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Re:Malware can turn off webcam LED and record video, demonst... by orbital-decay on Wednesday November 27, 2024 @04:45PM (#42260120)
This only works on audio chipsets that allow pin retasking. Which is, coincidentally, all Realtek chipsets that are present in every PC...

(you also need to plug the speaker directly, mostly limiting it to headphones and laptop speakers)

Re:Malware can turn off webcam LED and record video, demonst... by bluGill on Wednesday November 27, 2024 @04:54PM (#42260188)
Even where it works, speakers are much worse microphones that dedicated microphones, and so the amount of data that can be gathered is low. Why bother when you probably have a microphone on the same PC that can capture far more sound?
Re:Malware can turn off webcam LED and record video, demonst... by bobthebutcher on Wednesday November 27, 2024 @06:01PM (#42260677)
I think there was a long period where a proper PC would frequently have only the cheap stereo speakers which are small enough to far outperform raw microphone leads. But I'm not sure this works that well in >=HDMI even if some monitor speakers might otherwise be ideal.
Re:Malware can turn off webcam LED and record video, demonst... by KeplerBoy on Thursday November 28, 2024 @04:04AM (#42263745)
This isn't about audio fidelity, this just about getting audible spoken words, which is definitely possible even with the worst microphone.