Posted on 06/20/2013 5:13:59 AM PDT by Olog-hai
A university student has revealed how she was spied on by hackers while she was in the bath. English student Rachel Hyndman was using her laptop to watch a DVD in her bathroom when she noticed her webcam suddenly turned itself on.
Miss Hyndman, 20, from Glasgow, said: “I was in the bath, trying to relax, and then programs on my computer came on like a ghost was using it. I couldn’t regain control of it. It was terrifying to think people had been looking at me without me knowing. I wondered how often they had done it without me realizing. The thought someone had access to me in this private moment is horrifying.” …
Called “ratting”, hackers can send out an internet virus that allows them access to a person’s desktop computer or laptop without their knowledge. They can then switch on the webcam—built in to most new computers—and watch people in the privacy of their living rooms and bedrooms without them realizing they are being closely observed. …
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I have tape over the camera eye as we speak because I read about the risk of spying via the camera right here on Free Republic
I always have electronics on nearby when I bathe. What could go wrong.
I’ve had the cameras on my devices taped over since the high school story a couple of years ago. I’m just as paranoid as I was in high school but the world has caught up and made me reasonable, even prudent.
my phone cam as well as my desktop - my kids think Im nuts
This is a byproduct of the OS and you must consider:
Anything used to “go out to the web” or “communicate across a network” can be used almost anytime the device is on.
This goes for phones, tablets, web-enabled TVs and of course, computers.
I would expect that, were operating system manufacturers under the same scrutiny as, say, the automotive industry, there would be manufacturer standards for compliance and safety on the operating systems just like there are safety standards for cars and trucks.
The unintended consequence of that, of course, would be $750 operating systems.
That’s terrible! The bums didn’t even leave their credit card numbers!
For parents concerned about this with the kids, a drop or two of clear nail polish or super glue on the kids’ webcam does wonders. Let it dry, and then test out the camera resolution - it’ll probably be blurry enough that you don’t have to worry even if the kids remove that tape (then tape it too, so the kids know you don’t want them using it).
Make sense.
This is what Eschelon and the NSA
and Obama-the-Undocumented purport is “transparency”.
I hope no one has ever done this to my computer. Then again, if they did and caught me naked, it would probably horrify them so much that they’d never “ratt” again.
“I always have electronics on nearby when I bathe. What could go wrong.”
LOL! My first thought!
I read my Kindle when I’m in the tub.
I’d give her a “not guilty” but it looks like she has a big butt...so not sure.
I can see where this is an issue. You turn it off and it refuses to stay off. Worse than those birthday candles that can't be blown out!
Guess it is true, if you want it off, pull the battery!
I can multitask while bathing, I like to make toast.
Note to everyone taping over their webcam lenses....
Your microphones are still on.
I buy $0.50 2nd hand dead tree books for water usage. I even call them *water books*.
Electrocution aside, I am not risking a $200 or more digital item to water damage. I have dropped enough books into the hot tub or pool to know it can and does happen.
NOOOOO....simple solutions are NOT allowed! Obama’s cronies need $70M to investigate this further!
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