Keyloggers: The Invisible Eyes on Your Keyboard

Grayson Rodriguez

Aug 12, 2023 | 8 min read

Privacy
Online threats

History of Keyloggers

Categories of Keyloggers

Uses of Keyloggers

How to prevent keyloggers?

Why Recommend MetroVPN?

Overview

Have you ever thought that every character you type on your keyboard might be monitored, recorded, and exploited by certain individuals or organizations? This might sound frightening, but that's exactly what keyloggers are capable of. Keyloggers are software or hardware tools that can record the content you type on your keyboard. They can be used for various legal or illegal purposes, ranging from password theft to parental monitoring.

History of Keyloggers

Keyloggers are not a recent phenomenon; their origins trace back to the 1970s. The Soviet KGB used hardware keyloggers to eavesdrop on the US Embassy in Moscow during that time. With technological advancements, software keyloggers emerged. As early as 1983, IBM researchers developed an early software keylogger by exploiting vulnerabilities, capturing terminal inputs. With the proliferation of Windows and the internet, software keyloggers became more covert and diverse, spreading through emails, web pages, and continuously gathering sensitive information.

Categories of Keyloggers

Keyloggers can be divided into two main categories: software keyloggers and hardware keyloggers . Software keyloggers are programs installed on computers, and they can record user keyboard inputs through various methods:

① Keyboard Event Monitoring

Software keyloggers can register a hook to intercept keyboard events sent by the operating system to applications, saving them to a file or sending them to a remote server.

② Keyboard Buffer Reading

Software keyloggers can directly access the operating system's buffer storing keyboard inputs and copy them to a file or send them to a remote server.

③ Simulating Keyboard Drivers

Software keyloggers can disguise themselves as keyboard drivers, receiving and processing signals from keyboard hardware, then saving or sending them.

④ Screen Capture

Software keyloggers can periodically capture the content displayed on the user's screen, saving it to a file or sending it to a remote server. This method can record non-standard input methods like virtual keyboards or mouse clicks on input fields.

Hardware keyloggers are physical devices connected between a computer and a keyboard. They can record keyboard inputs in the following ways:

① Recording Keyboard Signals

Hardware keyloggers can intercept and store signals from keyboard hardware, converting them into readable characters.

② Simulating Keyboard Signals

Hardware keyloggers can mimic keyboard hardware, receiving and processing signals from the computer, forwarding them to the actual keyboard hardware. They can also record inputs and save them internally or send them to a remote server.

③ Monitoring Wireless Keyboard Signals

Hardware keyloggers can use technologies like radio waves or Bluetooth to monitor and record signals sent from wireless keyboards to computers, saving them internally or sending them remotely.

Uses of Keyloggers

Keyloggers can serve various legal or illegal purposes, including

① Password Theft

Keyloggers can steal passwords entered by users on websites, emails, social media, banking accounts, etc., gaining access to personal information, assets, or identities.

② Espionage

Keyloggers can monitor user activities on computers, such as communication, file transfers, browsing history, to acquire business secrets, political stances, or other sensitive information.

③ Parental Monitoring

Keyloggers can help parents understand their children's computer behavior, including websites visited, chat partners, homework assignments, safeguarding them from negative influences or dangers.

④ Employee Monitoring

Keyloggers can aid employers in verifying if employees remain focused on work during business hours, identifying time-wasting activities on gaming, shopping, social media sites, enhancing efficiency and responsibility.

⑤ Academic Research

Keyloggers can assist researchers in collecting data on user input content, such as vocabulary usage, grammar, spelling, facilitating studies in linguistics, psychology, education, etc.

How to prevent keyloggers?

Preventing keylogger intrusions is crucial. Here are some methods to safeguard against keyloggers:

① Reliable Antivirus or Anti-Malware Software

Regularly update and run reliable antivirus or anti-malware tools like Kaspersky, Malwarebytes, CrowdStrike to protect your computer from keyloggers and other malicious software attacks.

② Avoid Suspicious Emails or Webpages

Exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links in emails or webpages, especially from unfamiliar or untrustworthy sources, as they may contain keyloggers or other malicious software.

③ Avoid Downloading Unsafe Files or Programs

Download files or programs only from reputable or official websites. Before downloading, check file or program signatures, sizes, versions, and user reviews, as insecure files or programs might carry keyloggers or other malicious software.

④ Use Virtual Keyboards or Alternative Input Methods

Employ virtual keyboards or other input methods like voice input, handwriting, graphical passwords for sensitive information like passwords or credit card numbers, avoiding software keylogger recording.

⑤ Employ Encryption or Anonymity Techniques

Utilize encryption or anonymity techniques such as SSL, VPNs, Tor to protect your network communication, preventing information theft by hardware keyloggers or network eavesdroppers.

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② Network Activity Encryption

MetroVPN utilizes advanced encryption technologies to provide robust protection for your network communication, safeguarding against keyloggers and other eavesdropping attempts, whether on public WiFi or private networks.

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