Yes, in case you didn't know already, your webcam can be hacked, meaning people can turn it on remotely and theoretically use it to film you without your knowledge. Scary? Most definitely, but how maybe people are actually concerned about this? Let's take a look at one famous example.
Mark Zuckerberg
Last year CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg posted this photo.
Look at his laptop at the left side of the photo, notice his webcam is covered? If you've ever seen The Social Network, you know Mark Zuckerberg has some personal experience with hacking, so at the very least this photo should confirm that it's a real issue.
How can I protect myself from the webcam peeping toms?
You could do the Mark Zuckerberg approach, and just use a piece of tape or a post-it note for over your webcam and it won't cost you anything; however, you could leave marks on your laptop or PC and it doesn't look very elegant.
Of course, you shouldn't do anything in life just because a famous billionaire does it, but I personally believe personal privacy is worth some minor investments and investing in an inexpensive webcam cover is a good idea.
Smooz Webcam Cover 3-Pack
These thin little metal cover stick right over your webcam and allow you to slide a shutter back and forth to expose the webcam or cover it up.
The Smooz Webcam Cover is minimalist in design and will cover almost any onboard webcam on most laptops and PCs, without covering any other sensors your computer may have located in the area.
Plus, for just about $10 you'll get three webcam covers, meaning you could install them on your PC, your laptop, and heck even your phone if you felt it was necessary.
What about external webcams?
If you use an external webcam, you can find covers for those plenty of models out there. Alternatively. If you don't mind a little extra hassle, you could always unplug your webcam when it's not in use.
Do you use a webcam cover?
Are you worried about webcam intruders? Let us know if you cover your webcams by leaving a comment down below.
