- At the University of Cambridge, the first webcam was created to control the level of coffee left in a coffee pot, so that engineers avoided unnecessary walks to check if the drink had run out.

The first device was a Philips camera. / Pixabay

It was born to watch over a coffee maker and today it is the eye that sees everything: the webcam turns 31

A webcam is used to record videos, make video calls, or broadcast via streaming. This small device uses very basic technology since it is formed by a lens, an image sensor, and the necessary circuitry. Today, November 22, the webcam is celebrating its anniversary, although its history is very unusual because coffee was the main element to promote its creation.

Quentin Stafford-Fraser (computer engineer at Cambridge University) was tired of going to the coffee pot that was located in the 'Trojan Room' of the university and seeing that there was no drink left inside. Fed up with repeating the same action every day, in 1991 he decided to connect a camera to control the coffee level remotely from the computer screen.

The famous 'Trojan Room Coffe Pot' was watched over by a black and white Philips camera with 129 x 129-pixel resolution, and the XCoffe program used the X Windows protocol to output images at one frame per second.

In 1993, Dan Gordon and Martyn Johnson (researchers) updated the webcam software to respond to requests via a graphical browser called Mosaic, taking into account that the webcam is 'older' than the famous 'World Wide Web'. At the time when the web became a more widespread technology to offer better graphic possibilities, said webcam was connected to the Internet.

The images of the coffee pot were available to all students in the lab, and before long, millions of people from all over the world were connecting to see it thanks to the small script and the first version of the code.

After spending eight years streaming, the last image of the coffee maker was broadcast in 2001, when one of the scientists at the university pressed the device's off button. But what happened to the famous coffee pot? The German magazine Der Spiegel bought this product on eBay for 3,850 euros (approximately), and since 2015, it has been on permanent loan at the German Museum of Technology (Berlin).

Current uses

As of today, webcams have come a long way in terms of built-in technology and software, but beyond recording video, these devices can be used in the following ways:

• Surveillance camera: Live images can be accessed through a browser or application, in addition, many of them have built-in sensors to detect possible movements.
• Facial recognition: There is a possibility that they are an alternative security method, that is, another way to log in without using passwords.
• QR code reader.
• Take photos and video calls: Although the quality is not very good, it is true that they are used to take photos or make video calls.

Are there privacy risks with the webcam?

Spying through the webcam is not a myth, considering that cybercriminals can access the audio and video of a home or company.

• Cover the lens: Stickers are a useful alternative to protect the privacy of users.
• Unplug it: If the webcam is connected to the computer through a USB connector, it is advisable to disconnect the cable.
• Disable it in the operating system: Those interested can disable it from the 'Settings' tool → 'Privacy'.
• Do not trust the activity LED that lights up when in use, because cybercriminals can spy on users without activating the light.

In case you didn't know, webcam attacks require the installation of some type of malware on the computer, specifically a Trojan horse, but to improve PC security it is necessary to download and run default protections.

The possible dangers

All electronic devices have a built-in camera, and when we buy a mobile, we usually pay close attention to the number of pixels it offers to get good photos. But leaving this topic aside, users face a series of daily risks:

• Risk of being the object of jokes that are usually recorded and shared on the Internet.
• Relaying dangerous behaviors can be facilitated.
• There is a risk of accessing harmful content that causes psychological damage.
• Cybercriminals can capture the image of the victim to use it without their consent.
• There is a risk of disclosure of personal data.
• Fraudsters can charge users with emotional and sexual blackmail to steal money.

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