For those who caught Jeff Rossen’s morning segment last Friday on The Today Show, webcams were examined and scrutinized. The shocked faces of parents realizing their webcams could be easily hacked spoke volumes. Hackers are capable of much more than nabbing your credit card and bank account numbers. They can also use your webcam to see what you’re doing. What’s worse is the fact that many times, users walk away from their computers for a period of time, and that idle computer is still susceptible to hacking.

http://youtu.be/D8zkGPfXJXk

This issue was first brought to the media about two years ago when a school district in Pennsylvania was brought up on charges for illegally accessing student webcams. While it seems the issue itself has not yet been resolved (since individuals are still able to hack into your webcam), it is critical to note how 21st Century Cyber Charter School has dealt with the issue.

Each student-issued laptop from out school is sent to students with the webcam feature disabled as a default setting. Should a student choose to utilize the function, he/she can do so by accessing the iSight toggle. Setting options will be available there to turn the webcam on or off. Students can actively turn this function on or off as they so choose. Classes do not always require students to use the iSight function. It is often an option offered to complete particular assignments.

We encourage students to be in-the-know about these things. If you have questions about your webcam and how to use it, please don’t hesitate to contact us!