Your computer microphone still listens even on mute – Try this trick

Kim Komando ^ | 16 April 2022 | Charlie Fripp

[ShadowAce]

With many people working remotely, everybody should by now know how to behave when in a Zoom or Microsoft Teams meeting. Your camera picks up every move even when you think no one is watching, and your microphone can catch the faintest of sounds.

Most people assume that muting their computer’s microphone gives them total privacy. That should be the case, but it’s not.

Read on to find out how your microphone is sneakily still listening to everything you say.

Here’s the backstory

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison discovered that your device’s microphone continues to listen even after hitting the mute switch.

While the researchers didn’t name the specific applications that do this, they strongly hint that it is most video and conference call apps. In a blog post, the study claims that all the apps they tested “occasionally gather raw audio data while mute is activated.”

If that’s not bad enough, the audio then transmits to the servers of the hosting platform. The team explains further that in at least one instance, an app was “delivering data to its server at the same rate regardless of whether the microphone is muted or not.”

It also doesn’t matter whether you use a built-in microphone or an external one, as it’s the platform’s software that dictates how the microphone works. The research team plans to present its findings to a panel at July’s Privacy Enhancing Technologies Symposium.

What you can do about it

The best way to ensure you’re actually muted when on a video chat is to mute the chat program and the microphone you’re using. If it’s an external microphone, unplug it. If you’re using earbuds, you can mute the microphone on them. The combination of a muted chat program and microphone should work.

The technique is called “double muting,” where you mute yourself in the application and on your device.

To mute your microphone through settings on a Windows computer:

• Right-click on the Start button and click Settings.
• Click System, then Sound.
• Under Input, your should see your microphone listed. Click Device properties.
• Here you have two options. Either drop the volume of your microphone to zero or click on the Disable button.

Just remember to enable it again before speaking. You can also right-click on the microphone icon in the taskbar, click on Open Volume Mixer and mute the microphone.

On an Apple Mac:

• Click the Apple button, then System Preferences.
• Click Sound followed by Input.
• In the next window, move the microphone volume slider to the left to mute it.

Keep reading

How to disable your computer’s webcam and microphone

Protect your webcam and microphone

[Disambiguator]

Your computer microphone still listens even on mute – Try this trick

They should have said "Try this one weird trick."

I use an older desktop that doesn't have a built in microphone or camera, so I think I've got it covered.

[Yo-Yo]

I don’t know this for a fact, but I would imagine it’s a lot easier for software developers to simply interrupt the digital audio feed in the software itself than to tell the OS to mute the device.

As I described in my example, the software needs to listen to your mic constantly in order to pop up the "you are muted" warning when you speak but you are on MUTE.

Nothing, short of a physical connection break, will guarantee that your mic isn't listening to anything. Anything that one program can do in the OS to mute your mic can be undone by another program.

And almost all laptops these days have built-in mics and cameras. You can put a piece of tape over the camera for privacy, but you can't put a piece of tape over the mic.

How paranoid do you want to live your life?

[fuzzylogic]

Agree. It’s really a feature.

[Dalberg-Acton]

On my Linux Mint, I right click on the speaker icon in the far right (oh, yeah!) of the task bar, then select "Mute input".

Super easy!

[z3n]

And almost all laptops these days have built-in mics and cameras. You can put a piece of tape over the camera for privacy, but you can’t put a piece of tape over the mic.

How paranoid do you want to live your life?

~~~

I do the tape thing over the camera.
The FBI sent out a bulletin recommending this many many years ago.

[Freedom_Isn't_Free]

I build my own PCs - been at it for 25 years. I don’t install cameras or microphones in my machines.

[ransomnote]

PING

[Tired of Taxes]

I think it’s reading our minds. Only partly kidding...

Yesterday, my thoughts went briefly to something I read 40 years ago. Immediately, an article about it popped up on my newsfeed. Weird.

[c-five]

“I would imagine it’s a lot easier for software developers to simply interrupt the digital audio feed in the software itself than to tell the OS to mute the device. In fact, it makes sense that the OS would not want to allow software to do this. What if you have other software that still need access to the hardware?”
-—
Precisely the point. You can “mute” Zoom or Teams, but Cortana, Siri, or any other random app, browser add-in or malware are all still listening.

[Bigg Red]

Mark

[cuban leaf]

I did that to my old printer a few months ago. It felt good.

I finally made the switch to Laser from inkjet. 99 bucks and the best and fastest B&W quality I’ve ever experienced. And thousands of copies from the original ink cartridge is claimed. We’ll see.

If I want color prints, I’ll go to a print provider. I rarely need it.

[dayglored]

I immediately became suspicious when, using MS-Teams, I would have to clear my throat, so I muted my microphone, cleared my throat, and Teams would pop up a message saying:

Are you trying to talk? Your microphone is muted.

Oh, really, is it? Apparently not, eh?

[z3n]

Ink/bubble jet printers are horrid. The cartridges dry out even if you don’t run them out, and they tend to run out quickly.

I have a 15 year old HP laser (thermal toner cartridge) printer thats still using the original toner. Never had to change it. Never had to fix it.

[Sicon]

Lawrence: "Well, you don't need a million dollars to do nothing, man. Take a look at my cousin: he's broke, don't do s***."

Diedrich Bader's performance in that film is awesome, and there are a lot of great performances in that movie.

[Red Badger]

Yes, even Jennifer Anniston’s.....................

[discostu]

Well it’s muted from throughput.

Really anybody that’s lived life in mic land already knows all this stuff. In most situations even if you’re not going to the PA the sound guy can still hear you. It’s all about where the signal is going.

I love how they say unplug it. Mic is in my headphones guys.

Just practice good mic discipline. Assume it’s always hot to some level, don’t say stupid crap.

[ducttape45]

Great article, thanks for sharing. For me, I do not have a microphone or headphones hooked up unless I absolutely have to have it, so no one is listening to me!

[LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget]

You need to reinstall and reboot grandma with Linux loaded (One of the easy versions) and viola... problem solved.

https://snapcraft.io/solitaire

(I have actually switched my in laws to Linux an they did not even notice. I could have gotten them a Mac, and same deal, but why?)

Sometimes I think I should install Linux on actual people because there OS is MSM/Faulty/Corrupt as they do to verify hashes before installing new thoughts.

[JimRed]

They should have said "Try this one weird trick."

That phrase in the title of an email or text is a guarantee that the communication will be ignored or deleted.

[Faith65]

Thanks.
BKMK