4 ways to check if your webcam is hacked or not!

Do you remember the episode “Shut Up and Dance” of the Black mirror? This guy, Kenny downloads some free malware from the internet to fix his laptop and then falls into a hacker’s trap. The hacker then can retrieve his personal information, his webcam access and his microphone. Does this ring any bells? It’s all about webcam hacking, catfishing and live tracking! Can you imagine? This can happen to you also. Someone somewhere can watch you through your webcam and you may not even identify it on your own! Creepy, right? So how do you tackle this? Its Data privacy day, today! On this day, let’s get to know more about webcam hacking!

So, How do you know if your webcam is hacked or not? You cannot simply identify it through the led beside your webcam. Hackers can control your webcam without activating the LED light. Now, this is intimidating, right? How else can you identify webcam hacking? Let’s dig into these four steps now and get it through!

Task manager

It’s easy to analyze what all are running in your computer with the help of task manager. Task manager is usually accessed when the system is slow. You’ll simply get to task manager, check all the running applications and delete the unwanted ones! The load will gradually decrease and you can experience better speed. Now you can use the task manager to identify if your webcam is active or not! Just check if the application is running on your system. If your webcam is on the list you can press the End task button to stop it.

Malware Scan

Hackers often start their process by planting malware in your system. Through the internet, they can easily plant malware into your system. Now how do you identify it? Through a malware scan! For this, you might need some antivirus software. The best method to initiate a malware scan is through Safe mode. Boot your PC in Safe mode and run your antivirus program. This will remove hidden malware from your system.

Error Message

You cannot activate something that is already activated, right? The same applies here. If your webcam is hacked by someone, it will show an error message whenever you switch it on. If you encounter some error message whenever you launch your webcam application, this may be a signal that says your webcam is hacked. Here, in such cases, you can try the Task manager step.

Unknown files

Suppose you are living in a home alone and you see some new stuff in your home that doesn’t belong to you. What does that mean? Somebody is in your home, right? You may don’t encounter something like that in your home, but definitely, this can happen on your computer. Check for unknown files in your system. If there is something present without your knowledge, it could be malware. You can also check your chrome extensions along with that. Check for unknown file extensions and remove the unknown ones.

These four ways can actually help you analyze if your webcam is hacked or not. And it is always preferable to stay away from unprotected, free public Wi-Fi hotspots as it can risk your privacy. Try to avoid random downloads from the internet, as there could be malware anytime. Even if you are downloading, make sure that you are equipped with some potent antivirus software. These all come under precautions. Now if you want to prevent webcam hacking, there is one other solution! Webcam covers! You can either tape your webcam with a cello tape or a band-aid. But it is always preferable to use a webcam cover as it won’t damage your webcam with scratches or sticky residue. Privacy is necessary no matter if it is an individual or an organization. And at the same time, it is vulnerable. So it is always better to keep things secure to avoid hackers. Get custom imprinted webcam covers for your organizations and give awareness to your employees regarding privacy and webcam hacking. Handout imprinted webcam covers to your clients and potential audience and makes them understand the seriousness of webcam hacking. The privacy should not get tampered. This data privacy day, let’s create awareness concerning the significance of privacy.