Webcam and Mic Control

This section contains information on how to prevent spying through your webcam and eavesdropping through your microphone.

Available only in Kaspersky Standard, Kaspersky Plus, and Kaspersky Premium.

About application access to the webcam and microphone

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Intruders may attempt to spy on you using your webcam or eavesdrop on you by gaining access to your microphone. Kaspersky application protects your webcam and microphone from unauthorized access if the Webcam and Mic Control component is enabled. In component settings, you can block all application access to webcam and microphone or request to be notified whenever an application tries to gain access to your webcam or microphone.

If the component is enabled, but access to your webcam and mic is not fully blocked, access is granted or denied based on the trust group that the relevant application is part of. Access is blocked for applications in the High Restricted or Untrusted groups.

In the Intrusion Prevention settings window, you can allow access to the webcam or mic for applications included in the High Restricted and Untrusted groups. If an application from the Low Restricted group is trying to gain access to the webcam or microphone, Kaspersky application blocks the access and notifies you if you have configured notifications in component settings.

In the drop-down list of the notification, you can block application access to webcam or microphone, or go to access settings. The notification is not displayed if some applications are running in full-screen mode on your computer.

In the drop-down list of the notification, you can choose to hide notifications or proceed to configure notification display settings.

How Kaspersky application manages the webcam

How Kaspersky application manages the microphone

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How to change settings of application access to the webcam or microphone

To change settings of application access to the webcam or microphone:

1. Open the main application window.
2. Click in the lower part of the main window.

   This opens the Settings window.

3. In the Privacy settings section, select the Webcam and Mic Control component.
4. Under Webcam settings, select one of the following actions:
   • Notify if an app is using the webcam. Applications that have access by default will be allowed access to the webcam. A notification will be displayed, informing the user that a specific application is using the webcam.

     This setting is not available if the Block all apps from accessing the webcam action is selected.

   • Connect without notification. Clicking this link opens the list of applications which connect to the webcam without notifications. To exclude an application from the list, select it and click Notify. The option is unavailable if the list is empty.
   • Block all apps from accessing the webcam. Webcam access is blocked for all applications installed on your computer.
   • Blocked applications. Clicking this link opens the list of applications for which access to the webcam is blocked. To exclude an application from the list, select it and click Allow. The option is unavailable if the list is empty.
5. Under Mic settings, select one of the following actions:
   • Notify if an app is using the mic. Applications that have access by default will be allowed access to the microphone. A notification will be displayed, informing the user that a specific application is using the microphone.

     This setting is not available if the Block all apps from accessing the mic action is selected.

   • Connect without notification. Clicking this link opens the list of applications which connect to the mic without notifications. To exclude an application from the list, select it and click Notify. The option is unavailable if the list is empty.
   • Block all apps from accessing the mic. Mic access is blocked for all applications installed on your computer.
   • Blocked applications. Clicking this link opens the list of applications for which access to the mic is blocked. To exclude an application from the list, select it and click Allow. The option is unavailable if the list is empty.

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How to allow or block access to the webcam for an individual application

To allow or block access to the webcam for an application:

1. Open the main application window.
2. Go to the Security section.
3. Select the Intrusion Prevention component.
4. Click the Manage applications link to open the Manage applications window.
5. In the list, select the application for which you want to allow access to sound recording devices. Double-click the application to open the Application rules window.
6. In the Application rules window, go to the Rights tab.
7. In the list of rights categories, select Operating system modification → Suspicious modifications in the operating system.
8. Select Access webcam.
9. In the Action column, select Allow or Deny.
10. Click Save.

If you select Block all apps from accessing the webcam, application access to the webcam is blocked regardless of the trust group and manually configured permissions.

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How to allow or block access to the mic for an individual application

To allow or block access to the mic for an application:

1. Open the main application window.
2. Go to the Security section.
3. Select the Intrusion Prevention component.
4. Click the Manage applications link to open the Manage applications window.
5. In the list, select the application for which you want to allow access to the mic and double-click to open the Application rules window.
6. In the Application rules window, go to the Rights tab.
7. In the list of rights categories, select Operating system modification → Suspicious modifications in the operating system → Access sound recording devices.
8. In the Action column, select Allow or Deny.
9. To receive notifications about instances of applications being allowed or denied access to the audio stream, in the Action column, click the icon and select Log events.
10. Click Save.

If you select Block access for all applications, application access to the mic is blocked regardless of the trust group and manually configured permissions.

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