How to tell if your Webcam’s been Hacked!

All hackers need to do in order to hack your webcam is install malware on your laptop, which is pretty easy to do these days. This will also give them access to your private files, documents, photos, browsing history, messages, banking details and so much more!

However, it is pretty easy to see the warning signs and stop it before it even happens, here’s how:

Step 1 – Check the webcam indicator light and be wary if it is acting strangely such as blinking without you putting it on. Do not stress too much as it may just be a program or your browser running, so make sure to double-check to be safe.

Step 2 – Restart your laptop and open your browser, if the webcam switches on the moment you open your browser it is probably linked to an extension. If you do not know which one just deactivate your extensions one at a time to identify who the culprit is.

Step 3 – Your webcam light might be flashing because of your applications on your laptop. Test them out to find out which one is using your webcam, simply launch an app one by one and see if the webcam lights up. If your webcam lights up after you switch on your laptop without any apps running then you might’ve been hacked!

Step 4 – Go to Task Manager and take a look at all the programmes currently running. Check for webcam utility, but don’t panic if you do find it, it might just be a default setting to launch when you restart. Test it out by restarting and seeing if it starts up automatically.

Step 5 – Close all your programs and apps and turn on your webcam, should you see an error message stating that your webcam is already being used, then be wary that this might because you’ve been hacked! Before you panic, circle back to step 1 and check if there is an app running in the background.

Step 6 – If there’s a hacker spying on your then you might be able to find audio/video recordings that you do not remember taking. Go to the folder where your files are stored to check and then double-check your webcam's settings to see if the folder hasn’t been changed.

Step 7 – Scan your laptop immediately if you find any kind of software that is secretly using your webcam! If this doesn’t solve your problem and you still feel that your webcam’s been hacked, it’s time to speak to the professionals.

Please contact TCG on 021 110 0422 or email contact@tcgcape.co.za. Alternatively you can take a look at the website www.tcgza.co.za to learn more about the services we offer which include digital forensics and open-source intelligence!