Privacy

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Ethernet port being used while PC is turned off? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by prousername@lemmy.ml to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

50 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Greetings! So recently, i spent a few hours coding software. After i was done and i shut off my pc, i noticed both of the ethernet lights were on and blinking. Does this mean that Microsoft is sending data to their servers before the PC fully shuts off? I am scared that this might be the thing it does. How can i get rid of this issue? I have no idea if it's related to Windows or the PC itself.

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[–] 3H3x36tBElshOa@feddit.nl -2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

For cameras on some devices, the camera cannot be used without completing a circuit that turns on a light. I think they're just stating the same is true for the ethernet port light.

[–] refalo@programming.dev 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Except neither of those things are true.

[–] 3H3x36tBElshOa@feddit.nl -1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I don't know enough about ethernet switches to know if this is common. Though, reading their comment again, I don't really think I'm right about their statement. It's definitely a light that is frequently designed to be on when packets are still being accepted for waking the computer.

I don't have a background in CE, but I've seen people claim this is sometimes a design used in the past. I think it makes sense that a circuit that is controlled by the computer can be hard wired to turn on both a light and a ethernet port. Though, I don't know how common this design is in reality.

edit: After searching some, it looks like some port lights can be controlled by a driver. I still think it probably depends on the hardware design though, and this won't be consistent between ports.

[–] refalo@programming.dev 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

sure it depends on the design, but no standards-compliant non-PoE Ethernet design is going to light up an LED, it barely uses 1 volt.

[–] 3H3x36tBElshOa@feddit.nl -1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I think driver examples from the Linux kernel are very convincing evidence that the lights can be controlled entirely by software, but I'm interested to see any possible specific port designs where that isn't true.

[–] refalo@programming.dev 4 points 1 month ago

I was not refuting that, yes drivers can control the LED since forever. The original comment was "the link light is powered by the switch", which I'm saying is not possible. An ethernet switch (assuming it's not PoE) cannot directly power an LED on a network adapter in your PC let alone the rest of it, that's all I'm saying.