Photo: Yan Krukov

Can a keyboard spy on you?

A keylogger records every keystroke you make on your computer's keyboard. With this information, a hacker can work out your username and password for a range of sites without even seeing what comes up on the screen.

comparitech.com - What is a keylogger and how can you avoid, detect and remove them?

Is violin easier than guitar?

The consensus is that guitar is an easier instrument to learn than violin, and that it takes more practice time to get to a performance-worthy...

Last updated Dec 16, 2021

What is a Chubb key?

A Chubb detector lock is a lever tumbler lock with an integral security feature, a re-locking device, which frustrates unauthorised access attempts...

Last updated Nov 15, 2018

Join almost HALF A MILLION Happy Students Worldwide

Promotion

Many sneaky hacker programs can find their way onto your computer over the internet, and a keylogger is one of the worst. Spyware is a type of malware that records your activities. A keylogger records every keystroke you make on your computer’s keyboard. With this information, a hacker can work out your username and password for a range of sites without even seeing what comes up on the screen. For example, when you check your email, you might type in “mail.yahoo.com” or “gmail.com” in the address field of your browser. Predictably, your next step is to type in your username and password. Everything you type is sent to a hacker database over the internet, where the text is parsed through to pick out the sensitive parts, like your password.

In this guide, you will learn:

What keyloggers do

How keyloggers get onto your computer

How to detect a keylogger

How to get rid of a keylogger

What is a keylogger?

Keyloggers are also known as keystroke loggers. This is a program that runs all the time on your computer from the minute that you start it up. The keylogger will either record every keystroke you make or just those made in specific fields on websites. Keyloggers don’t slow down your computer and you won’t even notice when one is in operation. Windows 10 even has a keylogger built into the operating system. Although there are some legitimate uses of keyloggers, such as in the workplace, or to track the internet activities of children, you are also at risk of these programs turning your computer into a spy for hackers. Keyloggers can embed themselves into the operating system of your computer. These types of malware are called “rootkit” viruses. There are types of keyloggers that can even work at a lower level than the operating system. These are known as “hypervisor malware.” A keylogger may attach itself to your browser as a hidden extension and just report on all of the keystrokes that you make through that app. Other keyloggers manage to infect web pages, so everyone that visits those pages gets their data stolen. Keyloggers can alter the memory access process of your browser and steal information at that point, or they can be triggered by the click of a web form Submit button. In short, there are many operating scenarios for keyloggers and many different locations on your computer where the program might be running. Rootkit and hypervisor keyloggers are particularly difficult to get rid of. Antimalware programs usually can’t get down to that level and so these keyloggers continue in operation unmolested. Keyloggers that masquerade as browser extensions also often evade detection from antimalware.

Hardware keyloggers

Not all keyloggers are software-based. Some operate as a piece of hardware. You are less likely to be subjected to one of these in your home. However, industrial spies sometimes slip in one of these extra jacks in the back of a computer between the keyboard socket and the plug on the lead from the keyboard. A number of other hardware keyloggers seem to come straight out of a spy movie. These include keyboard overlays, “acoustic keyloggers” that record the sound of a person tapping on a keyboard and work out the tiny difference in the sound that each key makes, and “electromagnetic emission” keyloggers that capture the electric pulses leaking into the air from a keyboard cable. However, unless you are a spy, or you travel to places such as North Korea on business, the chances of you being hit by a hardware keylogger are slim. Those virus keyloggers that hackers put on the internet are what you need to be concerned about.

How keyloggers get onto your computer

The best chance you have of preventing a keylogger from operating on your computer is to block it before it gets installed. For this, you need very good antimalware software and also a skepticism toward downloading anything over the web. The typical method of entry for a keylogger is as part of a Trojan. A Trojan is a piece of software that pretends to be a useful utility. When you download this free app and install it, either it won’t work, or the app really does work as promised but the installer program slips malware onto your computer as well. Trojans often operate as bundles of software, with each element specializing in a different task. The initial Trojan may be loaded as a downloader, which enables the hacker to get more malware, including a keylogger, through the firewall and onto your computer. The keylogger will record your keystrokes in a file on your computer and then a separate program will send that information out over the internet. That information is rarely sent directly to the hacker. This is because any malware analyst could then trap the message and trace the hacker. Instead, the data is encrypted and then sent to a public message board, where the hacker can download the information while hiding his true address. As many legitimate programs use keylogging as part of their routines, this activity is often overlooked by antimalware and anti-spyware. This makes it very difficult to prevent keyloggers from getting onto your computer. Those that sneak in as part of an update also frequently manage to get past antimalware programs. These factors make it very difficult to guard against keyloggers getting onto your computer. The only defense you have is to resist the temptation to download and install free software from sources other than major, reputable software houses.

