Good afternoon, dear readers, not long ago we installed skype for windows 10, and after some time it may give you this error when calling " Can't start video broadcast. Close all other programs that can use the webcam,” and as a result they won’t see you. It would be unlucky for someone if at the most crucial moment you receive such a scam from Microsoft, before the purchase of Skype by the Redmond giant, I have not seen such problems .

And this is the situation I have good camera Microsoft, I use it both as a camera and as a microphone that is built into it. One fine day I wanted to call my wife and chat, when I reached her I got an error

Can't start video streaming. Close all other programs that may be using the webcam

They didn’t see or hear me on the other side; it was the first time I’d seen such a mistake. Let's see how I defeated her.

First of all, try calling your interlocutor back, it didn’t help me. I then completely closed Skype and restarted it, the error cannot start video broadcasting did not go away. Next, Microsoft advises updating Skype. This is done simply by opening the Help menu at the top and selecting Check for updates. Skype will make a request to Microsoft servers and check if there are newer versions, if so, it will download and install them.

If this does not help you, then try to find out if there are any other programs that could intercept your use of the webcam and need to be closed. Among them may be

• Mail agent
• IP telephony programs like 3cx phone

If there are no such programs, then check the physical connection of the web camera, try connecting it to another usb port. If this doesn’t help, try restarting your computer, or you can also try updating your Windows drivers.

Another very common problem is personal computers, so this is when on your motherboard there are many USB ports, I have highlighted individual blocks with a red oval, the joke here is that if you plug a mouse into one of the ports of such a pool, and then want to plug a camera next to it, it will not work, tested on the Microsoft lifecam.

You are sitting in front of your computer, doing your business, when you suddenly notice that the webcam light is on. You close Skype and your browser just in case, just to be sure.

The light doesn't go out! What program uses the camera? We will try to answer how to determine the process that uses the webcam.

Tape the camera

First, until the reason is determined, to prevent leakage of your personal information, cover the camera with electrical tape or a piece of cardboard. There is no need to look for elegant methods on how to do this; many available devices will do, the main thing is to at the moment cover. It is also advisable to turn off the microphone.

Download and run Process Explorer

To find out which process is running the webcam, we need a free Windows utility called Process Explorer. It was developed by Microsoft and is part of their Sysinternals Suite of tools for IT professionals. Just download and run, accept the terms of use and you're done.

Find the physical name of the camera

Now we need to find how your camera is called a computer. Launch Device Manager and find your webcam in the list:

Double click on the camera and go to the Details tab. Locate the Physical Device Object Name drop-down list, right-click and copy its value:

Let's find processes using the name of the physical device

Now go to the Process Explorer window and press Ctrl + F. Paste the line we copied into the search bar and press Enter. You should get something like this:

In the above screenshot, this is Skype, which means you can simply log out of Skype and there is no reason to worry. But if there is an application of unknown origin, you need to kill this process.

Don’t forget, if you find Skype harmless at first glance, don’t be lazy to check the Process Properties. In the picture below we see the path from where it starts, again, if you notice something strange, it’s a reason to think about it. “Virus writers” are very inventive, and can call their process Skype, where, for example, the Latin “e” will be written in Cyrillic.

Basic rules of hygiene

The most basic tips:

• Install at least some antivirus program, update it and run the check periodically
• Never accept files from suspicious people on ICQ, Skype, etc. Be sure to pay attention to the file extension, especially with EXE and SRC. By the way, SRC viruses have become quite common. It looks like a harmless Windows screensaver, but that’s not the case. By running such a file, you can completely give control to an attacker
• Never download programs from suspicious resources; if you really need the program and can’t find an alternative, check first this file on VirusTotal

Stay in touch, subscribe to updates, it will be even more interesting. You are sitting calmly in front of your computer, minding your own business, and suddenly you notice that the webcam is on. Someone is watching you, perhaps recording or even broadcasting it online. But what's the matter? Skype is turned off and you close your browser just in case. The light on the webcam is still on! What are you using it for?

Here's how to find out.

To get started, use a sticker

Let's start with simple solution. If your webcam is on and you have no idea why, someone might be watching you right now. Therefore, cover the camera with a sticker or a piece of cardboard. It won't look very nice, but it works.

You can purchase a package of suitable stickers at any store. They can be peeled off and used for other needs. But don't wait for them to be delivered. Cover the camera with whatever you have on hand and we will continue.

