Samuel Chiltern answered
Watching a person's webcam without their permission is an invasion of privacy.
Attempting to gain access to a computer or network without prior consent is almost certainly illegal in whatever country you are attempting to do it from, so don't try - stick to video calls with your friends instead.
In general, most people's IP addresses are dynamic, and therefore subject to change at any given moment. If you knew that someone had a static IP, then this would give you a much more solid starting-point from which to infiltrate their network.
Some webcams are configured to be reachable by their IP address - these are generally public cameras operated in the public interest. Don't assume that because it is easy to access these webcams, it will be as straightforward to access a device attached to somebody's personal PC.
Software Required
Even if you had access to somebody else's network, you would still need to find a way to install code on their machine in order to access their webcam - there are many malicious packages which do this, but I'm not going to go into detail about those. Simply knowing a person's IP is not enough on its own.
There are plenty of legitimate programs available that will allow you to watch somebody's webcam, but only with the other party's express consent. Apps such as Skype, Google+ and Microsoft Live Messenger will allow you to befriend somebody, and then send a request for a video chat to them.
Attempting to gain access to a computer or network without prior consent is almost certainly illegal in whatever country you are attempting to do it from, so don't try - stick to video calls with your friends instead.
In general, most people's IP addresses are dynamic, and therefore subject to change at any given moment. If you knew that someone had a static IP, then this would give you a much more solid starting-point from which to infiltrate their network.
Some webcams are configured to be reachable by their IP address - these are generally public cameras operated in the public interest. Don't assume that because it is easy to access these webcams, it will be as straightforward to access a device attached to somebody's personal PC.
Software Required
Even if you had access to somebody else's network, you would still need to find a way to install code on their machine in order to access their webcam - there are many malicious packages which do this, but I'm not going to go into detail about those. Simply knowing a person's IP is not enough on its own.
There are plenty of legitimate programs available that will allow you to watch somebody's webcam, but only with the other party's express consent. Apps such as Skype, Google+ and Microsoft Live Messenger will allow you to befriend somebody, and then send a request for a video chat to them.
