I have a question.

Hey... I have a question... I would not attemp to do it, but is it possible to hear what someone is saying at their computer with their microphone without thier consent? I was j/w if anyone knew how. Thanx

 

wow, that is random, but actually, i have a book about the dangers of that, let me look it up, i know it can be done, but im not sure if the book says how. also, recording without consent, im guessing thats a crime, so i wouldent reccomend it. im just giving you info. i am in no way responsible for how you use that information. ill post back later tonight with the info

 

i have always wondered about this too.

I look at the little webcam when its hooked up to the computer. Its still hooked up and pointing at me, what if there was a way to hack into someones computer and turn it on to watch the stream, or what if there was a way to hear whats going on where a mic is hooked up but the people at the computers dont really thinnk about or suspect that its being recorded. It just feels like .... there is still data going in, its just dead to the software.

that would be really strange and interesting.

Is that what you mean?

 

Often wondered about some of that myself... here is what I concluded based on my somewhat flawed knowledge of TCP/IP - I must finish that book!
If you are just sat at home recording with your mic or webcam then the feed goes into a file and at the end you either save or discard. That isnt transmitted across teh web and assuming no-one is remotely connected to your machine and perusing the files you create I think you can say its safe.
If however you are using something like NetMeeting to send the information across then yea I think you are at risk of someone snooping. Again this may not be entirely fact and someone may need to tell me if I'm wrong.
NetMeeting does not use any sort of secure tunnel for transmission/receiving of data. Sort of like telnet doesnt make things particularly secure. My knowledge of hacking and the ways it is done is next to non-existent, but as I understand it, an unencrypted stream of data would just be passing in the form of TCP/IP packets over the port NetMeeting uses (it uses a specific range - like 10 or so IIRC), and if someone had snooping software on that they would see that data. Also that data is then being bounced across routers and servers all over the place before it reaches its target. Again unencrypted.
So the answer I believe is yes, someone could hear you, but the odds are fairly slim. But at the end of the day (regardless of how accurate my information is), if you are worried about it that much use software that offers some sort of secure transmission - kinda like ssh is a secure shell whereas telnet isnt. If the key changes each session then I would say you are protected.
I hope some of that helps,
Cheers,
Greg

 

ANY information you broadcast over the internet has the possibility of being intercepted. Is it very likely that anyone is snooping around for webcams? I'd guess probably not.

 

Heres a low tech way to prevent it from happening, just un plug the devices.

 

Thanks!!