As we begin to enter our sixth month, yes sixth month, of COVID restrictions, we all need to be thinking about how to keep ourselves safe online. For those that continue to work from home, you are most likely using a webcam of some sort. Whether it is built in or an external camera, they both have the same vulnerabilities. Not only is your camera a threat, but your computer hard drive and sensitive information is as well.
Let’s begin with a webcam. It is a live stream of you and your surroundings. Hackers can access your internal network via your computer or your wifi. With most people using wifi from home, you need to be creating a password for your wifi if you haven’y already. “Password” is not a password, spend some time thinking of something secure or use a password generator such as passwordsgenerator.net. Additionally, no matter the operating system you are using, get the latest updates. Within those updates, there are usually security patches to make your computer less vulnerable. If you are using non-secure websites, those without an “https://”, think twice about visiting those pages. They can embed malicious code in your browser or computer for viewing your webcam. It is as scary as someone randomly turning on your webcam whenever they want, without you knowing. Another safety measure is putting a piece of tape over your webcam when not in use or purchasing a simple webcam slide cover, like this.
Once someone has control of your webcam, they most likely have control of your computer as well. One easy way to stop someone from accessing your information is to turn your computer off when not using it. Yes, they can be a hassle, but for simplicity reasons, that is a great place to start. Also, having a malware scanner installed on your computer is a necessity in these times. Some computers are safer than others, but everyone needs to keep their eyes out for malware. malwarebites is a free one to start with. Other companies like Norton and Sophos offer similar protection with more features. Your personal information is your personal information, do all you can to protect it. Make sure you are changing passwords regularly for your banking information, social media accounts, and credit card accounts.
Hackers are using their programs and tools to steal your information, do all you can to keep yourself protected.
