Am I being monitored via webcam? How to use a digital camera as a webcam? What to do if you are being followed

An unknown hacker has been organizing an Internet show for several days in a row, spying on people using web cameras. This is not the first time that users have been spied on through their own computers and smartphones - many criminals and Western intelligence agencies have done this. Lenta.ru found out whether it is possible to protect a webcam from hacking.

Amateur peep

On Tuesday, April 26, an anonymous member of the “Dvach” imageboard created a forum thread where he announced an unusual Internet show. He promised that within a couple of hours he would conduct a YouTube broadcast and live will monitor random network users. Moreover, they can unexpectedly launch various applications on victims’ computers, turn on porn, and post their data online.

To keep viewers from getting bored, the self-proclaimed showman announced “full interactivity” - viewers will be able to send him their requests in the chat, which he will immediately fulfill. After some time, a link to the Synchtube service appeared in the recording, where, in addition to the built-in video broadcast from YouTube, a chat was organized and a donation collection was organized. To guarantee the fulfillment of their requests, users were asked to send the hacker a symbolic sum of two or three rubles for “project development.”

At the very beginning of the broadcast, it became clear that the attacker was operating through the LuminosityLink system. It is typically used by network administrators to manage computer networks remotely. However, there are many pirated versions of the program on the Internet that can be configured to spy on users, infect them with viruses and organize DDoS attacks. The corresponding instructions are easy to find on YouTube.

In more than two hours of broadcast, the hacker managed to connect to several dozen computers. Usually he watched for a couple of minutes what the victim was doing, and then suddenly displayed various videos or photographs on the person’s screen. Thus, a young couple from Russia was forced to watch gay porn, and a Ukrainian policeman was forced to watch a bloody mixed martial arts fight.

The next day, the hacker mastered another form of entertainment: playing music on VKontakte. I managed to wake up one of the users with it. The attacker tried in every possible way to anger people, because this is what the viewers of the show expected. Usually the victims immediately began scanning their computer for viruses, but the showman simply added antiviruses to the list of prohibited programs.

Viewers reacted especially violently to several users who turned off the Internet out of fear, and to a young man who decided to call the police. They also laughed at the person who entered into correspondence with the hacker, thinking that he was conducting a dialogue with the support service of the Internet provider. Before this, the author of the broadcast displayed information about skin diseases on his screen for ten minutes.

The most curious thing is that the attacker is extremely difficult to identify. Dvach has long been famous for its guaranteed anonymity for all users, and the hacker himself probably uses VPN and other services to mask his IP address. The network, however, suggested that the broadcasts were organized by the famous YouTube observer of various hacker programs, Dmitry Shalashov, since the voice was similar.

Website for cameras

The Dvacha hacker is far from the only attacker spying on people through web cameras. In 2014, the BBC reported on a Russian site that made it possible to monitor webcam broadcasts around the world. More than two and a half thousand channels from the USA, two thousand from France and one and a half thousand from the Netherlands were available on the resource.

The webcams of Russian users also appeared on this portal. Threat Post discovered about 70 working cameras from Moscow, Korolev, Krasnodar and other cities.

BBC journalists then contacted the owner of the resource. He stated that he had nothing to do with Russia and refused to admit that he was a hacker. According to him, he gained access to all broadcasts after entering a simple password to the cameras, which the users themselves did not change from the standard one. At the same time, the Networkworld website calculated that about 73 thousand webcams in 256 countries were protected by default password.

There really was no hacking going on. Users who did not change factory settings and passwords essentially gave attackers access to their webcams.

It was only a matter of time before an aggregator of unsecured webcams appeared. The portal's creators did not have to look for software vulnerabilities or launch a phishing site to steal passwords. Unsecured cameras were discovered using a simple search query.

After widespread publicity, the site was taken down. Wireless camera makers Foscam then said that after the incident they changed software, and their cameras now force users to set complex passwords, preventing them from working with standard factory security settings.

