My wife put a piece of tape over our computer's camera?

I can tell you that it is possible to hack in and watch and listen to what is happening inside your house.

Who needs pictures when you've got Microsoft's windows 10?

Microsoft is probably trying to come up with another way to spy on their customers AND make their customers pay for it.

"It's like Zune, only with pictures."

Is it paranoia? Yes and no.

If your computer is hacked, can the hackers look around your house or see you naked or whatever? Yes.

Should you be worried about it? No.

Why not? Because if they've hacked you that far, then they can already get your credit card number, facebook and email passwords, and anything else on your computer or that you type in.

If you get hacked, the camera should be the least of your worries. Bottom line, don't get hacked. Avoid super suspicious websites, use an adblocker like mublock origin, don't open files downloaded from the internet (including random attachments from unknown senders or spam from friends). Use security software I guess, or better yet, run Linux.

Disclaimer: I am not a security professional.

Both Mark Zuckerberg and the Director of the FBI have tape over their laptop camera. You bet your ass I have tape over my laptop camera.

If it runs Windows or ChromeOS, yank out the battery and put it in a dark, soundproof box. Hackers own it in the first case, Google owns it in the second which is even worse.

Jenn Cronin wrote:

No, I do it with post-it so. My husband spent the first half of our marriage telling me I was paranoid but I wasn't most of the time.

That camera is pointed at what deep down, almost every woman believes truly separates us from the boys, our breasts.

Just because you are a paranoid schizophrenic does lead to the conclusion:

1) The CIA, FBI, TSA, OSS, FSB, Her Majesty's Secret Service Agent 007, NSA, etc. are all looking at your ……….right now.

2) We can still see your....even if you cover the camera.

3) The chip in your credit card is recording every thought you have ever had…which the government made you think anyway.

4) There is a lot of memory left in the chip…since we have not given you that many thoughts.

Not that many of the secret agencies... are looking at you.

That is because all the secret agencies... are looking at me.

go not to the elves wrote:

Use security software I guess, or better yet, run Linux.

1) Forget Linux. Run Open BSD.

2) Use security software.

3) Don't use Wi-Fi. Use a wire from your cable modem and run that through another router (with updated software) before it gets to your computer.

3) Use an encrypted proxy server (e.g.

)

Your wife is very smart.

There are hackers out there who hack computers just to look at women undressing.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/03/rat-breeders-meet-the-men-who-spy-on-women-through-their-webcams/

Even the best security practices can't protect against an idiot spouse or child clicking something they shouldn't that takes advantage of an unpatched exploit to some software your running.

There is no known remote hack to remove a piece of masking tape.

I do it. The odds of someone like me being hacked like this are small, but so what? A few months ago I put a small piece of duct tape over a part of my computer I never use. The tape doesn't bother me, and even if I did use the camera, it would take a fraction of a second to remove the tape and then put it back on. I don't see a downside.

how do you even know if your computer has a camera? Lenovo Think Pad.

When not in use, LOG OFF of the internet.

When not in use, TURN OFF your computer.

This will solve all your problems.

Hackers live off of idiots who stay logged on all day, and aren't using their computers.

Once you log off, they no longer have access, and cannot watch you undress.

is this paranoia? wrote:

My wife put a piece of tape over our computer's camera?

I don't know. Did she? Why are you asking us?

xlev2 wrote:

how do you even know if your computer has a camera? Lenovo Think Pad.

If you see a small whole above the screen that looks like it could be a camera lense, you have a webcam.

If your not sure, try looking for webcam software that came bundled with your computer, start it up, can you see yourself on the screen? If yes, you have a webcam.

If you're still not sure, have someone who knows computers look at it for you.

For Windows users, in the device manager you can uninstall the driver and/or disable the hardware that controls the camera

Here's a novel idea... Just shut down the computer when you aren't using it. Now there's no power to use the camera. Electronics need electricity to work you know...

She didn't hear this from anyone. She just watched Snowden the movie

I do it. Better to be safe than sorry. I should also do it on my iphone come to think of it...

Yes, one can never be too paranoid these days.

Admitting it's stupid in advance, but if my laptop is closed obviously it is irrelevant, correct? What if it were left open but turned off?