I have always assumed this was possible to some extent, since many other appliances continue to drain energy even after you shut them off - as long as they are still plugged in. But I've often wondered to what extent computers stay "on" even after you power them down. I noticed this in particular when I was having problems with my Bluetooth mouse and keyboard not working when my computer crashed and I had to re-boot. Thank goodness the system at least had a touch screen so I could log in through that to get things working again. Long story short, the final "solution" was to unplug my computer and wait a while then plug it back in and reboot. I was on the phone for hours with a technician who kept making me shut down and re-start, with no luck. So in other words, when I was shutting the system down, apparently it was never entirely shutting down. To some extent, some things were still being stored in memory and it was operating at some low level until I cut the power off from it completely. Paranoid me thinks that this is on purpose so they could eavesdrop on you at any time, even when you shut your computer down. Think about it, most computers all come with a mic and a cam built into them...
I use a laptop and it is not always powered on. I shut it down at night. I don't feel the need to have it running 24/7 because I don't host anything on it.
Mine is on all day long. I do 3-D modeling for fun and since my computer is rather slow, rendering can take forever. That's why when I'm done modeling, browsing etc, I launch my modeling software and hit render. It takes hours. . .
It would depend a bit on the way your computer shuts down as to how "on" it is. One way to get a sense of whether it is on or not is to compare the boot up from a shut down to that of it being completely unplugged (for a period of time). External devices such as printers may remain in standby mode after the computer is shut down as well.
My personal computer really seems to be on 24-7. The laptop is often shut down. I guess I leave it on because it's used so often. It's a reference point for everyone in the house.
I turn off the pc when I don't use it. Sometimes I leave it on when I'm downloading something while I do other things, but for the most part I leave it off when no one is using it. I don't remove it from the plug though.
I do think it is somehow always still on even when you shut it down, but I doubt it is spying on us, at least for now. The reason I think it's always on, however, is that it's necessary to keep certain customization in place such as the time and date which probably only consumes a minute amount of power anyway. I almost never fully shut down any of my devices anymore, though. The new technology doesn't necessitate it as much anymore, I think. I usually just leave them until they go to sleep or on standby and I only shut them down when I think they've been turned on for too long without a proper "full rest".
There are a hoard of people out there who do, in fact, spy on you via cam/mic. If you are a downloader, your chances of letting one of them in are greater than others and often times, you won't know or you'll pass off signs of them as usual issues or glitches. Some are just kids having fun, some are pervs, some try to find personal information etc. I trust my sources, but just in case, I keep my cam taped up when not in use and they can listen in on me all they want, they'd be so bored lol. As for the main question, I just close my laptop when I'm done with it. I'm too impatient to wait for it to come to life first thing in the morning lol, even if it is quick
I rarely turn off my laptop completely, when I go to bed I usually just put it on sleep mode. I'm not sure why I do this, it starts up in like 30 seconds anyways but I guess it's so I can keep files and programs etc open. I suppose it's good for your computer to turn it off completely from time to time though, if anything just so it can do all the windows updates..
It depends. Do you make sure to shut it off? If you only press the power button the computer will not shut down. It will go in to stand-by mode. You have to make sure to select "Turn Off". I go a step further, and unplug my laptop from the wall.
I think it might just be your brain running away with itself, when you shut your computer down it is completely shut down, there is nothing running. But if it eases your mind then just pull the plugs out after you shut it down.
