Are you a #hackedwebcam movie star and don’t even know it?

Years ago, people worried about the government watching them, now you need to worry about your camera live streaming you to the internet without your knowledge. Not just webcams on your laptop or phone. We are talking about doorbells, baby monitors, alarm and surveillance systems too.

A simple google search for cam leaks show dozens of sites, most of them adult in nature, that show stolen footage of people’s webcams, baby monitors, nanny cams, and other video recording devices.

FACTS:

• Yes, it's possible to hack your Webcam!

• You cannot always tell if it is recording you. If a hacker can turn the camera on, they will be able to disable the little “now recording” light as well.

• Your app permissions give hackers a backdoor into your camera.

Webcams are everywhere: in our laptops, in our security systems, and in our phones wherever we go. Yet webcam security is often a blind spot for even the most secure systems, leaving most webcams vulnerable to hacking. Learn how to tell if your webcam is hacked, and find out how to improve your webcam security and protect your privacy.

Webcams enable us to stay in touch with far-flung friends, family, and colleagues. However, webcams can also be used by hackers to spy on you. Any webcam, including built-in laptop and phone cameras, can be hacked and used for webcam spying. It’s easy to think you’re safe from hacking on a private network, but without extra security, you may still be vulnerable to webcam hacking.

Hackers can gain webcam access with malicious software (malware). Many types of malware allow hackers to activate your webcam remotely, compromising your webcam privacy. Here are the most common ways you can accidentally get webcam-hacking malware on your device.

Hacking of any kind puts your device at risk, but webcam hacking poses some unique dangers. Hackers can use your webcam to spy on you at your most unguarded moments. A cybercriminal may also be able to use a hacked webcam as a gateway for delivering additional malware, potentially exposing your personal data and financial information. Without dedicated security, hackers can easily compromise your webcam and infiltrate your device for spying or spreading viruses.

Because we keep our webcam-equipped devices in some of our most intimate spaces, it’s possible for hackers to take compromising pictures of us, or at least claim to have done so. Many cybercriminals, whether they have taken any images or not, may try to extort victims in order to get money or personal information.

A recent study by WizCase found that more than 15,000 webcams of many different models and software versions were unsecured and therefore vulnerable to hacking. Many of these webcams were located in private residences, making it easy for criminals to infiltrate people’s smart home networks and spy on their most intimate spaces. So no webcam is safe without proper security protocols in place.

How to tell if your webcam has been hacked

1. Check the webcam indicator light: Is it on, even though you aren’t using the webcam? This could be a sign of a hacked webcam, or it could be connected to a browser extension.

2. Check your open apps and browser extensions, deactivating one at a time to find a potential suspect.

3. Then, see if your webcam process is running — if it is, reboot your device to check if your webcam activates automatically. Any sign of unauthorized use could mean that you have a hacked webcam.

4. If the process isn’t running, try activating the webcam yourself. Do you receive an error message stating that it’s already in use? Don’t rely on the indicator light as a foolproof signal — these lights can be configured to remain off even when the webcam is in use. Many webcam hackers will do just this.

5. Look for saved audio and video recordings in your webcam folder. If you find any that you didn’t record yourself, you might have a hacked webcam.

Now is the time to protect yourself and your loved ones COMPLETELY. We can help you!