Facial recognition software that blurs your sensitive data when you’re not looking at it

Well, here’s a whole different kind of “endpoint security” from the usual.

A product called “PrivateEye” uses your computer’s webcam to identity your face. While you’re sitting in front of your PC and looking at the screen, PrivateEye’s facial recognition software knows not to do anything – but as soon as you look away, the contents of your screen become an unintelligible blur.

It’s not going to stop malware and remote hackers stealing data from your computer’s hard drive, but it could – claim developers Oculis Labs – prevent “shoulder-surfers” who try to spy what’s on your screen when you’re reading confidential information. That’s because if the PrivateEye software spies an extra face alongside yours it can immediately hide your screen’s contents.

Sounds like a fun tool to play with! But unfortunately I don’t have a copy, so I have to make do with this YouTube video instead…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley is a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky, or drop him an email.

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