A few minutes after running a software update, per the little
prompt in the top menu bar, a pop-up appeared saying an application
wants to turn on my camers. There is no camera, at least not a
permanent one. I've been copying photos off an old Canon A460
to the Pi, but it can't take photos over its USB connection so
far as I know (would be handy if it could!).

Anybody know what might be going on? The systme is running Bookworm,
up to date as of a minute ago.

Thanks for reading,

bob prohaska

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On 4/7/25 15:46, bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

A few minutes after running a software update, per the little
prompt in the top menu bar, a pop-up appeared saying an application
wants to turn on my camers. There is no camera, at least not a
permanent one. I've been copying photos off an old Canon A460
to the Pi, but it can't take photos over its USB connection so
far as I know (would be handy if it could!).

Anybody know what might be going on? The systme is running Bookworm,
up to date as of a minute ago.

Thanks for reading,

bob prohaska

You might want to identify that "application" & see if it's any known
form of spyware. I sure wouldn't allow it execute without a lot more info!

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wmartin <wwm@wwmartin.net> wrote:

On 4/7/25 15:46, bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

A few minutes after running a software update, per the little
prompt in the top menu bar, a pop-up appeared saying an application
wants to turn on my camers. There is no camera, at least not a
permanent one. I've been copying photos off an old Canon A460
to the Pi, but it can't take photos over its USB connection so
far as I know (would be handy if it could!).

Anybody know what might be going on? The systme is running Bookworm,
up to date as of a minute ago.

Thanks for reading,

bob prohaska

You might want to identify that "application" & see if it's any known
form of spyware. I sure wouldn't allow it execute without a lot more info!

The dialog box making the announcement didn't offer an option to
inquire further. Format-wise it looked about like the dialog box
that reports the system is up to date, except with two choices
(allow and deny) rather than just "ok".

Might there be a log file somewhere recording events like this?

Thanks for writing,

bob prohaska

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On 07/04/2025 23:46, bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

A few minutes after running a software update, per the little
prompt in the top menu bar, a pop-up appeared saying an application
wants to turn on my camers. There is no camera, at least not a
permanent one. I've been copying photos off an old Canon A460
to the Pi, but it can't take photos over its USB connection so
far as I know (would be handy if it could!).

Some Canon cameras can be controlled over USB -- I have a Powershot 620
that can -- but I think you're right that the A460 can't.

You say that you have been copying photos off the A460 (directly onto
the Pi)? What software are you using for that? Is it possible that that software is running (in the background?) and wants to talk to the camera
(which it has seen before)?

It's not /necessarily/ suspicious, but you should identify the software
that's issuing the prompt to be sure.

[I generally find that the easiest way to copy photos from a digital
camera to a computer is to pull out the camera's memory card and read it directly on the computer, there are too many ways a USB connection can
(not) work!]

--
Cheers,
Daniel.

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On 4/9/25 09:52, Daniel James wrote:

On 07/04/2025 23:46, bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

A few minutes after running a software update, per the little
prompt in the top menu bar, a pop-up appeared saying an application
wants to turn on my camers. There is no camera, at least not a
permanent one. I've been copying photos off an old Canon A460
to the Pi, but it can't take photos over its USB connection so
far as I know (would be handy if it could!).

Some Canon cameras can be controlled over USB -- I have a Powershot 620
that can -- but I think you're right that the A460 can't.

17 year-old Canon A550, here... still doing justice to my thrice-weekly
shaving setups on IG and FB. Direct copy from camera to Digikam, via
USB. (like OP, running up-to-date Bookworm)

You say that you have been copying photos off the A460 (directly onto
the Pi)? What software are you using for that? Is it possible that that software is running (in the background?) and wants to talk to the camera (which it has seen before)?

It's not /necessarily/ suspicious, but you should identify the software that's issuing the prompt to be sure.

Before searching for a software (application) "culprit", I'd check to
see if the OP is using a DE; and, if he is, then check if there is a
default multimedia application, and if/how it's configured (pop-up notifications, etc.) I don't have that issue, 'cuz I run "pure" X11 (XDM
and JWM), so no pesky pop-ups.

--
You can have everything, and still not have enough.
I'd give it all up, for just a little more.

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Jonathan B. Horen <me@behere.now> wrote:

On 4/9/25 09:52, Daniel James wrote:

On 07/04/2025 23:46, bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

A few minutes after running a software update, per the little
prompt in the top menu bar, a pop-up appeared saying an application
wants to turn on my camers. There is no camera, at least not a
permanent one. I've been copying photos off an old Canon A460
to the Pi, but it can't take photos over its USB connection so
far as I know (would be handy if it could!).

Some Canon cameras can be controlled over USB -- I have a Powershot 620
that can -- but I think you're right that the A460 can't.

17 year-old Canon A550, here... still doing justice to my thrice-weekly shaving setups on IG and FB. Direct copy from camera to Digikam, via
USB. (like OP, running up-to-date Bookworm)

You say that you have been copying photos off the A460 (directly onto
the Pi)? What software are you using for that? Is it possible that that
software is running (in the background?) and wants to talk to the camera
(which it has seen before)?

