Windows login and Webcam

[Guest]

Ok here comes a fun one for you all.



It is great having a demanding boss, he just set me a really good challenge
that I have no idea how to approach. He wants all the remote users that
connect to us to only be able to do so if they have a webcam installed and
working... any one got any idea how I can tie this into the Windows or
terminal services log in?

 

[Doug Knox - [MS-MVP]]

You would have to write this as your own custom RDP application. That app
would check for a web-cam in the hardware list. This could be tricky to
detect unless you specify the specific model of web-cam they must use. Then
you would have to determine what application your boss wants for web cam
viewing. There are so many out there........ You would then have to
programatically check to see if the app is actually running on the client
PC. And even then, all they have to do is toss a towel over the camera
and..............

 

[Guest]

Sounds like I am going to have fun with this one.

Let me explain a little more and perhaps you will have a more clear idea of
what I have to do. The boss has asked that he wants to restrict access to the
network unless the user has a plugged in web cam. I am guessing that he wants
to be able to connect to it remotely and be able to see what’s going on.
Before you all start to yell about invasion of privacy I am just doing what I
am told. Now I was wondering if webcams use a windows service in order to run
if so then I would simply rig it to have other services such is DHCP
dependant on that service.

 

[Doug Knox - [MS-MVP]]

There is no functionality of this type within Windows. There are 3rd party
programs that allow you to monitor a web cam remotely, but whether they run
as a service or not varies by the program. And again, you would have to
have some method of programatically checking to see that the web cam is
plugged in and working. I don't know of any such software product.

--
Doug Knox, MS-MVP Windows Media Center\Windows Powered Smart
Display\Security
Win 95/98/Me/XP Tweaks and Fixes
http://www.dougknox.com