Disable the microphone for a certain program

Question

I don't want that a certain program uses my microphone. There isn't a configuration in the application to do it. The program uses the microphone anyway.
How can I disable the microphone for it in Windows? Any ideas? I use Windows 8.

It's two programs which use my microphone. I need to block one of them.

One of these programs is Skype. I want that Skype works well. Another program uses the microphone too, and my friends hear me twice. This is annoying, so I want to block the second program's access to the microphone. I use a simple microphone in my headset.

Answer 1

Sorry, but simple answer is no. In Windows, you cannot turn off or block the microphone for a specific program.

However, you can try to work around this:

1. Install some virtual audio device (Virtual Audio Cable or whatever that can appear as a microphone in Sound Devices in Windows).

2. Set this virtual device as the default communication device

   Control Panel → Hardware and Sound → Sound (Manage Audio Devices) → Recording.

   Right-click your virtual/fake device, and click "Set as default communication device". Hopefully your program will "listen" to that fake default device instead of microphone.

3. Skype will use it too by default. However, in Skype you can go to configuration and set your real microphone manually.

If "default communication device" trick will not work, try to set a virtual device as the default recording device.

Answer 2

You can just disable your microphone in the Sound control panel while you use the program.

Right-click the Sound icon in the system tray, and then choose Recording devices. Choose your microphone from the list and then click Properties. Finally, disable the device like this: