspberry pi setup to detect the mic being on, wouldn’t it be easier to just wire up a switch in-between the mic an physically cut its signal when not in use🤔

[@Laski-be3jg]

I have framework laptop partially because it has a hardware off switch for the microphone and camera

[@agoogleaccount818]

2:50 It does seem reasonable for laptop manufacturers to include an LED light built into the microphone chip itself that would turn on when it's in use.

[@Janiik]

I unplugged my camera and mic on hardware level to be 100% sure

[@auto117666]

Hey! Rasperry Pi makers have done WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more inelegant and overengineered projects in the past. This, at least, earned someone a PhD, right?

[@imaperson1060]

I once came home from school and walked into my room to see the green light on my webcam on. I've never left it plugged in when I'm not actively using it, and same with my mic. (It was probably a bug since I haven't noticed any other spyware junk on my PC but now I'm terrified)

[@pinklady7184]

You probably have TikTok app. It is a Chinese spyware.

[@Keatoil]

There are special sliding cam covers that you can get under a buck which still let you use your webcam FYI for anyone that needs to know

[@gaikokujhin6846]

Surprised there is no report on the Optus data breach 🧐

[@vaisakh_km]

waa there a breach ?

[@davidmaisel8062]

Jokes on the microphone, I'm spying on it 🤯

[@sky-persuitofwonder]

It’s not about if they listen to everything or not. It’s about what they do with the data. Many of this microphone data can be processed on device however the manufacturers choose to upload it to the cloud to their own infrastructures.

[@HarrisonBorbarrison]

I belive the little green light will protect me.

[@purdysanchez]

It's pretty absurd that a spell check feature would need to be server side. This functionality can be achieved with way less overhead on the client side. Seems designed with nefarious intentions.

[@there_can_only_be_one__unicorn]

Hilarious!!! Yesterday I went to a physiotherapy appointment; the phone was on but no wi-fi or data was NOT enabled -on the way home watching KZbin I got adds for therapy business AND now you with the "are they listening" LOL....

[@davidt01]

It's because your location was stored, and then when you reconnected to the Internet it sent the data then.

[@there_can_only_be_one__unicorn]

@@davidt01 my location is ALWAYS OFF

[@Coldsteak]

dear laptop manufacturers please give us HARDWARE camera and mic switches, so we don't have to do this shit.

[@TheFirstPlaceLosers]

I have a Amazon fire stick which uses a remote with Alexa. To use Alexa you push and hold a mic button on the remote. So it stands to reason the mic doesn't work without holding the button. One evening I moved about in bed and basically had the controller on my shoulder right by my ear and I could hear a faint whine or hum. So I held the remote against my ear and realized the hum was coming from where the mic was. After a while of checking on this it doesn't hum all the time just periodically and I can't think of anything else that would be in this remote that would hum like this, unless I'm hearing the Bluetooth which just sounds dumb lol. Some times it's also like a clicking and not a hum. So anyway maybe there's a simpler method to check if the mics on externally?

[@lout9231]

Love this super easy, reliable and affordable solution. lol.

[@rokyo401]

Another thing that could be done by laptop manufacturers in order to prevent spying by microphones is to build in a physical kill-switch for the microphone, similar to what is already done for Wi-Fi in some laptops. My perfect laptop would include a DJ mixing table style array of separate kill-switches for mic, cam, Wi-Fi and BT 👌 Lol, I literally paused the video to write this comment one second before you mention it 😂

[@dr07828]

OMG how complicated. I just lsof, and grep the device I want to look at. Easy...

[@TheDuked]

I think team TNT thought that going for Bitcoin would get them some attention but fair play. I like the concept behind the tick tock device, I hope there is a way to develop it a bit further

[@KibaSnowpaw]

Take out the mic. No people with a brain use the build in mic. And also use Linux then there Is a less chance that it's used.

[@ElTatiMar]

What about opening the laptop to install the probe and then recalibrate the frequency to your specific ADC?

[@DJ-Daz]

It's not the fact that it will take 14 billion years to crack BTC, it's that it will take 14 billion+ years to run all possible permutations. You could stumble on the key in a year or two, then all BTC are yours. The next gen SSL for quantum computers was cracked by a single core laptop. Granted that was just a candidate... but still impressive.

[@SioxerNikita]

Sure... But as he said infeasible.

[@Otzkar]

Yes 10000 monkeys will eventually crack BTC

[@mrbanana6464]

Ah yes every lottery player’s reasoning, “it’s not an impossibility, it’s an improbability!”

[@Crimin4L]

Whelp, looks like i gotta go and put spellcheck="false" in every input on my website. Thank you for the heads up!

