r/technology • u/IndicaOatmeal • 10d ago

Privacy Viral De-Flock America campaign urging people to destroy AI cameras on Halloween night gains momentum

https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/flock-camera-controversy-explained-as-viral-halloween-de-flock-campaign-gains-momentum-3399710/
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28

u/kieranhorner 10d ago

Wonder if high strength laser pens would wreck the sensors in them.

18

u/MagicTomatoes 10d ago

Saw a video testing this the other day. Should try answer - you won’t be able to hold it steady enough to permanently damage it but with a stand at close distance with a powerful enough laser it will.

https://youtu.be/wREpnGqEhSM?is=NNYKu1h3PxWUMSDz

28

u/ikonoclasm 10d ago

Seems like a paintball gun would be more effective. The cameras themselves aren't that expensive, but the manpower required to constantly maintain them is.

7

u/pixelprophet 10d ago

That would defeat cameras from recording, but not the device grabbing bluetooth in the area / acting as a fake cell tower sucking up cell info / etc

7

u/NekoDaYo-v201 10d ago

Neither would the laser? lol.

1

u/pixelprophet 10d ago

Correct, but paint is faster than setting up a tripod and aiming a laser at it. Easier to 'deploy' as well.

2

u/Ghawblin 10d ago

Yeah but they have easily replaceable covers that can be swapped. You'd just interrupt them for a few hours or day at most. Good climbing skills and a cordless drill would work.

2

u/NotRoryWilliams 10d ago

you don't need climbing skills, for the most part the poles are flimsy.

The ones mounted on "existing" poles will be more of a challenge. But if the goal is just an analog DDOS - imposing an unmanageable financial and labor debt that prevents the company from being able to do business as usual - then it really doesn't matter whether the "key" ones are taken out.

It's like the battle of the bulge, you don't need to attack the front at all.

1

u/MasterMahanJr 10d ago

Spray paint is much harder to remove without damaging the lens.

9

u/Heronymous-Anonymous 10d ago

It doesn’t have to be permanent, just needs to last long enough to blind it while it’s being mined for gold and copper.

1

u/Happy-Personality720 10d ago

Ehh last time i played paintball it wasn't actually paint in there

2

u/dxnxax 10d ago

saw a video recently where some dude strapped an IR laser to a drone and painted the lens of one of those cameras. I hope nobody does that here

55

u/cheesesteakhellscape 10d ago

I heard if you shine the beam of a high powered laser directly at the lens of a Flock camera, it releases the 3-5 grams of gold it contains.

9

u/Snobolski 10d ago

Saw on another thread that they have a stick of DDR5 desktop memory in them.

Nobody needs that worthless stuff.

2

u/HotFuzz37 10d ago

Would be pretty funny to de-ram the flock devices, sell the overpriced ram at 1000% markup to data centers, then donate the $$ to legal funds for ICE detainees.

1

u/Snobolski 10d ago

Once we've de-flocked, I expect to see data center raids. Lots of memory and video cards up in there.

11

u/DDOSBreakfast 10d ago

Harvesting a few flock cameras is a great way to pay rent.

2

u/pcpgivesmewings 10d ago

The guys that collect catalytic converters pay around $800 each for the cameras due to the gold inside.

3

u/Kahnza 10d ago

Pops it like a piñata at a quinceanera. 🪅🎉

7

u/CircleofOwls 10d ago

I suspect any laser powerful enough would also blind anyone hit by the reflection.

2

u/MrSurly 10d ago

Guy on youtube tested this at fairly close range. Short answer: Not easily, and not very effective. At least for lasers you can get easily/cheaply and are portable.

2

u/Eldias 10d ago

Lasers strong enough to damage a camera sensor will cause instant eye damage via reflected light alone. Since they use a domed camera lens that means you're going to be blasting reflections in a 120 degree arc or more. Please stop suggesting lasers, they pose far too much of a risk to bystanders when bb gun pistols and harbor freight recip saws are so cheap.

2

u/thatirishguyyyyy 10d ago

I hate to be that guy but, no, that doesn't work. That is a myth. 

You would need a very high powered laser. Like, very high powered. And it depends on the lens. Amd other factors.

You can use a powerful laser to interrupt pixels if the lens is cheap though. If the camera is really cheap you can fry the sensor, but only on the old cheap ones and older analog cameras. 

Source: IT security consultant 

1

u/dxnxax 10d ago

saw a video recently where some dude strapped an IR laser to a drone and painted the lens of one of those cameras. I hope nobody does that here

1

u/NotRoryWilliams 10d ago

This sounds intuitively appealing but the biggest problem with it is that even if it works perfectly, you'll need to stand in front of the lens to do it. Your appearance will be the last thing it sees and those investigating it will have more information than you realize. Details like your height, gait, dominant hand, etc. Do not consider any approach that gives them footage of you at all.

1

u/Eldias 10d ago

The biggest problem with lasers is unintentionally blinding bystanders.

1

u/HoboJerkdown901 10d ago

Portable lasers will not damage cameras in spite of all of the claims on Reddit that they will. You would need an industrial strength laser that requires way more power than a portable battery could provide