Covering your webcam with a sticky note, sticker or band may seem like a strange idea, but it is something that some security experts and even tall people -profile as Mark Zuckerberg and FBI Director James Comey are for security reasons. These are security threats something that someone really needs to worry about, or are these people safety and high level just paranoid? We ventilation.
Webcam diversion may be something to worry about
Webcam diversion is something happening for some time. By infecting a computer with malware, hackers can remotely or locally trigger a user's webcam without the user's knowledge. Normally, webcams have a light that shows when they are live, but hackers have learned to work around it, which means that if your computer is infected, someone could be watching you at any time without your knowledge.
This problem goes beyond webcams, essentially like any camera system that is connected to a network can be diverted. For example, various Internet baby monitors things were hacked to view the live stream of children to strangers on the Internet.
To make matters worse, this problem has only gotten more common that malware has continued to develop and cameras have become a default device in many Internet-enabled devices such as smartphones and computers. As such, there has been a change in how the hackers access to the webcam of their victim. In the past, a lot of misuse of events locally that hackers had to install components or programs on the machine of the intended victim. The victims of these attacks usually had friends or questionable repair shops unknowingly give them a compromised computer by selling used computers at a discounted rate or "repair" the device for them. Now, however, phishing, attack other malicious software and unsecured Wi-Fi can deflect any webcam from anywhere in the world. Modern webcam diversion also takes espionage a little further from malware has the ability to take not only the webcam of the victim, but also have access or the ability to control all of your device, display all your files, photos and other data to the hacker.
Who is affected by diversion webcam?
Webcam diversion of victims may be random, but in many cases, young women like Miss Teen USA 2013, or couples were targeted under "SEXTORTION" or "sexploitation" regimes either revenge, blackmail or just for fun pirate. Hackers also target employees from various companies hoping to steal confidential company information. For example, researchers discovered last month named Delilah malware, which is one of the largest Trojans never met the blackmail that is designed to blackmail the victims to give up corporate secrets. Finally, government surveillance programs like the National Security Agency and Government Communications Headquarters Britain have been known to use malware to target persons of interest, but given the nature of these programs illegal, it is not at all clear what or who was recorded by these organizations.
How can you protect yourself against misuse webcam?
As mentioned above, covering the camera with adhesive (tape, Band-Aid, stickers, etc.) is one of the easiest ways to prevent diversion webcam to be successful because it will block the camera, saving you unconsciously become a reality show online. Keep in mind that the webcam can even be remotely activated, but the supply is empty. Something you should also consider is that each computer with an integrated webcam also typically has an internal microphone, covering the camera does not affect the microphone. To mute the microphone, some experts suggest using a "dummy microphone" that you can create by cutting the intake of old junk pair a headset or microphone you use. You can then plug the headphones / microphone clipped part into your computer's microphone jack to cheat by turning off your internal microphone.
While the two solutions listed above are simple, cheap and effective, they are not necessarily the best long-term solutions. There are more technical solutions such as disabling the webcam and the microphone of your device because it can ensure that your machine can not even divert malware to activate one or the other. A quick Google search can tell you exactly how. If that is too technical for you or if you want additional protection, you can look at an Internet security software that will not only alert you if you visit a potentially harmful website - something that is often the first step to webcam avoid diversion - but can also inform you of the process attempting to activate your webcam. Kaspersky is software that excels at keeping you informed of the unauthorized use of your webcam.
Whatever the preventive measures you take, it is important to remember that you'll probably want to take these steps to protect your devices, including the whole family or a home computer, as well as computer your child.
It feels like the use of the Internet is a compromise between convenience and privacy, but it need not be. Read on our Internet security software blog for more tips on cybersecurity and tips that can keep you safe while browsing the Web.