Download and launch Process Explorer

In order to determine what uses your webcam, we will need a free utility for Windows called Process Explorer. It was developed by Microsoft and is part of their Sysinternals Suite, a collection of tools for IT professionals.

You can download Process Explore r and install it on your computer, or run the application directly from the server. The browser will give you the EXE file directly from the Sysinternals website. This is perhaps the most quick way launch Process Explorer.

Now we need to find out what the camera is called on your computer. Launch Device Manager (7: search in the Start menu; Windows 8.1: search in the Charms bar) and find the webcam in the list:

Double-click on the webcam and go to the “ tab Intelligence».

Select "" from the drop-down list, then right-click on the value and copy it:

Find the process using the camera and kill it

Now go to the Process Explorer window (or launch Process Explorer if it's not already open) and press Ctrl+F. Paste the name of the physical device object and press Enter. You should see something like this:

Many people have encountered problems with the webcam during Skype calls. Most often this happens like this: the user launches the messenger, selects the desired person from the contact list and tries to make a video call, but instead of the face of a friend or relative, he sees an error message on the screen. It says that the video broadcast cannot be started and suggests closing other programs that may be using the camera.

When trying to follow the application's advice, the user usually finds that there is no third party programs are not running. In this case, the call is in progress, but the user’s interlocutor simply does not see or hear it.

Installing the webcam correctly!

Typically, this problem in Skype occurs immediately after installing the webcam and means that an error occurred while connecting the device. That is, the camera initially does not work. Let's take a step-by-step look at how this procedure should occur so that the video is broadcast without problems:

1. If the camera came with a software disc, install the software from the disc first, and only then connect the device. If you have already broken this sequence before, delete installed programs and do everything again in the correct order.
2. If there is no disk included, but you are installing a webcam on a Windows computer, the operating system itself will begin searching for drivers the first time you connect the device. All you have to do is wait for them to be installed.
3. If Windows is unable to find drivers, look at the webcam manufacturer and visit their website, there should be a free link to download drivers for your camera model. In addition, the site always contains the latest versions of drivers, which eliminate bugs that bothered users in previous versions. But be careful with Logitech cameras - the drivers that come with them are usually much better than those posted on the website. By installing new ones, you risk causing system failures - blue screen and slow down your computer.

Checking webcam drivers in Windows

On Windows computers, you can verify that the drivers are installed correctly. Go to "Device Manager" (in older Windows versions), in Windows 7 - in "Devices and Printers", and find the camera. It is usually located in the “Image Processing Devices” section. There should not be any unnecessary symbols, such as an exclamation mark, next to the camera icon. It signals a malfunction, that is, something is wrong with either the camera or its drivers.

To make sure everything is working fine, right-click on the camera icon and select “Troubleshoot.”

The system will begin searching for errors. If errors are found, she will offer solutions. If there are no errors, it will display a message stating that there are no problems.

After this, you need to check the image that the camera produces. On a computer with Windows XP, this is easy to do: the camera is located directly in the “My Computer” folder. To launch it, double-click on the icon. If after this you see yourself on the screen, then the camera is working.

If you have a newer OS, for example, Vista or Windows 7, you need to open any program that will help you get an image from a webcam. This is easy to do via standard program Paint. You need to launch the program, open the main menu and select “From a scanner or camera” in it. Then a list of devices should open, in which you need to select your webcam, and then click on the “Remove” button in the window that appears. A normally operating camera should produce an image as a result.

Checking a spare webcam

A second webcam will help you figure out exactly what the problem is.

Try connecting another working camera to your computer (it is advisable to test it on another computer first). If it does not produce an image, then the problem is most likely not in the camera drivers, but in the video drivers of your computer or in Skype itself. If the camera works fine, try using it for a video call. If the call is successful, then you need to replace the webcam, otherwise, select another solution from those suggested below.

The camera works, but Skype cannot start video streaming?

Sometimes, even after the system has notified the user that there are no problems with the webcam, the message that Skype cannot start video broadcasting continues to bother. Then one of the following may help:

1. Call your interlocutor back.

2. Close Skype and open it again, that is, restart the program.

3.The webcam, indeed, can only broadcast video to one program, so still look for and close all other programs that could “intercept” the camera. This is usually done by Steam, Mail agent or IP telephony programs.

4. If the camera is removable, remove it from the USB connector and reinsert it. If that doesn't help, connect it via another USB port.

