What’s accessing my webcam?
Q
Kaspersky security software keeps telling me that access to my laptop’s webcam is blocked. Does this mean someone is trying to hack into my webcam, which is built into the laptop? How can I check if this is the case? I enjoy your magazine every fortnight for all the tips to improve performance and increased security. George Watson
A
It’s possible that someone is trying to hack into your webcam, but it’s not very likely. What’s certain, however, is that Kaspersky is set up to prevent access to the webcam – and something is trying to do just that. There are plenty of legitimate reasons why this might be happening. A chat tool such as Skype, for example, would typically want to access the webcam each time it launches.
You need to work out what’s requesting access to your webcam, and then decide whether or not you should allow it. So, to start, use Kaspersky to run a full scan on your system. Click Scan, followed by Full Scan, then ‘Run scan’. When the process has finished – assuming you’re given the all-clear – go to Kaspersky’s home page and click More Tools, followed by Reports (see screenshot), then ‘Detailed reports’. Use the search bar at the top right to search for webcam. Make a note of any entries that are blocked: these are the cause of the warnings you’re receiving. You need to determine whether or not Kaspersky is right to block them. If an entry relates to a program you know and trust, all is fine. If you’re not sure, research the entry online.
Next, return to Kaspersky’s home screen and click Settings, followed by Protection, Application Control, then ‘Manage applications’. Next, double-click to expand the Untrusted section and then look for the blocked entries above. If you have decided they’re safe, click the switch to flip their status from Blocked to Allowed. Alternatively, keep them blocked or uninstall the related programs.
While you’re there, we’d also advise you to look through the apps listed in the Trusted group to make sure you’re happy with them. If there’s anything that you’d rather didn’t have access to your webcam, click the relevant switch to flip its status to Blocked (or, as above, uninstall the relevant program).