Jun 05, 2020 The EpocCam Pro app does away with all of these limitations and adds more functionality for $7.99 on the App Store if you’re installing on an iOS device or $5.49 on the Play Store if you want to. OverSight monitors a mac's mic and webcam, alerting the user when the internal mic is activated, or whenever a process accesses the webcam. Compatibility: OS X 10.10+ current version: 1.2.0 ( change log ).
The world of digital security can be a scary one. With hackers in the news and a big ransomware scare just recently wrapping up, folks have good reason to be concerned. Staying secure online is crucial, and it starts with good security habits. But what if you’re concerned that someone is spying on you through your Mac’s webcam? Can you find out if a rogue app is accessing your Mac’s webcam?
It isn’t just an idle question. Not too long ago, there was a fad among troublemakers and hackers to make online “slaves.” It sounds worse than it actually is: basically, dumb kids (and some childish adults, I’m sure) would take over the webcams of unsuspecting targets and watch them go about their day. Sometimes, they would catch glimpses of people undressing, but the point was to invade someone’s privacy. This was based on a Windows exploit, but a ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Using lsof to Find Out What App is Using Your Webcam
The “stock” way to find out which app is using your webcam on a Mac is, unfortunately, not excellent. It requires some Terminal commands and a little bit of computer know-how. There are simpler ways that use off-the-shelf software, which we’ll cover below. If you’re comfortable with Terminal, however, you can use the Terminal command lsof to get a list of applications currently attempting to access your webcam.
1. Open Terminal (Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app).
2. If you have a built-in webcam (like with a MacBook Pro or iMac), copy and paste the command below and press “Enter.” You can also type in the command, but be sure to be 100% accurate.
If you have a third-party webcam (like a Logitech model) copy and paste the following command and press “Enter.”
If you’re curious about what’s happening, we’re the lsof command tells you what process or application is using a specified system resource. By running lsof “naked,” or without flags, we would normally get a list of all the processes doing just about anything on our Mac. Then, we search through that list using grep to find references to the appropriate webcam interface.
3. In this case, the command will return a list of all the applications currently using (or thinking about using) your webcam.
Annoyingly, this list will likely include some extraneous applications. You’ll see stuff like the third-party software that runs your camera (if any). You’ll also often see Google Chrome listed. Even with this imperfect list, however, you’ll have a place to start scanning for suspicious or unexpected applications to investigate.
This list, though cryptic looking, is decipherable. If you look at the beginning of each line, you’ll see some familiar program names: in this case, Google and FaceTime. There’s also some unusual ones, like LCore and something called “avconfere.” Let’s investigate the odd ones.
4. To find out more about this processes, I can us the ps -p command, along with the process ID. The process ID is the number next to each program’s name, and it’s just a number that allows you to specify which particular program you want to investigate with Terminal.
5. For example, the following command will tell me more about the LCore process:
If you’re curious about what we’re doing, the -p flag allows us to use ps to investigate the origin and status of a running process as specified by its process ID.
6. As we can see, that’s the Logitech kext that’s running my Logitech webcam, so that’s no danger. I can tell thanks to the location of the file, as well as a little Googling to confirm my suspicions.
7. Let’s try the same trick on the “avconfere” process using the command below:
8. That actually “avconferenced” which is the daemon that handles all webcam requests on macOS, so that’s also safe too. I know this because I Googled it, which you should do for any unusual processes. I also suspect it’s safe because it’s in the “libexec” folder, which contains system daemons and utilities. Of course, a clever attacker might disguise their process in that way, so always investigating anything you don’t recognize or understand.
Quitting Apps Using Your Webcam
If you do find a malicious application, you can quit it from the command line using the kill command.
1. Use the above process to determine the process ID of the application using your webcam.
2. Type kill #### where #### is the process ID of the application you want to quit. For example, to kill Chrome, I would type the following:
Using Oversight To Get Notified When Your Webcam Is Enabled
lsof has limitations, listing all the apps that might attempt to access your webcam (like Chrome) even if they’re not doing so currently. The freeware app, Oversight, which was developed by an ex-NSA hacker, is a good alternative. Oversight will alert you whenever your camera or microphone becomes active, and let you know which application has started using it. You can then approve or deny the usage directly from a notification.
1. Download and install Oversight.
2. When an application wants to use your webcam, Oversight will generate a notification.
3. Click Allow to allow the app to use your webcam, or Block to deny the usage.
Conclusion
There’s a couple of ways to find out which application is using your Mac’s webcam. And remember that built-in Mac webcams will always show their green “in use” light when operational. This is thanks to the physical wiring of the device. For power to reach the camera, it must also illuminate the LED. Thanks to this design, it’s hard to imagine a software exploit that would disable the light, but caution is rarely regrettable. If you’re really freaked out, don’t forget the lowest tech solution of all: a piece of tape stuck over your webcam’s lens.