Snowden's truth

The fact that webcams are used for surveillance was also reported by former employee US National Security Agency Edward Snowden. In his revealing materials, he said that American and British intelligence services were tapping phones, monitoring correspondence in in social networks and messengers, money transactions and ticket purchases. In addition, the NSA has access to millions of webcams and can monitor users through them. It became clear that absolutely unhackable technologies do not exist.

Snowden presented details of how intelligence agencies monitored video chats in February 2014. According to published materials, a special program called Optic Nerve, capable of recognizing human faces, was used for this purpose. It was originally created to fight crime, and with its help it was planned to search for terrorists, but in the end it turned into a tool for mass surveillance.

Optic Nerve was developed by British intelligence. According to Snowden, every five seconds the program automatically took screenshots from randomly selected video chats and stored them in a special database. Among these images there were often shots of an erotic nature. Optic Nerve launched in 2008, and within six months the intelligence agency had captured images of 1.8 million network users.

For surveillance, British intelligence used only video chats from Yahoo! Inc, and shared the data exclusively with their American colleagues. In Yahoo! Inc. they knew nothing about it.

To each according to his work

However, hackers are not always able to evade responsibility. For example, in 2013, a case was opened in the United States against 19-year-old Jared James Abrahams. The young man gained illegal access to girls’ computers and made them candid shots via webcams. He then threatened his victims to publish these materials if they did not send him more erotic photos.

Abrahams also tried his former classmate Cassidy Wolf, winner of the 2013 Miss Teen USA title. The girl refused to comply with Abrahams' demands. He made good on his threat and posted pictures taken from his webcam online. As a result, he

IN Lately, programs are appearing on the Internet that allow people to spy on other people through a camera. As a rule, they are created for specific purposes and not everyone has access to them. But there are still people who are able to use these programs. To protect your personal space, you need to find out how these programs work and whether you can protect yourself from them.

Yes, it's possible. Hackers know how to write program codes that can perform this function. Most often, programs are written not for public purposes (they are illegal), but to monitor a specific person whose life others are interested in. Spy on ordinary people there is no point.

Ways to turn on someone else's webcam

There are many options with which you can turn on someone else’s camera. But the two most common are:

1. Trojan virus. Its action is aimed not only at transmitting images from the camera, but also transmitting data from the computer. It can also damage information. The virus has a whole range of functions, from disabling the antivirus to transferring information to another user. The Trojan virus works as follows: along with downloaded data from the Internet, it is downloaded and additional program, which is automatically installed. It is difficult to notice, especially when downloading a large amount of data.
2. Meterpreter. This is a functional program that is injected into explorer processes. The purpose of this program is to collect data. It allows you to access remote information, including the camera. This program is not a virus, so not all antivirus programs can detect it.

Attention! The Trojan virus is considered one of the most dangerous because it is not always caught by the antivirus.

Is this kind of surveillance legal?

No, any surveillance through a camera without the person's consent is illegal. There is an article on invasion of privacy and private property of a person. You can get jail time for this. At the same time, surveillance via a webcam can be used by officials (for example, the police), if they have received the appropriate permission.

How to protect yourself

There are several rules that will help protect yourself from surveillance via camera:

1. First you need to download good antivirus. It is capable of catching viruses.
2. We also check all files downloaded from the Internet. If there are any that are questionable, they should be removed.
3. Any program will not be able to access the camera if the latter is turned off. Therefore, when you do not need the device, you should turn it off.
4. If the camera is built-in (for example, in a laptop), you can disable it through the BIOS. Or you can simply tape the camera if you are sure that someone is watching, but you can’t turn it off.
5. Check the camera's operation. If you notice glare or flashes in your work, there is a chance that you are being watched.
6. Check your outgoing traffic usage.

If the surveillance program is made by a professional and it is well hidden, it is almost impossible to detect it. Antiviruses are unlikely to help. But remember that they are mainly monitoring those who keep state secrets or something important. Therefore, the risk that you are being followed is extremely low.

