Does covering your laptop webcam make you paranoid or just cautious? It does not really matter. Sometimes it is just better to be safe than sorry.
Even if you are not a celebrity, there are many reasons for you to disable your computer’s webcam (and microphone while you are at it). Even if a hacker does manage to penetrate your security, they will not be able to watch what you are doing through your webcam. Amongst the high-profile people trying to protect their webcam privacy by a piece of tape is the former director of the FBI James Comey. “I put a piece of tape over the camera because I saw somebody smarter than I am had a piece of tape over their camera,” he admitted, probably referring to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook. Two years ago a viral photograph of him with the taped webcam on his laptop raised some questions about the measures one should take in protecting his privacy.
You would not even know they are watching you
You probably can imagine why hackers would want to access computers of famous people and might be confused as to why they would try to pick on a random person. The main reason is the profit – if they can capture an image or a video of you in a compromising position they can blackmail you. Sure, they will not be able to get millions, but you can imagine it would be a hassle dealing with them. Someone you know might also be spying on you – maybe out of revenge, on a personal level.
The only way for hackers to access your webcam and turn it on without you knowing about it would be for them to take over your computer. The most common way would be to slip RAT (Remote Administration Tool) software they use to snap pictures of you without you even knowing it. Installing backdoors and bugging devices is also one of the ways hackers can take over your computer. Most likely you would receive an e-mail with an attachment and once opened the RAT software would be installed on your machine. And if you think you would notice your webcam running because of the light turning on while activated, let us just tell you that can be bypassed.
The simplest way is the use of the webcam cover
There is little possibility for this kind of scenario to really happen, but still – in the world where an average person has at least two devices with cameras on them, webcam privacy should be something for everyone to think about. Here are some recommendations about webcam protection you can incorporate into your daily routine: when you are not using the computer, close it down; make sure all of your software is up to date; firewall should be enabled at all times; frequently check for malware and try to avoid clicking links in e-mails, especially when you do not know the sender. One other way is also webcam cover.
There is a simple and elegant way to cover up webcams on your notebooks, tablets and smartphones. To replace your sticky notes, as colourful and fun they might be, you can use a Privise cover, available in white and black. And if you are worried about not being able to close down your laptop – do not be. The thickness of the cover is only 1 mm, the material does not affect the performance of the camera and does not leave any scratches on the devices. It really is a stylish, elegant, simple and practical webcam protection from uninvited observers.