PC-camera spying software leads to arrests.

Ever wonder if people can watch you through your PC's webcam? Well, if it makes you feel any better, they can! it has been going on for a while, in fact - for example, there was this story from 2010 about teachers and administrators watching students at home through their webcams for disciplinary purposes. Completely invalid, unacceptable disciplinary purposes that ended in a huge scandal, but they were still doing it.

More recently, last week in fact, the creators of Blackshades RAT, and many of its users, were arrested. Blackshades RAT (Remote Access Tool or Remote Administration Trojan, depending on who you talk to) is a trojan that infects a PC when the owner opens an attachment in an email which then installs the tool. Once that happens, it allows a remote user to see through the PC's camera and record what it sees without the owner's knowledge. It's believed that around 500,000 machines were infected worldwide.

The raid on the creators and users was an international effort that took place in many countries and saw almost 100 people taken in to custody. It was brought to light when a hacker attempted to blackmail Miss Teen USA with images recorded using the trojan, but it backfired when she contacted law enforcement and went public.

It's an interesting case, since the creators of software aren't usually held responsible for what the users of that software do. In this case, though, since the software was sold for $40 through their site, was designed explicitly to carry out illegal acts, and even offered technical support through their website, there was more leeway in the prosecution. The outcome of the raid is unknown for now, but it will be interesting to see how it all works out.

A couple of additional points: The only anti-virus program I could find that confirmed the ability to remove this malware is Symantec's Norton Antivirus, a product I am not a big fan of, as you all know. I believe most antivirus programs have the capability to remove this malware, but you'll want to check to be sure. Also, sometimes people advise that you put black electrical tape over your webcam if not using it. I advise against that because it will gum up the front of the camera and prevent the laptop from closing, and if you don't clean off the gum it can even damage the machine. You can hang something over it, cloth perhaps, use a binder clip, but electrical tape is a bad idea. But it is a good idea to cover it!