Can hackers watch you?

It's called camfecting – remotely accessing a camera with the help of malware. Done so without your knowledge and permission, of course. This type of hacking is carried out via malware called a remote access trojan (RAT). To plant it, you have to give the hacker access to your computer.

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Anyway, are hacked webcams a real problem, and should we be concerned about it?

And the worst part? The biggest threat to your online security is usually you, clicking and snooping where you shouldn’t. So, to make sure you don’t expose yourself by accident, we’re digging deep into spyware. Modern life – not as stress-free as we’d like it to be, so some alone time every once in a while is a must. But are you sure you’re alone? Webcams can be pretty easy to hack, and there’s a chance someone is already spying on you or might start soon enough.

What is webcam hacking?

It’s called camfecting – remotely accessing a camera with the help of malware. Done so without your knowledge and permission, of course. This type of hacking is carried out via malware called a remote access trojan (RAT). To plant it, you have to give the hacker access to your computer. That is done by clicking on a phishing link that opens a back door on your system for the malware to get in. Then, the parasite begins its nasty business in the background, avoiding any attention. At that point, the hacker can use your computer to their liking. This covert surveillance thing is usually done to extort people out of their money and dignity.

But how do you know if someone is watching you through your computer?

6 ways of checking if your webcam is hacked

It’s as clear as day that there are criminals recording video footage, so let me show you how to spot a webcam hacker in your system.

Check your network traffic

If someone is using your webcam to spy on you, they will have to send this data via your home router. If you log in to your router, you can see the rate that it is sending and receiving data at. Close all your apps and browser windows, so you are not using any data: If there is still a lot passing over the network, someone has compromised your computer. This might not be due to your webcam, of course. You could be part of a botnet or have been compromised in a different way.

Check your webcam indicator light

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Most webcams now come with an indicator light, even those that are integrated into laptops. This light turns on when the webcam is recording, and responsible manufacturers try to code the controls for this light at the lowest possible hardware level. With a quality webcam, it’s actually pretty hard for an attacker to use a webcam to spy on you without this light turning on. So if the camera light is on, and it shouldn’t be, there’s a good chance you’ve been the victim of a hack.

Check your file system

Most webcam hackers rely on the limited knowledge of the average user. As a result, a lot of people who hack webcams don’t even try and hide their activities. Find out where your webcam recordings folder is and check it. Look out for strange storage files – if you see videos that you didn’t record, you’ve probably been hacked.

Look for suspicious applications

The majority of webcam hacks operate via malware. Some of them can be disguised as a malicious browser extension, leaving a backdoor for the hacker to get into your system unnoticed. Other malware might run as a background app on your computer without your knowledge (until, that is, pictures from your webcam appear on the internet). There is an easy way to check this, though: open your system monitor (task manager) and look at the list of processes. It can be hard for the average user to distinguish malware from other confusingly named but legitimate processes, but here’s a tip: reboot your computer and open the system monitor before you load anything else. All processes should be basically idle (i.e. not using any processing resources). If you see a process that is running, it’s probably malware.

Scan for malware

Another way to detect and get rid of malware is to run a regular malware scan. There are plenty of tools available for this, and a good malware scanner should catch most instances of malware that can be used to spy on you.

surfshark.com - How do I know if someone is watching me through my computer - Surfshark

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