Spying via front camera

[Ivan Tuzikov]

of notebook / tablet / smartphone on a random user? Is it possible for hackers? Such possibility discomforts me when I use skype or just sit at a desk in front of my laptop. How to protect computer system from such undesirable intrusion? Thanks in advance.

[imatfaal]

a blob of blu-tak will protect you when just sitting using the pc. a decent security set-up will stop most peekers. anybody with the sophistication to intercept the skype call and use that - good luck stopping them.

[Strange]

It is possible (and it is done). The best protection is to be careful about websites visited, software downloaded, etc. and possibly use some sort of anti-virus or other security software. The last line of defense is to cover the lens (I have a black sticky label over mine).

[Greg H.]

It is possible (and it is done). The best protection is to be careful about websites visited, software downloaded, etc. and possibly use some sort of anti-virus or other security software. The last line of defense is to cover the lens (I have a black sticky label over mine).

The advantage of this approach is that no matter how good their hacking skills, a camera with a blocked lens is still useless.

[Strange]

The advantage of this approach is ... a camera with a blocked lens is still useless.

 

Although, that might be seen as a disadvantage in some contexts.

[iNow]

The only way to truly know you are safe from unwanted surveillance, whether video or audio or even just the tracking of your location, is to remove the batteries from your devices, unplug all cables and network connections, and disconnect all power sources... auxiliary or otherwise.. Make sure they are not just turned off, but instead are the equivalent of a high-priced paper weight. After that, if you refuse to follow those steps without interruption, the risk of surveillance is always non-zero, and in some circumstances much much higher than zero.

[StringJunky]

You could disable the appropriate camera device driver in Start > Right-click Computer > Manage > Device Manager. Depending on your version of Windows look through the list for your camera and click to highlight it, then click one of the icons up top that says enable/disable. Windows can't control the device without the driver enabled. You can toggle that enable/disable icon as and when you need.

Edited August 9, 2013 by StringJunky

[iNow]

I'm fairly certain your manual settings can be overwritten with a relatively simple command via text message or email, etc. You likely wouldn't even know your settings have been changed since these types of malware codes could be programmed to display your privacy settings as strong through the UI even though they've been wiped or compromised.

Edited August 10, 2013 by iNow

[StringJunky]

I'm fairly certain your manual settings can be overwritten with a relatively simple command via text message or email, etc. You likely wouldn't even know your settings have been changed since these types of malware codes could be programmed to display your privacy settings as strong through the UI even though they've been wiped or compromised.

Back to the Blutak then. If one was really paranoid one could always re-image a virgin copy of the working system every so often...takes about 15 minutes. If I think I might have exposed my system to malware this is what I do...it's a practically bomb-proof method I reckon.

[Enthalpy]

Pasting regularly a supposedly sound version of the system has serious drawbacks, because you always have new settings, software installation... that you want to keep.

 

By the way, malware exists for the Bios, against which a system reinstallation doesn't protect. Though, the capabilities of a Bios malware must be limited.