Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 47 total)
  • Does anyone else worry about built in webcams?
  • 2unfit2ride
    Free Member

    Well having just seen what someone can do with remote access I must say I have started to worry about big brother, am I alone in my paranoia ?

    Cheers.

    stavromuller
    Free Member

    You’re never alone with paranoia

    IanMunro
    Free Member

    Nah, it’s just you.
    P.s put your pants on, that’s not a good look.

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    brakes
    Free Member

    you’re not alone.
    I can’t be too hard to make a virus which would enable someone to see through your webcam, but then why would someone want to watch you?
    I never use mine, so I just disable it.
    If you’re really bothered, just put some tape over it.

    MrWoppit
    Free Member

    Why the hell can’t I link to a video on photobucket? (Sulks….) 🙁

    samuri
    Free Member

    You should be.
    There is a hacking framework called metasploit. It’s the toolset that makes breaking into computers a very easy task. Once someone with this toolset has broken into your computer, they can do pretty much anything they want with it.

    One of the basic pieces of functionality this framework provides once a computer is cracked is to take a picture with the webcam. It’s one of the first things everyone does IME.

    Obviously nobody is interested in watching a fat mountain biker, they’re always hoping to get a young lady who for some inexplicable reason, uses her computer in the nuddy.

    paulosoxo
    Free Member

    Just gaffer tape over it

    john_drummer
    Free Member

    what is this “webcam” thing?

    2unfit2ride
    Free Member

    That’s it, bluetac deployed, Oh & Ian I do worry about you 😉

    midlifecrashes
    Full Member
    scaredypants
    Full Member

    lots of “lost smartphone/laptop” apps will do this – take a pic of the person using it. I don’t suppose it’s hard to write the programme if you’re an ITish person

    Edukator
    Free Member

    I saw something about somebody having his laptop nicked and getting it back by remote use of the cam to identify the thief.

    Taff
    Free Member

    Definately… Saw it on Criminal Minds… I’m doomed!

    glenh
    Free Member

    Just because you are paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t watching you.

    p.s. if anyone is watching me, which finger am I holding up?

    Pook
    Full Member

    I don’t know which finger it is, but your dog doesn’t look happy that you’re holding it up there

    bellys
    Free Member

    Not a worry as most people I watch on web cam are shaging or watching me and the wife.

    Midnighthour
    Free Member

    Tape over it. Seems like the only way to be sure at the moment.
    Feeling spied on 24 hours a day by almost every marketing company or the government security cameras and now this… gets tiresome doesn’t it.

    LimboJimbo
    Full Member

    Easily remedied;

    1. Go to the kitchen.

    2. Take the roll of foil from the middle drawer.

    3. Cut a square appox. 30cm x 30cm square.

    4. Carefully place over the head, folding down the edges to ensure maximum coverage.

    You are now protected. HTH.

    CountZero
    Full Member

    Please, get over yourself. Why would anyone be interested in what you’re doing in front of your computer? If they’re going to install hacking ‘ware then all they’ll want is passwords so they’ll install a key logger. Nobody’s going to hack my webcam anyway, so it’s not something that bothers me in the slightest.

    simonralli2
    Free Member

    It’s the government who are going to be spying on you via every single gadget in your house : )

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2115871/The-CIA-wants-spy-TV-Agency-director-says-net-connected-gadgets-transform-surveillance.html

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Knock yourselves out.

    EDIT: when I activated the cam to take this pic, a green light came on next to it. Bit of a giveaway.

    TheSouthernYeti
    Free Member

    I worry about dieing suddenly and it being captured on my built in webcam.

    Mol – if you smile the whole world smiles with you 🙂

    wwaswas
    Full Member

    do you work in a cotton mill molgrips?

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Yeti, that’s a documentary photo. I was going to smile, then I realised it would be better if I kept the same expression. That’s what I looked like when I was reading the morning’s STW.

    TheSouthernYeti
    Free Member

    You should’ve been reading one of my highly entertaining posts instead.