How to detect a keylogger

How do I become a successful piano teacher?

The most esteemed way to become a piano virtuoso and teacher is through a conservatory of national renown. A musical degree from a conservatory:...

Last updated Jul 5, 2018

What is the slowest piano piece?

Entitled "As Slow as Possible" (ASLSP), the composition by the late American composer John Cage is due to be played out over 639 years at the St....

Last updated Sep 29, 2022

Promotion

The most straightforward way to detect any undesirable software is to look in your Task Manager to check on the processes that are running. Unfortunately, many of those background processes have obscure names. However, you can search on the internet for the names of the programs you discover running on your computer and hopefully, someone will have already written a warning about keylogger processes that match some of the names you found. In Windows, right-click on the task bar and select Task Manager from the context menu. The programs listed as Apps are those that appear in windows on your screen, so you won’t find a keylogger listed there. It will most likely be listed under Background processes. Another good place to look for keyloggers is under the Startup tab. Keyloggers get set up to run all the time on a computer and in order to do that, they need to be started up with the operating system. It is a good idea to get rid of anything you see in the Startup list that you don’t remember installing. If you want to get rid of one of these programs, click on the line for it and then press the Disable button at the bottom of the window. One more place to look for suspicious activity is in the report of internet usage on your computer. On Windows, press the Windows button and “I” together. This will get you to the settings screen. Select Network & Internet and then select the Data usage option in the left-hand menu. Click on View usage details to get a list of all the programs on your computer that are using the internet. Do a web search on any of the names you don’t recognize to see if they are keyloggers. Perform similar checks on your browser extensions. Look through the extensions and disable any that you don’t remember installing or that you never use.

To get to extensions:

In Chrome: type chrome://extensions into the address field

In Firefox: type about:addons in the address field

In Opera: select Extensions from the menu then click Manage Extensions

In Safari: Select Preferences from the Safari menu and then click on Extensions

In Internet Explorer: click on Manage add-ons in the Tools menu

In Microsoft Edge: click on Extensions in the browser menu

How to get rid of a keylogger

Antikeylogger software gives you a better chance of getting rid of keyloggers than general antimalware or even anti-spyware utilities. A comprehensive antikeylogger needs to audit all of the processes running on your computer, from the BIOS to the operating system to the background services and apps running on your computer, on through to the network settings, plug-ins, and browser settings. It may take some time for you to get rid of the keylogger, and ultimately, you might have to reinstall your operating system to completely wipe it away. Many keyloggers are rootkit viruses, so, apart from a specialized antikeylogger system, an anti-rootkit program could rid you of your problem. Here is a list of the best software to help you remove keyloggers. SpyShelter has several lines of attack against keyloggers. Once you install this software, you should let it run all the time, it will detect keyloggers when they try to install on your computer and it will block that installation. There are new keyloggers produced all the time and it takes a while for information about them to proliferate throughout the antimalware industry. You may already have a keylogger on your system by the time you install SpyShelter. As explained above, some keyloggers are really difficult to shift and you may be reluctant to reinstall your operating system. The SpyShelter second line of attack is to scan the operations on your computer for suspicious keylogger-type activities. When it identifies this malware, SpyShelter will try to remove it. As a final defense for your computer, SpyShelter will scramble and encrypt all of your keystrokes to make them meaningless to keyloggers.

SpyShelter is only available for computers running the Windows operating system.

Zemana produces an antimalware suite, but its anti-logger system is what we are looking at today. This doesn’t perform quite as well as SpyShelter in spotting all of the different strains of keyloggers out there, but it does pretty well. The anti-logger also includes an encryption enforcer for secure web transmissions, an ad blocker, a malware scanner, and ransomware protection. This system works constantly in the background, monitoring activity and scanning downloads and installers for malicious content. It will also perform periodic system scans in the manner used by antivirus programs.

Zemana Antilogger is only available for Windows.

If specialist keyloggers can’t help you, go for a rootkit removal program. The Malwarebytes anti-rootkit is an excellent performer and the fact that it is free makes it a top pick. This software will get right down into the operating system of your computer and scan for a range of rootkit viruses, not just keyloggers. This program will perform system scans on demand rather than running constantly. A full scan involves a system reboot. If a cleanup operation doesn’t solve all of your problems, you can use a fixdamage tool to get your internet working properly and fine tune your firewall.

Malwarebytes Anti-Rootkit is only available for Windows.

How do I claim key protection?

Key Replacement Cover: How to Claim? Inform the insurance company. ... In case of theft, a Police FIR is necessary to register the claim. You can...

Last updated Dec 4, 2019

What is the happiest key?

The happiest key is the F Major & C Major which is associated with victory, triumph over difficulty, relief and struggle finally conquered. These...

