This week saw Instagram reach over half a billion active monthly users which is naturally headline material. Of course that means the headlines have been dominated by a 1cm squared piece of insulating tape on Mark Zuckerberg’s webcam.
Why does Zuckerberg tape is camera?
3 things about this photo of Zuck:
Camera covered with tape
Mic jack covered with tape
Email client is Thunderbird pic.twitter.com/vdQlF7RjQt— Chris Olson (@topherolson) June 21, 2016
Some industry professionals have confirmed the Facebook founder is on the ball in terms of web security. Malware is a very real problem facing today’s computer users. Malware installs itself on your computer, looking all innocent before getting up to divilment. One claim outlines how webcams can be activated when you are unaware by this malware, which records your actions and keystrokes on your keyboard. This is the threat Zuckerberg is protecting himself from.
So should you put tape over your webcam?
Just a few months ago, we said this was all a little too “tin-foil hat” for our liking. To be honest, it’s probably not a bad idea to cover up your webcam. You can even get little caps for your devices that slide back and forth. Short of that, a little bit of tape will do the same job. The likelihood of you being targetted are slim, but at the same time, there’s no harm in being safe.
Is this just scaremongering?
Web security should be taken very seriously and the underlying message here should not be ignored. Keeping your WiFi secured, using unique logins or passphrases for different accounts, remaining vigilant while online and installing software is extremely important. At the same time, you shouldn’t refuse to explore the internet amid fears your identity will be stolen through your webcam. There are real fears about online behaviours, but the internet is such a brilliant resource for a wide range of topics, so don’t panic.
It’s quite likely that you will see laptops in offices and Starbucks around the country now don the insulating tape of justice. The Zuck has done it so everyone will need to be on-par with his security precautions. Yet for all his insulating tape and protection, he still got hacked last month. Even worse, most of the damage was caused by his use of the same login details for multiple sites.