[@milademjayy]

*remove your laptop's internal mic and webcam* its very easy

[@foxtailedcritter]

Considering any kid even 13 year olds have learned how to buy RATS and use them yeah I removed my webcam and disconnected the microphone in my old laptops always. If I need anything I can use plug in ones while my phone is ussaly turned off and left in a faraday bag if I'm at home.

[@walid6329]

I actually deactivate it from the bios, plus couple of stickers all over the mics and camera

[@diveallz1044]

Super interesting video. I will say personally I just completely disconnect the cam and mic internally. That's just me tho I have no reason to even have those features just seems like too much cause for concern to me🤷

[@OKayD3N]

My asus laptop didn’t come with a webcam and I just keep the headset plugged in

[@Heymoss69]

whats your thoughts on the optus hack 10 million people got there stuff stolen

[@somacruz8272]

or install gentoo and dont compile support for the mic in your kernel

[@povoq83]

I'm really wonder if my phone listens to me. I got some specific add just after I talked about it.

[@schizophrenicgaming365]

just unclip the screen bezel and unplug the mic. laptop mics are unuseable anyway so just get rid of it

[@SamSam-ic7qm]

I prefer to disable the device (cam + mic) instead of putting a tape on it. Most modern laptop have this shortcut for that purpose.

[@trueriver1950]

How far can you trust that sort cut, though?

[@SamSam-ic7qm]

@@trueriver1950 when 4vast antivirus perodically want to "check my camera" for security concern, It cannot access my camera . Thats good enough for me

[@toranine09]

with the way that a lot of laptop manufacturers changed the way that camera activity lights work, changing them from hardware activated (powered only when the camera receives power) to software activated (possible for malicious actors to bypass), i dont have much faith in laptop manufacturers including a detection system for the microphone.

[@charon7320]

anyone can just open the few screws and unplug that cheap useless mic. laptop mics and webcams are low quality, unless you spend 2k for a laptop with good quality ones. tbh an external webcam is the solution to all of these, they have built in mics, it's a camera per say and can be unplugged. integrated mic and webcams lead to no good.

[@getinthecar3624]

I'll get a message saying something like "your privacy settings blocked access to the camera" from time to time. Is that just saying in general or is someone trying to access it? Always wondered about the microphone.

[@realryleu]

No, I use linux.

[@xceeder]

Just uninstall the microphones driver and yes i cover my laptops webcam with black tape...

[@sylvester4059]

i hate laptop microphone. my dell 7460 can't switch into external headset/earphone mic when i plugged in. even i already try adjust the control panel setting. is this why is to make sure the mic can be breached at anytime when connect internet?

[@andreasherzog5268]

Nice, so they essentially have a keylogger on every chrome 🤣 (if you have this setting enabled, which, to be fair, was not enabled by default for me)

[@pyiffer]

Why not add a micro LED on the microphone hardware, powered on light on, powered off light off…no software interaction.

[@wolfpoker]

Open you laptop and cut the mic wires, the real crime is commited when people join audio/video calls with those junky mics! :P

[@danbrit9848]

your cell is to ...i have no mic on my pc ...but after conversations in person not threw the phone suddenly i have commercials for stuff i talked about

[@Vit-Pokorny]

I uninstalled the drivers for my laptops mic. That good enough?

[@birdpump]

I simply open the screen and unplug the whole camera microphone PCB module

[@trixer230]

Maybe they are thinking they will get lucky... I mean people buy lotto tickets even tho I think its money int he bin.... and all it takes is the stars to align once.

[@fish3977]

"Is your [device's] mic spying on you?" Is Obama Kenyan?

[@pitachu]

5:00 they already did it in browser, without extension...

[@BLX187]

Forget a laptop. They do this with the 3 mics on smartphones.. that's how they bug high level criminals.

[@rdxdt]

Just cut the cable from a microphone, add a switch and boom, mic killswitch.

[@SoundblasterYT]

You guys using Chrome and Windows? Oof.

[@Zoraiz_plays]

I am surprised you have not cover optus Australia data breach of 10 million active users

[@CatmanFS]

Just like gun safety rules, you always assume it's loaded and never point it at anything you're not willing to shoot.

[@haydenhockman5433]

It's not spying if I'm allowing it; checkmate, "spies."

[@boldCactuslad]

the trick is to play my spotify playlist. any normal person will immediately stop snooping to call an ambulance.

[@jimmymifsud1]

Have you seen the Optus hack, it’s getting worse and worse as more information is coming out

[@Wooksley]

0:40 any microphone you can plug into a digital device requires an adc, doesn’t it?