Last updated Jun 3, 2018

Promotion

Like the Malwarebytes Anti-Rootkit, Norton Power Eraser goes deeper into your computer than standard antivirus programs. Antivirus programs often overlook keyloggers because some legitimate programs use the same technology. Whereas antivirus programs err on the side of caution, Norton Power Eraser deletes programs and asks questions later. You may risk losing some favorite apps with this take-no-prisoners approach. Check the program’s logs and restore or reinstall any genuine utilities that you didn’t want to lose.

The Power Eraser is an on-demand tool rather than a background process.

Norton Power Eraser is only available for Windows.

Bitdefender is at the forefront of rootkit monitoring and often spots new rootkit viruses before its competitors. As soon as its researchers spot a new keylogger, its removal goes straight into the Database of the spyware removal procedures that you get by running this system. Bitdefender Rootkit Remover is only available for Windows. This rootkit searcher is a product of antivirus giant Avast. The user interface is not so hot. However, you can use this system sweep for free, so it’s worth a shot. This utility is only available for Windows. GMER is associated with Avast and is an alternative to aswMBR. This tool is only available for Windows. Sophos is a rising star in the antimalware industry and it is winning more fans with this free rootkit removal tool. This program performs on-demand system scans and removes any rootkits that it encounters, including keyloggers. This utility is only available for Windows. The Kaspersky system goes deeper than most antivirus programs in order to seek out and destroy rootkit programs, including keyloggers. This is a good general antivirus that scrubs harder than the rest of the pack. The free version of Kaspersky will scan your computer for malware. Paid versions of the system have online identity protection modules. This free antivirus system is available for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. This is another free rootkit removal tool and it is produced by one of the antimalware industry’s leaders. The on-demand utility will scan your system and remove any rootkit viruses that it discovers. This includes the removal of keyloggers. This utility is only available for Windows.

Keylogger information

Keyloggers were originally invented as a method for employers to track what workers were doing on the company computers. They then became useful for hackers. Now web marketers are using them. The Olympic Vision keylogger is an example of a hacker attack. This was discovered in March 2016 and managed to track the actions of computer users in 18 countries. This email-based hack used a zip file attachment to emails in order to gain entry to victims’ computers. The attack was specifically aimed at business, with the email text referring to an invoice or a quote that the receiver should download. This keylogger scam seems to have originated in South Africa. More recently, reports have emerged that keyloggers have become acceptable tools for digital marketers. In November 2017, the BBC reported that more than 480 commercial websites included keylogging functions to monitor the activities of visitors. Using keyloggers to gather behavioral information for the purposes of market research is just as much an invasion of privacy as the hacker use of this technology to steal passwords. The discovery of keyloggers by marketers seems to have given keylogging new respectability. The BBC report was based on research carried out at Princeton University. The study reported that: Collection of page content by third-party replay scripts may cause sensitive information such as medical conditions, credit card details and other personal information displayed on a page to leak to the third party as part of the recording. This may expose users to identity theft, online scams, and other unwanted behaviour. Although digital marketers may declare that their intentions are not criminal, their actions are because none of the websites that now employ keylogging technology for marketing purposes inform their visitors of this feature. As the collection and storage of this information is kept a secret, the theft of recorded information would not need to be reported. This means that you now have to guard against apparently legitimate websites become conduits for the theft of your personal information. It is very difficult to get rid of keyloggers once they get onto your computer. Therefore, you should be vigilant about the programs you’re downloading onto your computer. Be choosy about the free apps that you install. It is also very important to keep all of your software updated. This is particularly the case with your operating system and your browsers. Big software providers constantly look for security weaknesses in their products and re-code them in order to block off these exploits. So keeping up to date with the latest versions of everything running on your computer is a key protection against all forms of malware. Image: Finger auf Tastatur by Christoph Scholz via Flickr, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

comparitech.com - What is a keylogger and how can you avoid, detect and remove them?

Is piano similar to guitar?

The piano and the guitar are both stringed instruments that require discipline and technique to master. They also need a lot of practice. The...

Last updated May 12, 2021

How do you remember the piano pieces?

How To Memorize Piano Music Faster Play Hands Separately. Memorize Small Segments Of Music. Play With Your Eyes Closed. Focus On Harmonies And...

Last updated Jan 18, 2021

Promotion

What is the most popular piano to buy?

Yet this hard-to-get design is well worth it. Steinway & Sons. As one of the most respected and famous piano brands on the market, Steinway & Sons...

Last updated Nov 9, 2019

Promotion

What number is 10 key?

Alternatively referred to as the 10-key, number pad, numeric keyboard, numerical keypad, numpad, or ten key, the numeric keypad is a 17-key keypad...

Last updated Apr 16, 2021