    When are you going to post the ‘after’ pic?

    molgrips
    Free Member

    After.

    TheSouthernYeti
    Free Member

    After when? I’ve been waiting a long time now and I’m about to pop.

    willard
    Full Member

    Webcams are not really the issue, primarily because of the green light that comes on when they are active. There might be a way to get round that, but I am pretty sure that it would require hardware interaction rather than software.

    From a data gathering point of view, you should be more worried about audio. Ok, so it’s less visual (obviously), but you would leak a lot of information in a business context that just taking a photo of the target. Combine that with a spear phishing attack on a specific company, add in a lot of people to translate the take into whatever language you use and you could get a lot of nice information.

    Remember, it’s only paranoia if you don’t _know_ they are all out to get you.

    ohnohesback
    Free Member

    Yes you should all be aware of all the ways that surveillance is built into much of todays’ technology and have as little to do with it as possible.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Why?

    ohnohesback
    Free Member

    Why not?!

    Cougar
    Full Member

    Why not?!

    You’ve not really got the hang of this ‘discussion’ concept, have you?

    If you’re going to make a sweeping statement as to what we “all” should do, you’re going to explain why you think that or it’s meaningless. I might as well say, “well, you should all paint your elbows green.” Why? “Why not?”

    ohnohesback
    Free Member

    Then let me elaborate. As the late Patrick McGoohan said in the Prisoner “I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, briefed, debriefed or numbered!” he also said “I will not make any deals with you, my life is my own.” Nor will I be prodded by pop-ups or have my web-browsing habits used to bombard me with adverts from companies that I have no intention of doing business with, my shopping habits are my own affair as well, I won’t have shoddy little shops trying to get me to buy that which I wouldn’t otherwise buy with Their miserable loyalty cards. It’s my attitude to life. One that you may understand and sympathise with, or not. That is your choice. But I beleive that you either have privacy or you don’t. And I choose not to have other people knowing my business.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    I think you’re getting ideas conflated a little bit there.

    I do not feel that the possibility that someone can find out where I live or what I bought at Tesco inhibits my freedom in any way. My life is numbered by people who need to index me such as banks, and yours is too. But I just don’t care. It’s no different to me storing someone’s phone number. Just because my bank assigned me an account number doesn’t mean that they are pushing me around or making me do what they want.

    You might value privacy highly, that’s fine, but don’t make yourself out to be some kind of freedom warrior, that’s just egotistical romantic bolx.

    As for the web browsing adverts – how else do you think these sites are paid for?

    konabunny
    Free Member

    Christ, I won’t be arguing with Molgrips again. He looks well stern.

    binners
    Full Member

    I accidentally flicked my webcam on once. I nearly shat myself. The sight of my big gormless face staring back at me in 27″ of glorious High Definition is something nobody should ever have to suffer

    wwaswas
    Full Member

    I did shave using a webcam once.

    I wouldn’t shave using binners webcam though.

    Cougar
    Full Member

    That is your choice

    Yes it is, and it’s the point I was sticking on. That’s a complete u-turn from your earlier post where you were insistent we all have “as little to do with it as possible.”

    I think informed choice is good. I think it’s important to know what people are doing with your information (which isn’t really the same as surveillance, but let’s roll with it for now) of course, but what you are and aren’t comfortable with is personal choice.

    And personally, I couldn’t give a stuff if Tesco know that I bought a loaf of bread and four pints of milk last week. They pay me fairly handsomely for this information, everyone’s a winner.

    As for targeted advertising; again, if I’m going to see adverts then surely it’s preferable that it’s something I might be interested in? Is it not better to get point-of-sale discount coupons for stuff I’d be buying anyway?

    Frankly, I’ve more important things to be worrying about than spending every waking moment trying impotently to ‘stick it to the man’ by disabling web browser cookies.

    *goes to crack one off in front of laptop*

    That’ll put ’em off….

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 47 total)

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