5. Restart your computer.

6. Check which camera the messenger is using. To do this, go to the “Calls” menu, select “Video” in the submenu, and then “Video Settings” in it.

Now check if you have a drop-down arrow next to your webcam model. If there is, click on it and from the list of devices that Skype accepts as a webcam, select the correct one.

7. Check which Skype version installed on the device and whether there are updates. If yes, then update the program to latest version. To do this, you need to go to the “Help” menu and select check for updates there.

If new version is released, you will see a prompt to download it.

To do this, you need to click on the “Download” button and wait for Skype to update.

8. Update or reinstall video drivers on your computer.

9. Update or try reinstalling the drivers for the webcam.

If all these options do not help, reinstall the messenger itself: delete it and install it again.

To remove messenger, you can use standard program removal in the Start menu or any program that removes unnecessary data from your computer (for example, CCleaner or RevoUninstaller).

After deleting, check to see if there are any folders left on your computer that contain the word Skype. To do this, enter it into the search and manually delete all folders that the system detects.

Then go to the official Skype website, download the application and install it.

One of these methods should help solve the problem. However, if the error is not resolved, please contact service technical support Skype on the official website of the application.

Hello everyone! In today's article we will talk about the security of Webcams. We have already talked in detail about all the methods. If you haven't read it yet, I encourage you to read it.

Today, in follow-up to that article, I decided to write about how to find out which program uses the Webcam. This may be useful in some cases. And not only in situations related to viruses and malware, but also in case of device conflicts in the operating system. For example, quite often such conflicts occur when using Skype.

In Windows 10, you control how apps use your webcam using a native feature. It is located in the “Settings” -> “Privacy” -> “Camera” section.

This is a pretty useful thing for controlling application access to the webcam. If you use Windows 10, then in terms of security, I highly recommend disabling everything unnecessary that can use the webcam.

If you are not using the webcam at all, then move the “Allow applications to use...” slider to the off position. If you intend to use the webcam with certain applications, then you should disable only unnecessary applications.

All this is of course good. But there is one thing... You understand that not a single normal malicious one will be visible on this list. Such programs are good at camouflaging themselves and hiding their presence in the system.

What to do in such a situation? How to determine which program is using the Webcam?

Very simple. We will search for a webcam in running processes by the physical name of the device using a small and free program Process Explorer from Microsoft. This utility will greatly simplify and speed up the search for a device. The presented method works in operating rooms Windows systems 10, 8, 8.1, 7.

So friends, let's move on to the instructions themselves.

What program uses the Webcam

Let's launch Device Manager. To do this, use the Win + R key combination to open the “Run” window.

In which you need to enter the command “devmgmt.msc” and click “Ok”.

After that, in the “Task Manager” window that appears, in the “Image processing devices” drop-down menu, we will find the webcam. If you have several webcams installed on your system, follow these steps for all of them.

Double clicking on the device will open the settings window. By default, the General tab will open, but we want the Details tab.

On the “Information” tab, in the “Properties” drop-down menu, find the item “Physical object name...”. And in the “Value” field, right-click and copy its name.

Now you need to download a small free application Process Explorer. By the way, very useful program. It may be useful to you in different situations. I recommend mastering it. In many of our instructions we will use it or other similar programs that replace the standard Windows task manager.

After installation, run the program and use the Ctrl+F key combination to open the search, in which we will paste the device name copied to the clipboard. Click on the search button and wait for the process to complete.

If after the end of the search no results are found, then this can only indicate that the webcam is not being used by any application at that particular moment.

But there may be a different picture. As you can see from the screen above, in my case the webcam is busy Google browser Chrome.

What could this mean?

The first is that one of the open sites is currently using a webcam. Typically, to enable the user's Webcam, the site requests permission using the browser. As a rule, such a window appears on all sorts of online video chats, but this is if the site is white and clean.

If it is a fraudulent site or simply a hacked one to which exploits were uploaded, there will be no window. An attacker will be able to launch your webcam without your confirmation. In this case, try closing all browser tabs and repeating the search.

In more severe cases, this may also indicate that something was injected into the Google Chrome process. Yes, this often happens. In this case, you should reinstall the browser and continue searching for the Trojan on your computer.

I promise to tell you how to find malware on your computer in the next article, so if you don’t want to miss it, you can follow us on social networks.

That seems to be all. Now you know how to find out which application is using the webcam. By the way, this way you can determine the use of other devices on your computer.