Most recently, the public was excited by the news that Facebook was spying on users via a webcam and even listening to conversations through a microphone. Such concerns were expressed by experts from CB Insights. Experts believe that Facebook's new patent for emotion detection technology is related to secret surveillance, during which the social network photographs the user and selects content that matches his mood.

The innovation was first reported by The Times newspaper. The publication claims that people's mood will be analyzed in real time artificial intelligence, based on information about the strength and speed of typing and the number of emoticons. Facebook did not refute this information, but only said that all innovations are immediately submitted for evaluation by the public, and not by the media. Let us remind you that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg himself does not hide the fact that he covers the web camera on his computers.

The MIR 24 correspondent figured out how to find out if you are being followed, and whether it makes sense to accept.

“The fact that Facebook spies on users via webcam is not news. Any site displays notifications asking permission to use your data. No new ways to monitor via a web camera have appeared recently; they simply use software that activates data leakage,” said Ilya Rusanin, editor-in-chief of Hacker magazine.

METHODS OF SURVEILLANCE

LUMINOSTYLINK

Popular surveillance methods include the LuminosityLink system, which is usually used by a system administrator to manage computer networks from a distance. In order to set up surveillance, you just need to download one of the pirated versions of the program, of which there are many on the Internet. This is exactly the method that the Dvach imageboard hacker used. The young man created an entire show in which he broadcast videos in real time from different web -cameras Most often, the victims were young girls trying to take intimate photos. In addition, the young man displayed random videos, for example, porn or violence, on the victims’ monitors.

RANDOM APPS

There are ones that hackers place on various sites and use them to catch curious and careless users. You just download some application, and it steals your data and sends it to hackers. The same applies to accidentally downloaded programs. For hackers, this method is the easiest.

STANDARD PASSWORD ON CAMERAS

However, not always, if your provocative video filmed via the web-camera, got into the network, hackers are to blame. If, for example, when installing the camera you did not change the password from standard to personal, consider that you have allowed access to personal information.

For example, in 2014, a Russian site was discovered that contained about five thousand videos with web -cameras all over the world. When the owner of the resource was accused of hacking, the young man refused the accusations, saying that all the video materials were collected from web -cameras whose owners have not changed the standard password to a personalized one. According to Networkworl, about 73,000 cameras worldwide are protected by default with a password.

Moreover, in order to find unprotected web -cameras do not need to use special programs, just use a regular search.

SNOWDEN METHOD

ABOUT special program Optic Nerve, developed by American intelligence, was told by US special agent Edward Snowden in 2013. According to the programmer, Optic Nerve was created with the goal of protecting Americans from terrorism, but during the six months of its existence, it managed to collect about 1.8 million pictures of Internet users. The program first recognizes a human face, takes screenshots every five seconds and sends them to special databases.

DARKCOMET-RAT

This is a popular Trojan program used by hackers who call themselves retreaders. This is a special group of hackers who infect the computers of young pretty girls and teenagers (who are called slaves) with programs like DARKCOMET-RAT. They not only steal intimate videos, but also sell them underground. Some retreaders even go further - they work in electronics stores and sell already infected laptops to victims. In addition, retreaders also sell full access to girls’ infected laptops. That is, on the black market, anyone can buy access to your webcam and monitor what you are doing at home.

DarkComet itself is a Trojan program that gives access not only to your webcam, but also to control your desktop and all software. One of the advantages of the program is that it does not allow the LED on the webcam to light up, meaning the victim does not even see that the camera is working.

These are just a few popular methods, however, every day hackers are trying to develop new methods for obtaining video and audio content, citing the fact that keystroke spying is a thing of the past.

According to Rusanin, vulnerable groups of people who can be spied on include politicians, businessmen and young girls; the rest don’t have to worry, but it’s still better to follow safety measures.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE BEING TRACKED

If you feel like you are being followed, the first thing you need to do is disconnect from the Internet. If you are using a network cable, simply unplug it from your computer. If you have Wi-Fi, you need to turn off the router.

