Lobster wrote:
> I have a Logitech QuickCam USB webcam which is giving me cause for
> concern...
>
> It has a green LED above the lens, which is supposed to light up when
> the webcam is active, and that's what it's always done for me AFAIK.
> However, recently, when I'm not using the webcam (which is 99% of the
> time) I've noticed that the light's started coming on apparently
> randomly; sometimes just the occasional blink, other times a whole
> sequence of flashes or varying duration. It looks like the LED on my
> router, like it's indicating data traffic or something. It doesn't look
> like a loose-connection type of blinking.
This sort of pattern can possibly be due to a loose contact. Have you tried
jiggling the Webcam and see if that makes a difference? Since the LED is
digital, it's unlikely to behave like a dysfunctional fluorescent tube, but
still, it sounds plausible.
I have heard of computers apart from mine that emitted random
electronic-like noises. There was no obvious pattern either.
> This seems to happen regardless of what software I'm running;
In that case, it's unlikely to be O/S-related.
> furthermore I haven't installed any new software that I can think of.
> I'm on broadband, but have a router with hardware firewall, plus Windows
> software firewall, and up-to-date AVG antivirus software, so I can't
> think I've been compromised that way. And if something/someone was able
> to control my webcam, surely the LED would be 'on' continuously?
Try detecting suspicious traffic and unexplained CPU operations. Also
disconnect from the Internet and see if it makes a difference.
> Any ideas? Do I worry?
Probably worried over a broken LED, then becoming a little paranoid. Why
would a worm/hacker ever want to grab pictures, as opposed to exploiting a
dial-up connection, using your computer as a proxy or destroying your
files?
Roy
--
Roy S. Schestowitz
http://Schestowitz.com
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