Does anybody know how to do this on a Mac?

[sc0tt-uk]

SSL Mac users, this is a question for you.

I find myself in a situation where I have been given permission to listen in on someone, but part of the fun for her is not knowing whether she's being overheard or not. To that end, it's no good her having to load up Skype or whatever and seeing it running, she describes that as "a mood killer".

The question - does anyone know of a setup that would be discrete enough not to distract her and kill the mood? Remember, this is a consensual fantasy, so I don't need to gain entry to her OS via illegal means. Installation and configuration of any relevant apps will be done completely above board. The in-built mic on her Mac will do the job, we just need a way of monitoring super-discretely to get this show on the road.

Any advice welcomed,

Sc0tt-uk

[gr82bme]

There several services that allow you to remotely control the Mac. Apple "Back to My Mac", Log Me In, and a couple others whose names escape me.

If you have credentials, you can remotely login and operate the Mac as if you were sitting in front of it. Opening iChat should provide the covert functionality. The activity is visible on the Mac screen but no add'l permission is needed from anyone near the remote computer. So if she is otherwise distracted, you can login and exit and she won't be the wiser.

I am unaware of a truly covert application like Spy Buddy for the Mac.

[mjj9994]

I agree with the chat option. Maybe something as simple as yahoo chat and her just turning on the mic.

[sc0tt-uk]

I agree with the chat option. Maybe something as simple as yahoo chat and her just turning on the mic.

Hi chaps,

Yup, I've used iChat for good old fashioned chatting and a few different remote login services to fix stuff with great results. They'd be perfect for the job if she didn't have this hangup of needing to forget that it's there. The hangup actually stretches to the extent that I'm under strict instructions to draw a random number that has to be greater than 30 out of a hat (or something similar, because I don't actually own a hat) after we've gotten the setup working. That number will be the amount of days I'm not allowed to check in for in an effort to let her relax and forget about it... obviously she doesn't get told which number I draw.

It's a strange one, because covert is kind of necessary, but it's covert with permission and no need for a hacky way to get it on to the system.

Anyone else got anything we've missed so far?

Cheers
sc0tt-uk

[Rograd]

Scott,

I don't have a mac, so I'm not familiar with any of these programs; but came across these websites.

http://www.suggestsoft.com/soft/keylogg ... -recorder/

http://www.topshareware.com/Spy-Voice-R ... -71444.htm

[enigma63]

I don't know of any app that works just for the microphone, but there are a number that allow you to access the built-in camera and microphone such as Security Spy.

Perhaps it's worth a trawl of the "use you Mac as a home security cam" applications to see if one of them can ignore the camera and just use the microphone.

On the other hand the video may be an added bonus....

[enigma63]

Have a look at Airfoil for Mac by Rogue Amoeba software - see http://www.rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/mac/

It would have to be running on the Mac, but if your friend is OK with it she could have it as one of her start-up items and have it set to start hidden so that it's not visible on the screen

[sc0tt-uk]

Hey Enigma63,

Airfoil is a cool app! Doesn't stream over the web that I know of (we don't share a wireless network, she lives an hour or so away from me), but I think I have the software side of this sorted.

The one remaining puzzle, I'm hoping you'll be able to help with. You mentioned being able to start a service as hidden? How's that done?

Cheers much
Sc0tt-uk

[enigma63]

Start System Preferences then click on the Accounts preferences.

Click on the Login items (centre right at the top) to see the items that will be started each time that user logs in.

Click on the '+' sign and select the application that you want to be launched at login. When it's in the list simply click on the hide tick box next to the applications name.

What this means is that the application will start at login, it's icon will appear in the Dock bar, but the applications windows won't show on the screen unless someone clicks on the icon.

So just out of interest how are you handling the audio streaming?

[sc0tt-uk]

Ah, I thought you had a genius stroke that would stop the dock icon from appearing too. To explain it a bit more than I did in the original post, she's quite shy, so telling someone about this exhibitionist streak is a real stretch and something she's had to work up to for a long time. She'll want to know exactly what I've done, so if it ends up not being the experience she imagined she'll manually be able to pull the plug, but the idea is that it's as covert as possible to allow her to put it to the back of her mind... kinda like how the people on those reality tv shows we all hate so much seem to forget that the cameras are rolling 24/7...

Streaming was going to be handled by a copy of Skype with the sounds and alerts dumbed down as much as possible, but after testing it today, the quality is so piss poor it would appear that I'm back to the drawing board on that front too. Damn, this is harder than I'd imagined. Why can't she just use Windows (not a phrase I've ever typed before lol).

Sc0tt-uk

[enigma63]

If the quality on Skype was bad then maybe it's the microphone?

Anyway two more suggestions, neither of which I've looked at too closely, just enough to know that they can stream sound.....

First up is another application from RogueAmoeba (honest I'm nothing to do with them, they just are at the top of Google searches) called Nicecas, see http://www.rogueamoeba.com/nicecast/although I think this is way OTT it can take sound from any source including the microphone and then strem it out to the 'net quite easily.

Second up is from, would you believe, projects with love (!) which is a pair of applications called ServeToMe (to receive the stream) and StreamToMe (to send the sound). Really these are for media streaming (music tracks, videos), and so will require a bit of messing around to take sound from the microphone, also setting them to work out over the 'net isn't as straightforward.

Google also threw up a number of solutions that allowed streaming from a Mac to an iOS device (iPhone etc) including over the net, but I didn't know if these would be of any use.

Sorry I can't be of more help, while I've used Macs for years I'm not a techie.

[sc0tt-uk]

Nope, it's definitely not the microphone, because other audio software captures a decent signal, and other VOIP software will transmit that without degrading it anywhere near as much.

I discovered an app called iCam. It streams to devices that have been added to an account, can also stream to iOS, and video is optional. This is one badass app.

So we're back to the same place as 48 hours ago, which is progress! iCam puts an icon in the right section of the menu bar instead of on the dock which animates when streaming. as soon as I find a way to hide that little bugger, we'll be in business.

[enigma63]

Had a very quick play with iCam this evening

I don't think your problem will be that tiny icon in the menu bar, more the large preference screen that appears when it starts and the bright light of the webcam (assuming it's a built-in one) that is glaringly obvious.

Good luck with it, let me know how it goes.

[sc0tt-uk]

Well two out of three of those issues are sorted. I've found a way of suppressing the window that pops up, and having checked with her I'm under strict instructions that there won't be any video (she's chuffed that iCam makes it easy to tell whether I'm keeping to my word on that one... damn )

Sc0tt-uk

[enigma63]

Will be interested to hear how you get on with this, and to hear any results if you're allowed.

Oh, and if you want someone else to test the connection by listening, just let me know