After this, you need to download, using another computer, an anti-virus scanner, for example a free oneDr.Web CureIt or Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, AVZ, IObit Malware Fighter and install on your device.

A more effective method is a complete reinstallation of the system.

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM SURVEILLANCE

SEAL THE CAMERA

First of all, experts advise covering the camera on a laptop or even a smartphone.

“Many people now tape their cameras and this is a 100% working method. There is nothing surprising in this,” Rusakov said.

In addition, the expert noted that if the computer is turned off, then surveillance cannot be carried out.

INSTALL THE BROWSER IN THE SANDBOX

Programmers advise not to click on unfamiliar links, however, in practice this turns out to be very difficult. Therefore, it is best to use a sandboxed browser.

To do this, download the free program Sandboxie, which runs applications in a secure virtual environment. Any program that is run in a sandbox cannot access the system registry, system files, and cannot make changes that, directly or indirectly, could disrupt or adversely affect the operation of the installed Windows operating system.

In addition, if you see a dubious link, you can always check it through special services, for examplehttps://www.virustotal.com/ru/ .

RESET OS

If you bought a computer secondhand, then always reinstall operating system. All hard drives must be formatted before use. If you send your laptop for repair, try to remove your hard drive

If you are not sure that you are being followed, then download Process Explorer, this program shows all processes associated with a particular device, in our case, a web camera. If the program detects any software that you did not install, then close this process and conduct an anti-virus scan.

The safety of households and property are issues that cannot be downplayed. Frequent business trips, working away from home or traveling should not be accompanied by fear for your apartment - it is enough to equip your home with an effective monitoring system.

When talking about monitoring, expensive solutions always come to mind, which often represent too much of a burden on the home budget. This is mistake. Video surveillance in an apartment or small office can be organized at minimal cost using .

Webcam – video surveillance in the house

Organizing monitoring in your home does not require any special knowledge or large financial costs. It’s hard to believe that to ensure the safety of the residents of the house, as well as the existing property, ordinary or.

The cost of the simplest models is often within 1000 rubles. Effective webcams cost several thousand, but this is also a small price to pay if you can ensure the safety of loved ones in return. This kind of purchase should be considered an investment in a peaceful future. An expense of 1500 or 2500 rubles is a small cost compared to professional installation, for which you need to pay much more.

Webcam monitoring - select application

To make simple home monitoring, you can use a classic webcam connected to a computer using a USB port. You will also need said computer and related software. As seen, you need little to create a video surveillance system in the house. The cost is low, and the effects are quite satisfactory.

Web cameras, unlike at least IP cameras, are not equipped with functions such as motion detection or sending alarm notifications by e-mail. The solution to this problem is specialized software, designed for the operation of this type of device.

Simple applications allow you to use webcams connected to your computer to transmit images online, as well as configure basic recording and security settings. Several dozen programs for organizing home monitoring have already appeared on the market; among them, Yawcam or VitaminD deserve attention.

Webcam or IP camera – which is better for video surveillance?

IP cameras They are more expensive than simple webcams, but have much more capabilities. To properly capture images, they only need to be connected to a network and, unlike a webcam, do not require a computer to be running all the time. Their disadvantage is the price, which is often a barrier to purchasing this type of device.

How else do webcams differ from IP cameras? Which of these solutions is best for organizing home video surveillance? To make it easier to answer the questions posed, we have collected the main pros and cons of both presented solutions.

