For what it's worth, my Lenovo laptop has a manuel shutter slider button on the side that actually physically covers the camera (and it must also does something driver wise because windows considers it unplugged). It's so easy and convenient that I always use to off the camera.
Many of lenovo have that even included their gaming laptop line (it's actually even better and more convient on that one, thanks to the larger size available).
Doesn't solve the problem this article talks about, but if that's something that worries you I would still trust that more than most (and it's a lot less weirdo looking than taping your camera).
This exploit picks up audio, too. The shutter helps make sure you're not accidentally sending nudes to North Korea's hacking teams, but audio can still be hijacked unfortunately.
I'm a known exhibitionist. It would damage my reputation if there weren't nudes floating around.
Taping your camera doesn't necessarily look like anything. I have a small piece of electrical tape over my webcam, and it blends in so perfectly with the background that other people probably wouldn't see it unless they were specifically looking for it.
(I personally just leave the tape there all the time, because if I need to videoconference, I’d rather connect my mirrorless camera with a much better lens and sexy bokeh.)
A post-it note works if you don't have a slider.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation sells a set of stickers exactly for this purpose [0]. I have a set and it works reasonably well. And it supports a good cause.
[0] https://shop.eff.org/products/laptop-camera-cover-set-ii
People won't look at you the same way after you do this. And it won't be for the better
It's an extremely common practice in enterprise IT, literally nobody gives a shit.
More effective than trying to get permanent marker ink to block light getting through the lens.