Most current laptops have a built-in webcam with the optics at the top of the screen. This onboard equipment, which at first glance is rather practical, can quickly become your best enemy. Why? How to do without it?
Why disable the webcam of your laptop?
Disabling the webcam of your laptop PC helps to guard against a possible violation of your privacy. An ill-intentioned pirate can film you without your knowledge by activating your webcam remotely, without the operating LED even lighting up. Depending on where your laptop is, your privacy can really be undermined…
How to disable the webcam of your laptop?
First, go to the “Device Manager” section of your computer. Note that the process we show you applies to Windows 10. For earlier Windows versions, it will be necessary to go through the control panel to find the “Device Manager” section. You can also do this by typing “Device Manager” in the Windows search box.
- Right-click on the Windows menu at the bottom left of your screen;
- Click “Device Manager”;
- In the list of devices that appears, click on “Imaging device”; on some computers you will see “camera” then “Integrated Webcam “. The name differs but the procedure remains the same
- Right-click on “USB Camera” or “Integrated Webcam”
- Click “Disable”;
- When the message “Disabling the device will cause it to stop working. Are you sure you want to disable it?” appears, click “Yes”.
Your webcam is now disabled. To reactivate it, perform the same operation and click on “Activate”.
How to obstruct your laptop camera?
There are several good reasons not to disable your webcam. This is particularly the case if you regularly use the built-in microphone to continue chatting with your friends on instant messaging applications. In this case, there are so-called “covers”.
These are small artifices that are simply placed on the lens of the webcam to obstruct the image. They can be in the form of a clip, a slide, or even a dedicated adhesive (of course, you can obtain the same result with a simple post-it).
This solution does not protect you against piracy but will only offer sound to potential hackers who would like to spy on you. So be careful what you say…
