{"id":497102,"date":"2022-09-30T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/is-putting-tape-over-your-webcam-actually-a-good-idea\/"},"modified":"2022-09-30T01:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-09-29T22:00:00","slug":"is-putting-tape-over-your-webcam-actually-a-good-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/is-putting-tape-over-your-webcam-actually-a-good-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"#Is Putting Tape Over Your Webcam Actually a Good Idea?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a431e43b716a\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a431e43b716a\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/is-putting-tape-over-your-webcam-actually-a-good-idea\/#%E2%80%9CIs_Putting_Tape_Over_Your_Webcam_Actually_a_Good_Idea%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Is Putting Tape Over Your Webcam Actually a Good Idea?&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/is-putting-tape-over-your-webcam-actually-a-good-idea\/#Webcam_Hacking_Is_a_Real_Thing\" >Webcam Hacking Is a Real Thing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/is-putting-tape-over-your-webcam-actually-a-good-idea\/#What_You_Can_Do\" >What You Can Do<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CIs_Putting_Tape_Over_Your_Webcam_Actually_a_Good_Idea%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Is Putting Tape Over Your Webcam Actually a Good Idea?&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage  wp-image-826547 size-full\" data-pagespeed-no-defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/AnkerWork-B600-Using-Camera.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"A webcam on a monitor.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" data-credittext=\"Megan Glosson \/ How-To Geek\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\">Megan Glosson \/ How-To Geek<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>When you walk around an office or caf\u00e9, you\u2019ll often see people using an array of items to cover up their webcam. Sometimes it\u2019s tape, post-it notes, folded business cards, stickers, their thumb, or a marlin. I smear peanut butter over my webcam, but chunky peanut butter. It\u2019s more secure than smooth.<\/p>\n<p>None of those items came with the laptop upon purchase, and it\u2019s easy to make fun of putting something there as paranoid. The idea that someone wants to look through your particular webcam seems a bit narcissistic and on edge, as if we\u2019re leaving our house and saying to one in particular, \u201cPlease, no cameras.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But while it\u2019s absurd that people are putting tape over their webcams, it\u2019s doubly absurd that it\u2019s actually kind of a good idea.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Webcam_Hacking_Is_a_Real_Thing\"><\/span>Webcam Hacking Is a Real Thing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Almost anything can be hacked, and that\u2019s not just the title of my upcoming children\u2019s pop-up book. Over the years, there has been a slew of stories about webcams being hijacked by those looking to spy on unsuspecting people, often people they know. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnet.com\/news\/privacy\/school-escapes-charges-in-webcam-spying-case\/\">In 2009 a student discovered<\/a> his school-provided laptop was secretly photographing him (without giving any extra credit!), and many <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/tech-policy\/2013\/03\/rat-breeders-meet-the-men-who-spy-on-women-through-their-webcams\/\">women have seen their webcams hacked<\/a>, with the situation often escalating into blackmail.<\/p>\n<p>At the federal level (this can\u2019t be good), secret documents have shown the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/redirect.viglink.com\/?key=204a528a336ede4177fff0d84a044482&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiegel.de%2Finternational%2Fworld%2Fprivacy-scandal-nsa-can-spy-on-smart-phone-data-a-920971.html&amp;cuid=xid:{xid}&amp;___trxnet=vg\">NSA gaining backdoor access to web cameras<\/a> and Britain\u2019s surveillance agency <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2014\/feb\/27\/gchq-nsa-webcam-images-internet-yahoo\">GCHQ doing the same<\/a>, all of the spying being done without the courtesy of the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/the-switch\/wp\/2013\/12\/18\/research-shows-how-macbook-webcams-can-spy-on-their-users-without-warning\/\">webcam indicator light activating<\/a>. That is so rude.<\/p>\n<p>Even without the countless horrifying stories, the idea of a webcam on your laptop is a bit weird to begin with. There\u2019s essentially a camera pointed at your face at all times. Not your shin, not your elbow, not your toes\u2013your face. And we bought it. We all went to a store and basically said, \u201cOne camera always pointed at my face, please.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"product-box  \">\n<div class=\"product-img product-img-noaward\">\n<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" role=\"presentation\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/CloudValley-Ultra-Thin-Macbook-Protect-Privacy\/dp\/B079MCPJGH\/?tag=lsmedia-10918-20\" onclick=\"fbq('track', 'Buy Button'); if (fb_t_convert){fb_t_convert();}\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/41xrSzJK60L._SL160_.jpg\" height=\"147px\" width=\"150px\" alt=\"\" role=\"presentation\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><br \/>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Granted, I\u2019m well aware that no one is interested in looking at me. That was evident in high school. This so-called threat is much worse for women and people with kids, and I am neither the last time I checked. It\u2019s still quite rare for a webcam to be hacked, and I always feel a bit silly when I drape something over my webcam like it\u2019s a parrot at bedtime.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps it\u2019s more the principle. For years, I owned a laptop that didn\u2019t have a webcam and enjoyed pretending in work meetings that my connection was bad, and I will often head to a real human cashier at a grocery store instead of using one of those self-checkouts that creepily displays your image back to you. The expression on my face when I\u2019m buying Bagel Bites at one in the morning is a piece of information I didn\u2019t need.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_You_Can_Do\"><\/span>What You Can Do<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>While we all know there are cameras everywhere, it seems somewhat natural to do what we can to prevent a few of them from looking at us. Even Mark Zuckerberg\u2014the guy with more information on people than the Library of Congress\u2014<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2016\/jun\/22\/mark-zuckerberg-tape-webcam-microphone-facebook\">puts tape over his webcam<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, along with items like gum and blankets, you can buy little <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Yilador-Computer-MacBook-Notebook-Surface\/dp\/B07TBG7WM9\/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3TDPB2A18V70V&amp;keywords=webcam+cover&amp;qid=1663602865&amp;sprefix=webcam+cover%2Caps%2C134&amp;sr=8-3&amp;tag=lsmedia-10918-20\">webcam-blocking clips<\/a> that give you the option of whether you\u2019re in the mood to be spied on. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/5091574\/lenovo-new-thinkpad-yoga-ces-2018\/\">More laptops should just come with them built in<\/a>. Your webcam can be disabled as well, and it\u2019s often best to have an antivirus as backup. And if you can, just try to be really boring in front of it.<\/p>\n<p>Feel free to feel silly when blocking your webcam, but be silly and safe. If your webcam is covered with a plate of osmium wr<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ed in blackout curtains and sealed with one of those tire clamps, I won\u2019t judge.<\/p>\n<p>Just don\u2019t be surprised if one day hackers find a way to also poke it off.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/833955\/is-tape-over-your-webcam-actually-a-good-idea\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Is Putting Tape Over Your Webcam Actually a Good Idea?&#8221; Megan Glosson \/ How-To Geek When you walk around an office or caf\u00e9, you\u2019ll often see people using an array of items to cover up their webcam. Sometimes it\u2019s tape, post-it notes, folded business cards, stickers, their thumb, or a marlin. I smear peanut butter&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":497103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/AnkerWork-B600-Using-Camera.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-497102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}