You might also like the following:
iOS Apps for Physical and Data Security
Getting Started with Mac Encryption
Protect Your Browsing History From Being Sold to Advertisers
Did you know that it’s possible to use your iPhone as a webcam? It won’t emulate the camera at all in the traditional sense, but there are some apps that will record the phone’s camera and send it to your Mac, a Windows PC, another mobile device, or even the web.
Are you away from home and miss your lovely pet? You can easily track both your adorable pets and your home using a webcam. Well, I don’t suggest you buy an expensive webcam. All I say is that you use your iPhone as a webcam with these first-class applications
Read on to discover several ways to use your iPhone camera as a webcam.
Contents
- 1 6 Best iPhone Apps to use your iPhone as a webcam
6 Best iPhone Apps to use your iPhone as a webcam
You can use any of these Free Apps to convert and use your iPhone as Webcam.
1. EpocCam
EpocCam is the most popular and frequently downloaded app that can turn the iPhone into a webcam.
It works with all apps that support the webcam (such as Skype and Google Hangouts), supports the rear and front cameras of the iPhone, and encode all the videos it records. It has a wireless range of 20 feet.
EpocCam supports both Windows and Mac OS X but requires iOS 8.0 or higher, compared to iOS 5.1 only in the case of WebCamera. Apart from that, the two apps work almost identically, making EpocCam an ideal monitor for kids, SPYCAM, a security camera, or as an easy-to-use way how to call someone on Skype from a PC without a webcam.
2. iCam Source Pro Mobile
If you want to stream multiple live videos instantly on your iPhone, iCam is the app to install. iCam has a special feature to record and replay motion events. You can also receive notifications when iCam detects anything.
Pro Mobile is just one part of the equation. You’ll also need the iCam Pro Webcam Streaming app (free version available). Once both apps are installed, you’ll be able to stream live video and audio from any iOS device.
3. Webcam
Web Camera is a powerful and powerful iPhone webcam app. The app is exclusively designed to perform the work of changing your iPhone to a webcam. It provides the best image quality from all the webcam apps we tested and costs only $ 4.99 – much less than you would even pay for a non-branded webcam from China. Furthermore, the app uses a local Wi-Fi connection, which means you can easily move and place your phone creatively the way you want.
The app supports most messaging apps, including Skype, and also works with video production software such as Boinx TV, CamTwist and Camtasia. It records video in 192 x 144, 480 x 360, and 640х480. Although there is no HD or Full HD resolution, the image quality is excellent, and the application works well even with low-light and fast-moving objects. Supports the latest iOS 5.1 or later and works with both Windows and Mac OS X.
4. iVCam webcam
iVCam Webcam is a new free webcam app that has received a lot of positive reviews. It works only with Windows computers.
Webcam Security App
Like other webcam apps, iVCam will turn your iPhone into a standard webcam that can be used in most webcam apps. However, what makes this application more diverse is the PC client software.
If you have multiple iPhones, you can connect and view all cameras on the client software at the same time. The interface is simple but sophisticated with many useful features. You can preview the video (with the audio or not), capture screenshots, record videos and save files directly on your computer.
Other key features of the app include:
- Support various video sizes: 1080p, 720p, 480p, 360p.
- Configure the video frame rate, video, and audio quality.
- Landscape mode and image.
- Real-time switching for the front camera and rear camera.
- Manual / autofocus, flip video / mirror, flashlight.
- Use the iPhone microphone as your computer’s wireless microphone.
5. IP Cam
Webcam Security Free
The IP cam can capture all you want to Capture computer videos over Wi-Fi on your iPhone with ease. It is also possible to record videos with the help of this app.
With IP Cam, you can easily capture videos over Wi-Fi on your iPhone, which means you can use your iPhone as a webcam. You can also record videos with the help of the app and is compatible with MJPEG streaming. The app also provides the ability to increase or decrease the brightness, contrast, and saturation of your videos. Moreover, the gray and night vision mode helps you protect your eyes during the night.
6. Air Cam Live Video
If you want to view live video feeds from your computer’s external or internal webcam, then Air Cam Live Video is your way to go! Easily set up a webcam in your office and monitor people remotely and their activity right from your iOS device.
After pairing with an external webcam, you can also work with Air Cam Live Video as an excellent home surveillance system. The app also provides an option to automatically detect motion, eventually resulting in video recording. Volume and frame can be controlled directly from your iPhone with Windows and Mac support.
Conclusion:
iPhone offers a wide range of possibilities. You can take advantage of the iPhone as a webcam with the help of apps. The important point to note for all the above apps is that you can shoot high-quality videos with the option to monitor your video feed with minimal effort. Please share the app you used to turn your iPhone into a webcam? We’d like to hear from you.