When I connect the camera I get a popup asking if I want to open the
File Manager. When I click "yes", a generic-looking window with the
title bar showing gphoto2://Canon_Inc_Canon_Ditital_Camera_[long hex number] This has been happening since I started with Raspberry Pi some years ago.

The "application wants to use the camera..." popup was standalone and
unlike the file manager and gphoto windows. It really looked like a
system dialog box similar to the "system is up to date" box that appears
after an upgrade from the desktop title bar menu. Except that it
appeared some time (hours?) after an upgrade.

It's not /necessarily/ suspicious, but you should identify the software
that's issuing the prompt to be sure.

Before searching for a software (application) "culprit", I'd check to
see if the OP is using a DE; and, if he is, then check if there is a
default multimedia application, and if/how it's configured (pop-up notifications, etc.) I don't have that issue, 'cuz I run "pure" X11 (XDM
and JWM), so no pesky pop-ups.

If by DE you mean desktop environment, I'm using whatever comes with
Bookworm, with no concious customizations. There's nothing like Skype
or Zoom in the Raspberry menu. The Chromium browser was running, and
a bunch of LXterminal windows.

Thanks for writing!

bob prohaska

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On 10/04/2025 01:01, bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

The Chromium browser was running

That is probably the culprit.


--
“The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to
fill the world with fools.”

Herbert Spencer

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The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:

On 10/04/2025 01:01, bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

The Chromium browser was running

That is probably the culprit.

Can you explain a bit more? Chromium is a popular and sometimes
justified scapegoat, but it's primarily a display process, not a
capture process.

Speaking of chromium, I just noticed the latest upgrade disabled
ublock-origin. That's scapegoat-worthy. Can apt revert the change?

bob prohaska

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bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:

On 10/04/2025 01:01, bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

The Chromium browser was running

That is probably the culprit.

Can you explain a bit more? Chromium is a popular and sometimes
justified scapegoat, but it's primarily a display process, not a
capture process.

Browsers use the camera for video calls - Zoom, Teams, ...
(when you aren't using their dedicated apps)

Some websites also use it for taking static photos - eg a bank wants to take
a picture of you and your ID for verification.

They shouldn't ask for camera permission unless a website wants it, but
perhaps you went to a website that did.

Speaking of chromium, I just noticed the latest upgrade disabled ublock-origin. That's scapegoat-worthy. Can apt revert the change?

That's a feature (for Google, not for you): https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/google/google-chrome-disables-ublock-origin-for-some-in-manifest-v3-rollout/

Your options are using uBlock Origin Lite, or switch to Firefox. See: https://ublockorigin.com/

You could find an old version of the Chromium .deb to install and pin it
using apt so it never updates, but that would be missing security updates
and be vulnerable.

Theo

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Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:

bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:

On 10/04/2025 01:01, bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

The Chromium browser was running

That is probably the culprit.

Can you explain a bit more? Chromium is a popular and sometimes
justified scapegoat, but it's primarily a display process, not a
capture process.

Browsers use the camera for video calls - Zoom, Teams, ...
(when you aren't using their dedicated apps)

Some websites also use it for taking static photos - eg a bank wants to take a picture of you and your ID for verification.

They shouldn't ask for camera permission unless a website wants it, but perhaps you went to a website that did.

I wasn't doing anything that would justify a photo ID, but it would
make sense to seek a snapshot for future use. But it seems really dumb
to openly ask that a camera be used when no camera is present.

Speaking of chromium, I just noticed the latest upgrade disabled
ublock-origin. That's scapegoat-worthy. Can apt revert the change?

That's a feature (for Google, not for you): https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/google/google-chrome-disables-ublock-origin-for-some-in-manifest-v3-rollout/

Your options are using uBlock Origin Lite, or switch to Firefox. See: https://ublockorigin.com/

Firefox it is. At least for now.

You could find an old version of the Chromium .deb to install and pin it using apt so it never updates, but that would be missing security updates
and be vulnerable.

Agreed, that's a poor solution. Still, there are a number of alternative browsers (brave, dillo, iridium, opera, vivaldi, palemoon....)
Do any work?

thanks for writing,

bob prohaska

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On 4/7/25 18:46, bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

A few minutes after running a software update, per the little
prompt in the top menu bar, a pop-up appeared saying an application
wants to turn on my camers. There is no camera, at least not a
permanent one. I've been copying photos off an old Canon A460
to the Pi, but it can't take photos over its USB connection so
far as I know (would be handy if it could!).

Anybody know what might be going on? The systme is running Bookworm,
up to date as of a minute ago.

You're running "stock" (plain-vanilla) Debian 12 with Raspberry Pi "enhancements", right? Upgraded from Debian 11, rather than a fresh
install, right? In either case, you're probably using the default DE
(LXDE), right?

At some point you attached your Canon A460, and the "smart" DE
auto-configured it as the default multimedia camera. The system probably "remembers" it as being connected and/or wants to verify that it's there
and/or that it (or some other device) is there.

If you hear hoofbeats, look for horses, not zebras.


--
You can have everything, and still not have enough.
I'd give it all up, for just a little more.

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