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Old 11-21-2010, 01:25 AM
 
436 posts, read 1,172,246 times
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Hi there

I was just wondering if anyone can actually hack into my webcam and watch me without knowing? I have wireless connection.
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Old 11-21-2010, 05:25 PM
 
10,924 posts, read 21,909,159 times
Reputation: 10567
Yes, if you get a nasty on your machine to perform the task.
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Old 11-21-2010, 05:28 PM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,338 posts, read 93,530,714 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Timothylogan3 View Post
Hi there

I was just wondering if anyone can actually hack into my webcam and watch me without knowing? I have wireless connection.
You can disable the webcam.

You can also put a piece of tape over it.
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Old 11-21-2010, 07:51 PM
 
15,913 posts, read 20,141,773 times
Reputation: 7693
Hack into your webcam? HUH? That's like saying can they hack into my keyboard...

Yes an Operating System can be hacked and it's resources redirected.

As Charles says put tape over the webcam. AND I'd do some research on the web concerning best security practices for a home user.
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Old 11-22-2010, 08:35 AM
 
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
16,484 posts, read 19,535,442 times
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Most laptop webcams have a little blue light that illuminates when the camera is active. If someone did take control of your webcam this light would come on.

The odds of someone hacking your camera are microscopic.
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Old 11-24-2010, 03:47 PM
 
10,924 posts, read 21,909,159 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Peregrine View Post
Most laptop webcams have a little blue light that illuminates when the camera is active. If someone did take control of your webcam this light would come on.

The odds of someone hacking your camera are microscopic.
The bad guys rely on people like you assuming they know everything they need to know, thus they are safe. You are obviously not aware that it's possible for webcam trojans to keep that little light turned off even when the cam is active.
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Old 11-24-2010, 04:41 PM
 
15,913 posts, read 20,141,773 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NHDave View Post
The bad guys rely on people like you assuming they know everything they need to know, thus they are safe. You are obviously not aware that it's possible for webcam trojans to keep that little light turned off even when the cam is active.
Can we get real here? Of what value is a hijacked webcam? How much would a video stream of someone picking their nose be worth?
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Old 11-24-2010, 04:56 PM
 
Location: Ohio
15,701 posts, read 16,982,620 times
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I put tape over mine.

Why?

Because............"just in case" and "ya never know".

and.................I like to pick my nose in private.
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Old 11-24-2010, 05:54 PM
 
10,924 posts, read 21,909,159 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by plwhit View Post
Can we get real here? Of what value is a hijacked webcam? How much would a video stream of someone picking their nose be worth?
Again your showing your ignorance, perverts spying on kids in their bedrooms, watching people do who knows what in the "privacy" of their own homes, you really need to get your head out of the sand.

And you never know who might be doing it
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/...n6978196.shtml
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Old 11-24-2010, 07:11 PM
 
15,913 posts, read 20,141,773 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NHDave View Post
Again your showing your ignorance, perverts spying on kids in their bedrooms, watching people do who knows what in the "privacy" of their own homes, you really need to get your head out of the sand.

And you never know who might be doing it
$610K Settlement in School Webcam Spy Case - The Early Show - CBS News

Lets get this straight, it wasn't perverts who spied on kids in their bedrooms it was the kids public school they went to that spied on them, the laptops the kids were using were supplied by the school. Their laptops weren't hacked.

Get your facts straight before engaging fingertips.....

The media sensationalizes news and what better topic to scare most people with than, OMG, their computers being hacked by some nefarious "somebody" on the Internet.....

Do some Internet searching and you'll get tons of hits, almost every single one asking can their web cam be hacked and how to avoid it. Try to find anything where it actually happened though........

I'd be more worried about being hit by a meteor or being run over by a horse chariot on the street then my web cam being hacked.

The mantra of the new America: Be Afraid, be very afraid of everything and everyone.

Last edited by plwhit; 11-24-2010 at 07:27 PM.. Reason: Wording
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