Video recording gave birth to new ways of socializing, by letting you visually get in touch with your friends, family or business associates. While being a neat addition to social networking, it can also be used as a method of spying, either locally or via the web through malicious content. Designed to make that no longer an issue, WebCam Lock does exactly what the name suggests, with extra features for more safety.

Running the application brings up a visually appealing interface, with only a few controls at your disposal. In case you're not really sure whether or not the application is up to the task, there's a little help manual fitted with all sorts of examples and documentation.

On the other hand, you can take it out for a spin for more confidence. There are several configurations that can be handled for more security or the general layout of the application. A neat feature is the possibility to set a master password so that each time a third-party application attempts to start your webcam, you are prompted for the security key.

The application properly functions and immediately triggers when an attempt is made. You can choose whether or not to allow access, set it to never connect or permit it just this once. Moreover, when your webcam is active, a small icon is displayed on your desktop for the whole length of the session.

In addition, there's the possibility to view all attempts made to check whether or not someone's been spying on you this whole time. All entries are enlisted along with details such as exact time, camera status, user, application name and full path.

Taking everything into consideration, we can say that WebCam Lock is a handy application you might want to keep around if you constantly use your webcam. You never know how connections are established, especially with the Internet being full of threats. The possibility to add a password assures you no one else other than you can trigger the webcam.