[@navidmafi]

I'm surprised that you did not make a video about the situation in Iran and govt attacking from anonymous

[@gameconsole9890]

Just poke it with simcard ejector tool then test it using recorder if it still working. Just usr headphone if want to use mic

[@kingjames4886]

I mean, technically those estimates of how long it would take to crack things are based on the maximum number of possible options... it's not impossible for the second attempt to work. maybe they're playing the numbers?

[@diamonddemon7612]

this is why i disabled mic and camera at the BIOS level. they dont show up on the OS

[@HunterKiotori]

So thankful I never adopted chrome. Good call past me.

[@banks3388]

Or you could just remove the microphone and camera...

[@cpuuk]

A headphone that has a physical mic off switch would disable the inbuilt?

[@kingjames4886]

google already knows everything about you anyways :P

[@CU.SpaceCowboy]

if something is recording mic it would show up in volume mixer. even when injected into an arbitrary process but i find it doesn’t have an icon like other programs.

[@ecwnikos]

simple have a pc that you dont connect a cam or a muc have the ports for other things like a printer.

[@a564-c3q]

How about Google recording what you say without you knowing through your phone? Or is that just an urban myth?

[@midnightlycanfox6280]

Well, Google was recently found to have been saving any & all recordings one would make using their voice to text feature, if someone were to have gotten access to your account, they'd have text & audio of every single instance that you've used the feature.

[@slicepie410]

@@midnightlycanfox6280 isn't it in the TOS? I know they tell you about that in their privacy checkup they always do every month

[@midnightlycanfox6280]

@@slicepie410 If I recall correctly, they mentioned the text would be saved but not the audio.

[@slicepie410]

@@midnightlycanfox6280 huh.... What I remember is that it saves your voice but it remains anonymous (it doesn't link your voice with any account). I might be wrong though

[@midnightlycanfox6280]

@@slicepie410 For their data yes, but anyone that can sign into your own Google account has access to the audio linked to you. That's what kinda makes me doubt they were keeping it anonymous.

[@justsomeguy898]

i like to imagine some poor bastard is being forced to listen to all of my meltdowns

[@Guds777]

Everyone is spying on everyone. And that is the norm, so if you try to hide then you are abnormality and they can see you and start focusing on you...

[@Genio_soy]

Do you really think google is going to steal your account? Lmao.

[@thebaconing]

Im pretty sure they knew it was a honeypot and wanted to be silly.

[@hunterpope541]

Yup. I'm switching to Firefox.

[@DefaultUser9148]

Huawei with the mute microphone button: ok! 👌 👌

[@DaHaiZhu]

The thing with Brute Force key cracking is the 'time needed to crack' a public key is an Average. With Bruce Force attacks, you're basically just guessing, and you could get lucky and find it really quick. It's a Hail Marry, but there's nothing really to loose since they are using another person's GPU and electricity...

[@fr6999]

they're still wasting stolen electricity & gpu cycles they could put towards (and have experience in doing) something that could generate them $, such as mining monero, so there is profit to loose.

[@DocGadget11]

DIY mic jammer videos are on KZbin.

[@NateTmi]

I would hope my mic is off because I have a split connected to the headphone jack to run sound to good speakers & I tested the mic on that split & it works if I plug in a mic & this split is always in my Laptop.

[@notreya]

Bitcoin can upgrade its encryption, it just takes the majority of the network to agree to it by using the updated node. As long as the devs only include the hash function update in the updated node, the users shouldn't have an issue upgrading to the new node. By issues, I mean controversial changes (like the whole increasing block weight drama). “If SHA-256 became completely broken, I think we could come to some agreement about what the honest block chain was before the trouble started, lock that in and continue from there with a new hash function.” - Satoshi

[@marcus_b1]

The microphone can be disabled via the Microphone privacy feature in Windows. You will just need to remember to turn it back on when you need to use it e.g. headset mic, Bluetooth headset mic etc.

[@GoogleUser2311]

Better yet Just disable it in device manager

[@KeinNiemand]

@@GoogleUser2311 won't stop certain kinds of maleware from claiming it's disabled why still listing in. They just have to modifiy device manager.

[@-_-Girthbrooks-_-]

Here’s how you solve this. You disable the internal webcam and mic then get wired alternatives to both. Forget spooky tech. Edit: Like straight up unsolder or destroy the internal mic and webcam.

[@truejeffanderson]

Tick Tock could protect Google, Apple and Amazon users who have their products installed but instruct them not to listen at some times. Normal people want privacy when they request it. It's difficult to know what is listening because so many products are greedy with privacy and cross lines without asking permission in a way that can be easily understood. I don't know if the product is ideal, but the concept of knowing that an electronic device is not listening is something I completely understand.

[@shankysays]

Or else just make having a hard kill switch which powers the microphone mandatory through govt regulation or something. This way we can toggle to physically disconnect the microphone from power and this way we can be 100% sure we are not being spied.