[iamzack]

Apparently Turambar went to one of the two high schools that have been doing this.

[Nuke]

not like webcams dont come with an indicator led to show that its active. not that it isnt possible to turn it off in software. when in doubt, keep a roll of electrical tape nearby.

[Blue Lion]

Official: FBI probing Pa. school webcam spy case

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/20/AR2010022000679.html

A Pennsylvania school district accused of secretly switching on laptop computer webcams inside students' homes is under investigation by federal authorities, a law enforcement official with knowledge of the case told The Associated Press.

The FBI will look into whether any federal wiretap or computer-intrusion laws were violated by Lower Merion School District officials, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the investigation, told the AP on Friday.

I can't believe people thought this was a good idea.

[The E]

not that it isnt possible to turn it off in software.

Except in cases where the Webcams don't have LEDs, or where the Laptops are set up by the vendor to allow remote access to the hardware.

That said, some tape is a good investment.

[Nuke]

ive never seen a camera without an indicator led. doesnt mean they dont exist. i can see situations where it could be a security feature though. usually nothing a format cant fix.

[iamzack]

just checked, my laptop webcam has no indicator led.

and i've heard of it as a security feature. i've seen mac programs for it, where you can remotely turn on your webcam to take a picture of the person who stole your computer.

but the laptop in that case wasn't reported stolen. some school official apparently randomly decided to access the kid's webcam and take pictures. creepyyyyy

[Bob-san]

Anyone willing to give up a little freedom for a little security will deserve neither and lose both.

[Thaeris]

Anyone willing to give up a little freedom for a little security will deserve neither and lose both.

The old farts were sooo right... 

I find this, as well as the unwarranted cell-tapping issues, very disturbing indeed.

[TrashMan]

This is just...retarded...

How the hell can such a software pass undetected?
Also, wouldn't it require the laptop to be on the net for anyone to take any kind of control? And who in hell thought of this? Who wrote that software?

[jr2]

This is just...retarded...

How the hell can such a software pass undetected?
Also, wouldn't it require the laptop to be on the net for anyone to take any kind of control? And who in hell thought of this? Who wrote that software?

The same way keyloggers do.  You go into the AV settings and tell it to ignore the monitoring software that you use.

[iamzack]

The laptops probably have a bunch of software on them that the school officials put there. One little remote-access program can easily go unnoticed.

[jr2]

The laptops probably have a bunch of software on them that the school officials put there. One little remote-access program can easily go unnoticed.

Ya, you don't exactly *have* to have shortcuts do them, and who is going to notice hidserv (instead of hidsrv, alternatively, pick another M$ task and rename it slightly or just have it running from a different location than the M$ one) running in the task list?  If they don't hide it in svchost or something.

[Klaustrophobia]

more importantly, what percentage of high school students would check for stuff like this, or even know how to recognize it if they did?

[iamzack]

I don't really see how people can argue that no one's privacy was invaded. This isn't a case of some kids found the program on their laptop and people are freaking out over the "what-ifs." The whole thing came to light with a school official actually using the program to take a picture of a student doing something in their own home. There's the proof right there that the program was abused.

[FUBAR-BDHR]

It's possible if they were school supplied that the students don't even have rights to see what is running.  They are probably locked down for school work only, have filtering software for the web, etc. 

[iamzack]

I could see that. And it would be one thing to track what the student does with the computer, since it is the school's property. (You can't write whatever you want in textbooks either, unless you want to buy it at the end of the year.) Another thing entirely to spy on the student when they *aren't* using the computer, and it's just sitting on their desk. x.x

[jr2]

I could see that. And it would be one thing to track what the student does with the computer, since it is the school's property. (You can't write whatever you want in textbooks either, unless you want to buy it at the end of the year.) Another thing entirely to spy on the student when they *aren't* using the computer, and it's just sitting on their desk. x.x

Precisely. Peeping Tom, anyone?

[General Battuta]

Anyone willing to give up a little freedom for a little security will deserve neither and lose both.

The old farts were sooo right... 

I find this, as well as the unwarranted cell-tapping issues, very disturbing indeed.

They were certainly pretty wise in this case.

Of course - as a total off-topic - people forget a lot of other stuff that the Founding Fathers advocated. They wanted the government to be slow and inefficient, as a form of control. And many (most?) of them were decidedly un-Christian, to a degree that would not be acceptable in politics today.

[Thaeris]

In most cases they were rather moral, however - certainly there were a few quirks, but that's natural.

[General Battuta]

I think it's rather telling that you read 'un-Christian' as 'immoral'. I didn't mean that - I think they were very moral people.

What I meant was, literally, that they were not Christian; they were often deists. Many of them found Christianity a wee bit absurd.

Although it's true that most of them did things which would have them thrown off the political stage today, too, especially with regards to their sexual habits.