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Covering your computer microphone with tape will do nothing, here’s what you should do instead
Recently, Mark Zuckerberg had posted a picture on Instagram that had him and his Apple MacBook in the background. A closer look of the photograph revealed that not only Zuckerberg’s MacBook webcam but also the microphone of the MacBook was covered with what appeared like a tape, thereby explaining his paranoia about hackers snooping on his privacy.
While it may be thought that placing a tape over the microphone can ensure safety, Mashable decided to test this technique. However, on examination, they found that Zuckerberg’s method with clear tape as well as thicker gaffer’s tape did not work. In fact, it did not even reduce the microphone’s audio pickup even when doubled up.
While covering your webcam is a definite strategy to keep away webcam hackers, but if you wish to protect your microphone, you will have to be just a little extra creative.
It is quite simple. All you need to do is make your PC deaf to give hackers the run-around.
Just join a pair of earbuds that hold a microphone into your 3.5mm audio jack, then cut off the earbud with the mic on it — often the proper one — slightly below the mic.
While you may have destroyed a pair of headphones, this method does work.
Once you plug in earbuds with a built-in mic, your PC automatically changes the default audio input from the interior mic to the new external mic. Also, when you cut the line to the microphone, the PC does not go back to the default interior mic, and it cannot receive any audio from the (now missing) exterior mic, either.
However, it is possible for a hacker to switch the input audio back to the internal mic, if they have complete control over your computer. But, in case if they are running an automated program, they will probably only pick up whatever is currently set to default.
This is how you can provide higher level of security to your PC than Mark Zuckerberg’s, thanks to Mashable.
The same result cannot be obtained by inserting a jack without a chord? Simply a jack?
No. Without a mic attacked to the jack, the switch from internal microphones to external ones doesn’t happen. So plugging in anything or taping over the 3.5mm mic port won’t work.
The only method is to physically disconnect the input devices. But then again that means you can’t do any voice communication at all. Bummer!
This is what happens when you rephrase articles from Mashable without really trying them first.
This method is flawed and works only once. Once the mic is snipped off, the headphones won’t be detected as an external input device. So if you remove the jack to use your mic (like you would remove tape from the webcam when you want to use it and then cover it back), the switch to external mic won’t happen.
Disabling the microphone driver may also help.
I don’t see how this will help? If a hacker can get to your internal audio, they can sure as hell just query a different audio source. If you really want to prevent hackers listening to you, you’ll need to dig into the hardware and disconnect the microphone manually.