Spyware, viruses, & security : hacked webcam

hacked webcam

I have a Dell M1730 and it came with an integrated Web-Cam. I have never used it but the light has been going off lately. It started about a month ago about 2 in the afternoon. I noticed the blue light blinking next to camera lens. I contacted Dell and McAfee and both were not aware of someone virus messing with the webcam. The Dell tech people said I must have set it wrong but I have never used it. I told him it doesn’t do it all the time. It may blink 4 or 5 times the not do it for a couple of days. Sometimes it will blink at least 30 to 40 times in one period. He said if there are no pictures in Dell webcam manager then it’s not taking pictures. During conversation with Dell tech. I learned how to set cam to making camera shutter noise when taking pictures. When I set this option I didn’t hear or see anything from the webcam for about 2 or 3 weeks. Then one evening while family was watching TV we heard it start making those shutter noises and blue light was blinking right along with shutter noise, so what is going on? Is my webcam hacked by a virus or is someone hacking it directly, I set my firewall to stealth but that did nothing. The only thing that stops it is when I disconnect computer from internet. Can anyone please explain or have an idea on what is going on? Thank you for your time.

Dell M1730
Vista ultimate 32 bit
Dell Web Cam Manager