Sticker over your webcam?
By Cahaya
@cahaya1983 (11121)
Malaysia
January 26, 2017 11:23pm CST
Not trying to scare anyone here, but apparently technology can be a lot more dangerous (read: scary!) than most of us think.
Just finished reading an article about online privacy and cyber security, and one tech researcher recommended that computer users put a sticker or Band-aid over their webcams to prevent surreptitious surveillance by another party. It turns out that hackers can remotely do this pretty easily, too.
Have you put anything over your webcam lens? If you haven't, after knowing this, would you?
(I'm sharing the article here for those of you who are interested in reading it. Check out what he says about setting up passwords. You'll be surprised.)
At the American Civil Liberties Union, privacy researcher Christopher Soghoian (TED Talk: How to avoid surveillance … with the phone in your pocket) spends much of his time thinking about how indiv…
22 people like this
24 responses
@allknowing (130066)
• India
28 Jan 17
i do not own a webcam but it is easy to guess what upgrading of technology can do
4 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
30 Jan 17
I wouldn't need one on my computer too, I think. I can't even remember the last time I used it. 
3 people like this
@dfollin (24172)
• United States
31 Jan 17
@cahaya1983 I have always put tape over the camera's on my devices and I have told my daughter to also.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
31 Jan 17
Just reading about some of the cases freaked me out. I think it's good to do it as a precaution.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
30 Jan 17
Wouldn't hurt to be extra careful, for sure.
2 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
27 Jan 17
It is! You can never be too careful these days.
1 person likes this
@ricki_911 (21625)
• Toronto, Ontario
27 Jan 17
@cahaya1983 That is very true indeed. Sad really.
2 people like this
@Letranknight2015 (51523)
• Philippines
27 Jan 17
I would probably close my laptop by putting my monitor down. Not to mention I turn off the router and modem before I go to sleep.
2 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
27 Jan 17
I do that too whenever I'm not using the computer, but I'm concerned about the surreptitious surveillance while I'm using it too.
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
30 Jan 17
@cahaya1983 I did not have to uninstall mine because the drivers have never been installed. They are preinstalled on a new laptop, but since upgrading to Windows 10 I formatted the hard drive and installed the operating system fresh.
1 person likes this
@connierebel (1557)
• United States
31 Jan 17
@cahaya1983 I didn't uninstall mine, because some surveys ask if you have a webcam, and while I haven't qualified for any yet, I sure wouldn't want to pass up money on a survey just because I didn't have my webcam drivers installed. So I just taped it over, so I can remove the tape if necessary.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
30 Jan 17
Mine is built-in and I've never bothered to uninstall anything. Now that you mention it I should probably do that since I don't use it anyway (in addition to the sticker thing! 
).
).
@silvermist (19702)
• India
1 Feb 17
As you said it is scary..I do not have a web cam.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
1 Feb 17
After reading the article, I wouldn't even mind not having one.
1 person likes this
@silvermist (19702)
• India
1 Feb 17
@cahaya1983 But the warning you have given is a much needed one.Thank you.
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14752)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
2 Feb 17
We do have tape over our webcam. After hearing a report last year, it certainly seemed to be a good idea.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
31 Jan 17
Good for you! Mine is built-in, it comes with the laptop although I hardly ever use it.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
1 Feb 17
@just4him Oh I'm sorry to hear that. I hope your new monitor works just as good as the old one. 
1 person likes this
@just4him (306110)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
31 Jan 17
@cahaya1983 My old monitor, stolen before I moved, had a built in web cam as well. I miss that monitor.
1 person likes this
@sunrisefan (28524)
• Philippines
27 Jan 17
My webcam is covered not because of what you said but because I want to keep it free from dust :)
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
27 Jan 17
Well that's a good example of killing two birds with one stone!
1 person likes this
@diosabella (4789)
•
31 Jan 17
This is not new. I always put a towel on my webcam or disconnect it in my PC for fear that someone might be watching.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
31 Jan 17
Yes apparently it has been happening for years, it's really scary knowing what these hackers can do.
@diosabella (4789)
•
31 Jan 17
@cahaya1983 Yup! Snooping at us without us knowing. Privacy doesn't mean anything to them at all.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
31 Jan 17
I think I did read something that the phone camera can be vulnerable too, but yeah not sure how many people would put a tape over it.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
31 Jan 17
@sans224 That's actually an interesting idea!
1 person likes this
@sans224 (1808)
•
31 Jan 17
@cahaya1983
yes. thats what i meant.
it will be awkward.
its good if companies provide some lens shutters as there in digital cameras.
1 person likes this
@peachpurple (13884)
• Malaysia
12 Oct 17
I even put a smiley sticker on the front camera of my smartphone! The built in camera of my laptop is covered with a smiley sticker too
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
12 Oct 17
Good measures! I haven't done so for my phone's camera yet because I use it quite often to snap photos.
1 person likes this
@peachpurple (13884)
• Malaysia
12 Oct 17
@cahaya1983 I don't use the front camera
1 person likes this
@connierebel (1557)
• United States
27 Jan 17
Yes, I put black electrical tape over my webcam. I don't know if the stories are really true, but I guess I'm a little paranoid. Better safe than sorry.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
30 Jan 17
I agree. Some stories may be exaggerated but I do believe such things can happen nonetheless.
@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
2 Feb 17
It is scary what they can do now with technology
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
2 Feb 17
It really is! We need to be more careful.
1 person likes this
@Hate2Iron (15730)
• Canada
27 Jan 17
Actually I do lol. I have no idea if it really works, but it certainly makes me feel better knowing that it is there!!
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
30 Jan 17
I think so too! It's like what that researcher said in the article, just knowing that there's something physical between you and the lens can make a difference.
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
31 Jan 17
That's good to know. I agree, better be safe than sorry. Technology can be so unpredictable these days.
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
30 Jan 17
Well they probably wouldn't even mind watching boring stuff for the heck of it.
@JESSY3236 (18923)
• United States
27 Jan 17
I have heard about this. I don't have a webcam.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
30 Jan 17
Mine is built-in but I think I'd do just fine without one. I hardly ever use it.
1 person likes this
