About protecting an audio stream coming from sound recording devices

Intruders may attempt to receive the audio stream from sound recording devices by means of special software. Sound recording devices are microphones that are connected to or built into the computer and capable of transmitting an audio stream through the sound card interface (input signal). Kaspersky Total Security monitors which applications receive an audio stream from sound recording devices and protects the audio stream from unauthorized intercepts.

By default, Kaspersky Total Security blocks applications from Untrusted and High Restricted trust groups from receiving the audio stream coming from sound recording devices connected to the computer. You can manually allow applications to receive the audio stream from sound recording devices.

If an application from the Low Restricted trust group is requesting access to a sound recording device, Kaspersky Total Security displays a notification and prompts you to choose whether or not to allow this application to receive the audio stream from a sound recording device. If Kaspersky Total Security is unable to display this notification (for example, when the Kaspersky Total Security graphical interface has not yet loaded), the application from the Low Restricted trust group is allowed to receive the audio stream from a sound recording device.

All applications in the Trusted group are allowed to receive an audio stream from sound recording devices by default.

Audio stream protection has the following special features:

• The Application Control component has to be enabled for this functionality to work.
• After the settings of application access to sound recording devices have been changed (for example, the application has been prohibited from receiving the audio stream in the Application Control settings window), this application has to be restarted to stop it from receiving the audio stream.
• Control of access to the audio stream from sound recording devices does not depend on an application's webcam access settings.
• If the application GUI has not loaded yet, applications for which the "Prompt for action" permission has been set are allowed to receive the audio stream.
• Kaspersky Total Security protects access to built-in microphones and external microphones only. Other audio streaming devices are not supported.
• Kaspersky Total Security allows an application to receive an audio stream and does not show any notifications if the application began to receive the audio stream before Kaspersky Total Security was started, or if you placed the application into the Untrusted or High Restricted group after the application began to receive the audio stream.

Kaspersky Total Security does not guarantee protection of the audio stream from such devices as DSLR cameras, camcorders, and action cameras.

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