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What is a keylogger?Did you know that your keyboard could let cybercriminals eavesdrop on you? Or that they could watch you on your system camera? Or listen over your smartphone’s microphone? Welcome to the world of keyloggers, a particularly insidious type of that can record and steal consecutive keystrokes (and much more) that the user enters on a device.Although for our purposes, keyloggers operate in the context of malware, they are not always illegal to install and use. Keyloggers are a common tool for corporations, which information technology departments use to troubleshoot technical problems on their systems and networks—or to keep an eye on employees surreptitiously. The same goes for, say, parents, who want to monitor their children’s activities. Suspicious spouses are another market for keyloggers.In all such cases, if the organization or person downloading and installing the keylogger actually owns the device, then it’s perfectly legal.
And there are thousands of commercially available keyloggers on the Internet, which advertise themselves for just such a use.However, the concern about keyloggers is when malicious actors are behind them. And they definitely do not own the device they infect. You don’t know they’ve breached your computer; and depending on what kind of keylogger it is, it can steal any passwords you’ve entered, periodically take screen shots, record the web pages you view, grab on to your sent emails and any instant messaging sessions, as well as sensitive financial information (such as credit card numbers, PIN codes, and bank accounts), and then send all that data over the network to a remote computer or web server. There, the person operating the logging program can retrieve it all, no doubt sending it to third parties for criminal purposes.Keyloggers come in at least two broad flavors—hardware devices and the more familiar software variety. Hardware devices can be embedded in the internal PC hardware itself, or be an inconspicuous plugin that’s secretly inserted into the keyboard port between the CPU box and the keyboard cable so that it intercepts all the signals as you type. But that means that the cybercriminal has to have physical access to the PC while you’re not present in order to plant the hardware keyloggers.Software keyloggers are much easier to introduce to and install on victims’ devices, which is why that variety is much more common.
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Unlike other kinds of malware, software keyloggers are not a threat to the systems they infect themselves. In fact, the whole point of keyloggers is to work behind the scenes, sniffing out the keystrokes while the computer continues to operate normally. But even if they don’t harm the hardware, keyloggers are definitely a threat to users, especially when they steal data pertinent to any number of online payment systems. How can I tell if I have a keylogger infection?Keyloggers invade PCs (and Macs, and Androids, and iPhones) in the same way that other malware does. They install when you click on a file attachment that you’ve been duped into opening—most commonly because you fell for a social engineering scheme or a cleverly designed phishing expedition. The attachments can come to you by email, through a text message, an instant message, on social networks, or even through a visit to an otherwise legitimate but infected website, which exploits a vulnerability in it and drops a drive-by malware download.
Also, keyloggers rarely arrive solo. The same Trojan that delivers the keylogger can slip other malware on your system—such as, or even a legacy. “Of course, the best way to protect yourself and your equipment from falling victim to keyloggers is to scan your system regularly with a quality cybersecurity program.” How can I protect myself from keyloggers?Avoid keyloggers by avoiding the user mistakes that lead to their ability to infect phones and computers. It starts with keeping your operating system, your applications, and web browsers up to date with the latest security patches.
Always be skeptical about any attachments you receive, especially unexpected ones even if they seem to come from someone you know. When in doubt, contact the sender to ask. Keep your passwords long and complex, and avoid using the same one for different services.Real-time, always-on anti-malware protection is the gold standard for preventing not only infection from a keylogger, but also from all other associated malware threats. For all platforms and devices, from and, and, to business environments, Malwarebytes is a first-line defense against the relentless onslaught of cybercriminal attacks.
