Can you disable a webcam that is built into your labtop?

Question

I have a little brother that I do not want to have access to it. I plan on purchasing a HP Pavilion dv6910us 15.4".

Answer 1

If you are looking for a temporary quick-fix software solution and you are on Windows - consider disabling the device. You can do that by going to 'Device Manager' (Type 'devmgmt.msc' in the Run prompt), locate the Webcam device (which shouldn't be hard) and the disable or even uninstall the device. If you brother does not have an administrator account on the device, he'll never be able to use the device. When you want to use the device again, follow the same series of steps; in this case, select 'Update' instead of 'Remove/Uninstall'.

If you are run Linux on the system however, there is a rather complicated set of steps you will need to perform - but that is way beyond the scope of my answer.

If your brother is however, an Admin, on either OS, you are in trouble and your only option is to disable the webcam in BIOS if possible. Warning, though, please do not mess around with the BIOS if you do not know what you are doing...

A more permanent solution is to use a carving chisel and a hammer to wreck the webcam altogether, or to request the folks out at hp service center to kindly disconnect the internal webcam circuitry. Both options are possible and easy, though if you aren't a computer hardware pro, I'd suggest you refrain from either.

Good luck, then!

Answer 2

Put duct tape on it.