Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!
Question from Callie: I bought a new Acer laptop that has a camera built into it.
I don’t ever plan to use the camera for anything and I’d like to completely disable it.
Everything I’ve read so far just explains how to prevent apps from accessing the camera, but I’m wanting to disable it completely.
Can you tell me how to do that? [Read more…]
Most laptops come with built-in webcams these days, but some older models don’t. And unless the monitor has one built-in, desktop PCs don’t typically come with them either.
If you ever find yourself in need of a webcam but you don’t happen to own one, a nifty free download called DroidCam will let you use an most any smartphone or tablet as a webcam for your Windows or Linux PC.
Do you have a laptop or desktop PC that’s equipped with a webcam?
How about a baby monitor or some security cameras that are connected to your home’s Wi-Fi network?
If so, people from all over the world might be spying on your family at this very minute! And I’m not just saying that for dramatic effect – it’s absolutely true. [Read more…]
Question from Alice T.: Rick, I have an HP laptop running Windows 7, and I have a question for you.
I read somewhere that hackers can take control of your webcam and make videos and take pictures of you without your knowledge.
I NEVER use a webcam for anything so I’d like just disable it completely and be done with it. How do I do that?
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
If you have a spare laptop and webcam laying around your house, you have at your fingertips all you need to set up an outstanding free baby monitor.
It doesn’t have to be a top-of-the-line laptop either. You can easily use one that has been sitting on a shelf gathering dust for a couple of years (as long as it still works).
All you need to do is open a free Google + account to use as the digital “connection” between your spare laptop’s webcam and your smart phone. Here’s how to set it up, step-by-step: [Read more…]