Webcam:

• inexpensive and easy to install(just connect it to a USB port and install the drivers)
• has no functions necessary for organizing monitoring, for example, motion detection, so special software is required for proper operation
• home control using a webcam requires continuous computer operation, and this creates additional costs in the form of more electricity consumption
• Most available webcams connect to your computer using a cable and USB port, so the device must be located near the PC, the best option(but also more expensive) are wireless webcams that can be installed anywhere in the room
• camera image can be tracked anywhere in the world(only internet access is required)

IP camera:

• The cheapest models of IP cameras cost less than 2,000 rubles, but the best solutions equipped with additional functions are much more expensive
• for proper operation local network access required
• easy to install and connect, and their configuration is carried out via a web browser or specialized software supplied with the camera
• consume less electricity than a set of webcam + computer
• their can be installed in any room at home or outdoors– the only limitation is network coverage
• are offered like wired devices(connected to the network using an RJ-45 connector) and wireless (using Wi-Fi networks)
• can be equipped with a motion detector, sound detector, microphone, often also have a built-in FTP server, and thanks to this they save the captured image in the cloud
• as with webcams, you can monitor the house from anywhere in the world using a web browser or camera manufacturer-provided software

What to consider when buying a webcam

A webcam works great as home video surveillance, but only when you have purchased a device with certain parameters relating, first of all, to the quality of the recorded image.

What to look for when choosing a webcam?

• Connection type – webcams are connected to the computer via USB port 2.0 or USB 3.0. In the case of specification 2.0, data is transferred at a maximum speed of 480 Mbit/s, in turn, for USB 3.0 maximum speed data transfer is 5 Gbit/s. On the market you can also find devices that use Wi-Fi network, RJ-45 connector or .
• Sensor Type – Most available webcams use CMOS sensors, which work great in daylight as well as at night in well-lit rooms. When purchasing a video camera, you should also check the size of the sensor and, accordingly, its diagonal - the larger the better quality images, but also more device. The sensitivity range also matters.
• Resolution – responsible for the quality of the recorded image and detail. The higher the resolution, the more information can be stored and the image is much clearer.
• Built-in microphone– this is optional, but useful not only in the case of building video surveillance using a webcam, but also for everyday use. The microphone will come in handy if the camera is used as a baby monitor for little ones.
• Power – The vast majority of webcams are powered via a USB port. When purchasing, you should check the manufacturer's power supply information for the device.

There are two ways to use a digital camera as a webcam - using the built-in webcam mode or using the camera as a video capture device. Let's look at each of these options.

First, check your camera's manual to see if it can function as a webcam. Many digital cameras have this feature. You just need to install proprietary software to use as a webcam - most often it can be found on the camera manufacturer's website. Install the necessary software before connecting the camera.

Procedure:

• Connect your camera to your computer - connection is possible either via a USB cable or (if necessary) using audio/video cables that may be supplied with the camera.
• Go to "My Computer" (if using Windows 7, 8 or 8.1) and click on the USB video capture device icon. Most likely, the captured video from the camera will appear. If this does not happen, check whether the power supply is connected to the camera. Some cameras cannot function as webcams unless an external power source is connected. Webcam mode requires more power and the built-in battery or batteries are not sufficient.
• Use a separate microphone if your camera does not transmit sound.
• Find out the focal length of the camera. The minimum focal length of lenses determines the minimum distance to the object. Typically, the shorter the focal length, the closer the subject can be positioned.
• Make sure the cables are connected tightly to avoid breakage during broadcasting.
• You can select the required web camera in the program you will use (Skype, etc.)

You can choose a high-quality camera or camera in our or.

In the second case, if the camera does not have a mode of operation as a webcam, but can broadcast an image via a video cable, you will need not only drivers, but also specialized software for redirecting the video signal to the Internet (for example, ManyCam, Active WebCam, SplitCam programs). Standard video capture programs can save video recorded by the camera to the hard drive, but they cannot broadcast this signal to the network - therefore, you need to take care of choosing the necessary program in advance.

To organize the camera to work as a webcam, you must have a video capture device on your computer (Capture Video). Such a device for capturing video can be a TV tuner, a video card, or a special adapter. The input usually uses a video input in the form of a cinch connector. The camera is connected through it.

The camera should be connected with it turned off. Using a video capture program, you should see video from the camera (make sure you have specified the correct video input - composite). You can then configure programs to use your video capture device (your camera) as a webcam.