Is there a valid reason why Canon's webcam plugin asks to scan my external drives?

Question

Two days ago, I installed Canon's software to use my DSLR as a webcam, using the link I found on this page.

The installer required me to override MacOS' security settings. I did so, thinking that it is required for the extension to access my Canon camera.

Now, I inserted a USB drive to my computer and got this request (in French) to allow EOSWebcamUtility to access the external volume.

Did I install a malware?

Is there a valid reason why I had to manually bypass the security settings during installation?

Is there a legitimate reason why this app asks to scan my drives?

Answer 1

Did I install a malware?

No. While I can’t speak to the quality of the software produced (I use Nikon and find their software mediocre at best) it’s not malware that will harm your computer.

Is there a valid reason why I had to manually bypass the security settings during installation?

Is there a legitimate reason why this app asks to scan my drives?

There are many reasons for disabling Security & Privacy settings. One reason is that your camera is being connected via USB and shows as storage.

Also, the software is likely doing a quick scan to determine what device is being connected. Additionally, CF and SD cards are technically external devices (even if using the camera s as a reader) so it may be scanning looking for image folders like /DCIM/.

Answer 2

I can't speak to the Canon DSLRs, but Canon point-and-shoot cameras, at least, show up on the computer as USB hard drives by default, and the computer needs to send them special commands to put them into remote-control mode instead.

When you plug in a USB drive, the webcam utility needs to look at it to see if it's just an ordinary drive, or if it's really a Canon camera.