TMO Quick Tip - Disabling a Built-in iSight Camera
If the unblinking stare of your MacBook's webcam has you concerned about a hacker using it to spy on you, then you may want to cover or disable the.
by Jeff Gamet, 7:30 AM EDT, June 11th, 2007
Apple didn't give us an overly obvious way to disable the iSight camera that's built in to the iMac, MacBook, and MacBook Pro, which is a problem for some people that work in sensitive environments. Covering the camera with a piece of tape will do the trick, but in some work places, that isn't enough.
- Some of the more privacy conscious Mac users out there might put tape over their webcam or use apps like Oversight to detect camera activity.While either of those approaches can be satisfactory for many users (or considered totally paranoid and overboard to others), many advanced Mac users in the security community go a step further and just outright disable their Macs front-facing web camera.
- Every Macbook, a laptop made by Apple, comes with an iSight camera above the display, which you use to shoot pictures and videos. There is no physical switch on the laptop to turn the camera on and off.
You can completely disable your built-in iSight by moving a single file. Just move the QuickTimeUSBVDCDIgitizer.component file from System/Library/QuickTime to another safe location on your hard drive. Be careful what you move, because the System directory isn't a particularly safe place to mess around in. Should you move, rename, or delete the wrong file, you could potentially render your Mac unbootable.
Macbook Disable Webcam Settings
You have to authenticate as an administrator when you try to move QuickTimeUSBVDCDIgitizer.component, and it will copy to the location you are trying to move it to instead of actually moving. Once the copy is complete, drag the original to the trash.
Removing the iSight component file will disable the camera and prevent any application from using it. If an application does try to use the camera, you'll see a dialog that says the device is in use by another program.
Macbook Disable Webcam Camera
To return your iSight to its normal and usable state, simply put the QuickTimeUSBVDCDIgitizer.component file back. Mac compatible cad software.
If the unblinking stare of your MacBook's webcam has you concerned about a hacker using it to spy on you, then you may want to cover or disable the.
by Jeff Gamet, 7:30 AM EDT, June 11th, 2007
Apple didn't give us an overly obvious way to disable the iSight camera that's built in to the iMac, MacBook, and MacBook Pro, which is a problem for some people that work in sensitive environments. Covering the camera with a piece of tape will do the trick, but in some work places, that isn't enough.
- Some of the more privacy conscious Mac users out there might put tape over their webcam or use apps like Oversight to detect camera activity.While either of those approaches can be satisfactory for many users (or considered totally paranoid and overboard to others), many advanced Mac users in the security community go a step further and just outright disable their Macs front-facing web camera.
- Every Macbook, a laptop made by Apple, comes with an iSight camera above the display, which you use to shoot pictures and videos. There is no physical switch on the laptop to turn the camera on and off.
You can completely disable your built-in iSight by moving a single file. Just move the QuickTimeUSBVDCDIgitizer.component file from System/Library/QuickTime to another safe location on your hard drive. Be careful what you move, because the System directory isn't a particularly safe place to mess around in. Should you move, rename, or delete the wrong file, you could potentially render your Mac unbootable.
Macbook Disable Webcam Settings
You have to authenticate as an administrator when you try to move QuickTimeUSBVDCDIgitizer.component, and it will copy to the location you are trying to move it to instead of actually moving. Once the copy is complete, drag the original to the trash.
Removing the iSight component file will disable the camera and prevent any application from using it. If an application does try to use the camera, you'll see a dialog that says the device is in use by another program.
Macbook Disable Webcam Camera
To return your iSight to its normal and usable state, simply put the QuickTimeUSBVDCDIgitizer.component file back. Mac compatible cad software.
Jeff Gamet is TMO's Morning Editor and Reviews Editor. Family feud software. He lectures, teaches and speaks on Mac OS X and design-related topics, and is the author of The Designer's Guide to Mac OS X from Peachpit Press.
Macbook Disable Webcam Cam
Email meif you have tips or tricks to share, or Mac-related questions you want answered.