ghost skype? malware?
March 14, 2013 7:04 AM   Subscribe

A few minutes ago, my macbook pro (OSX 10.6.8) played what I think was the Skype incoming call chime. I didn't think Skype was running, and as I was Cmd-Tabbing through applications to see if I'd accidentally left Skype turned on, the webcam light briefly flashed. Skype wasn't running, but I double-checked by starting Activity Monitor, and didn't see any processes with Skype in the name. I'm not totally sure it was the skype chime, because I don't use skype often. I do have google chat running in gmail with video chat enabled, but there were no visible notifications in the gmail window. I suppose it could've been a deceptive flash ad in a browser tab, but it's the webcam light that creeps me out. Any ideas what might have happened? Should I find a malware scanner? Is that even a thing? The last ask.metafilter match for "osx malware" is almost 2 years old.
posted by moonmilk to Computers & Internet (4 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Response by poster: Never mind. It was google chat. Friend's android phone was accidentally sending video chat requests, and the chat request doesn't leave a visible trace when it's been cancelled.

That doesn't explain why google turns on the webcam without waiting for me to accept the chat.
posted by moonmilk at 7:18 AM on March 14, 2013


Best answer: If Google chat is like Android in that regard, it shows you a little preview of the picture you'd send while you get ready to accept, which I find rather helpful and not cause for paranoia.
posted by themel at 7:22 AM on March 14, 2013


Response by poster: I suppose that's reasonable. Better if one knows about it in advance, though!
posted by moonmilk at 7:25 AM on March 14, 2013




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