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How your Webcam may be spying on You

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Remember that song from 1984, “Somebody’s watching me?” It was a great foreshadowing of things to come: These days, people really CAN watch you while you go about your business at home…through your computer. So if someone confides in you that “they’re spying on me through my computer,” don’t be too quick to assume your friend went off his meds.

2WWebcam technology can enable a hacker to view you via your computer. The technology is called RAT: remote access Trojans. It can record keystrokes and obtain all of your files. And you’ll probably not know someone’s watching you. And how does a computer become a portal through which someone can spy on you? Numerous ways, including installing a “lost” thumb drive you found and clicking on links in e-mails or pop-up ads.

Just think of what all this can mean:

  • Nobody will have to imagine what you look like in your underwear.
  • The government may be spying on you. Your boss may be, too.
  • Your face, captured via your Webcam, can be compared to a face in a crowd. Doesn’t sound like a big deal unless you don’t want anyone to know you were in that crowd, such as a war protest.
  • Your headshot may end up on a selling list—like your phone number and home address surely already have—and these lists can get sold all over the place.
  • Will you ever be truly alone when getting intimate with your partner?
  • Criminals are hacking webcams and holding the footage for ransom.
  • Do you want anyone to know about that secret, disgusting habit you have?
  • Put a piece of masking tape over the Webcam camera.
  • Equip your device with the latest antivirus, antiphishing, antispyware and a firewall.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to TheBestCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention. For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247. Disclosures.

What Is a Trojan Horse?

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One of history’s great literary classics is Homer’s Iliad, which tells the story of the Trojan horse—the wooden horse that the Greeks hid in to enter the city of Troy and take it over. Two thousand and some odd years later, hackers use a digital Trojan horse to hide malicious files in seemingly harmless files with the intent to attack or take over your device. A Trojan horse (or Trojan) is one of the most common and dangerous types of threats that can infect your computer or mobile device. Trojans are usually disguised as benign or useful software that you download from the Internet, but they actually carry malicious code designed to do harm—thus their name.

6DThere are a variety of types of Trojans, many of which can launch sophisticated and clever attacks. Here are some types to be aware of:

  • Password-stealing Trojans—These look for saved passwords on your computer and email them to the hackers. Some can even steal passwords cached in your browser history.
  • Remote access Trojans—These are quite common, allowing the attacker to take control of your computer and access all of your files. The hacker could potentially even access your online banking and credit card sites if you have your password stored in your browser memory or on your computer.
  • Destructive Trojans—These Trojans destroy and delete files from your computer
  • Antivirus killers—These Trojans detect and kill your antivirus and firewall programs to give the attacker easier access to your computer

A Trojan can have one or multiple destructive uses—that is what makes them so dangerous. It’s also important to realize that unlike viruses, Trojans are not self-replicating and are only spread by users who mistakenly download them, usually from an email attachment or by visiting an infected site.

Here are some steps you can take to avoid downloading a Trojan horse:

  • Beware of suspicious emails. Don’t open an email attachment if you don’t recognize the sender of the email
  • Use comprehensive security software. Protect all your devices with McAfee LiveSafe™ service as well as stay protected from spam, sketchy files, and viruses
  • Separate the good from the bad. Use an email program with a built-in spam filter to decrease the chance of a malicious email getting into your inbox
  • Know the threats. Keep current on the latest threats so you know what to look for when you receive suspicious emails

Remember that Trojans are common because they are so successful. Hackers use social engineering techniques, such as mentioning a current news topic or popular celebrity, to get you to click on their email. Just being aware of what they are and how they work can prevent you from having to deal with financial loss, identity theft, damage to your computer, and significant downtime.

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Expert to McAfee. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked!  Disclosures.

Strong Passwords Aren’t Enough

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I’ve said it before, use upper and lower case, use number and letter combinations and when possible, if the website allows it, use special characters. It has been documented that “Adding just one capital letter and one asterisk would change the processing time for an 8 character password from 2.4 days to 2.1 centuries.”

It is great advice to strengthen your passwords. It is just as important is to make sure your PC is free of malicious programs such as spyware and key-loggers.  Beware of RATS a.k.a “Remote Access Trojans.” RAT’s can capture every keystroke typed, take a snapshot of your screen and even take rolling video of your screen via a webcam. But what’s most damaging is RATs gaining full access to your files and if you use a password manager they have access to that as well.

RAT’s covertly monitor a PC generally without the user’s knowledge. RAT’s are a criminal hackers dream and are the key ingredient in spyware. Common RAT’s are the LANRev Trojan and “Backdoor Orifice”.

Installing RAT’s can be done by full onsite access to the machine or remotely when the user opens an infected attachment, clicking links in a popup, installing a permissioned toolbar or any other software you think is clean. More ways include picking up a thumb-drive you find on the street or in a parking lot then plugging it in, and even buying off the shelf peripherals like a digital picture frame or extra hard drive that’s infected from the factory. The bad guys can also trick a person when playing a game as seen here in this YouTube video.

An unprotected PC is the path of least resistance.  Use anti-virus and anti-spyware. Run it automatically and often.

A PC not fully controlled by you is vulnerable. Use administrative access to lock down a PC preventing installation of anything.

Many people leave their PC on all day long. Consider shutting it down when not in use.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing Digital picture frames with built in viruses on Fox News. Disclosures.