Keyloggers are a dangerous security threat which can easily target even up-to-date computers. Their aim is to monitor your keystrokes and expose that private data to hackers and surveillance agents. While you may use anti-keylogger software, it’s far more effective to detect these threats in advance before they do any serious damage.
Can a keylogger be detected and how to check for keyloggers, you may ask? In this article, we present to you some ways in which you can attempt to detect keyloggers in a Windows computer yourself.
What Is a Keylogger?
In simple terms, a keylogger (KL) is a tool designed to capture all keystrokes of a computer, either through a software program or through a hardware device. This keyboard recording activity is also referred to as keylogging or keystroke logging. Although keyloggers are not illegal, their use is often related to malicious operations.
Positive Uses of a Keylogger
Despite being used for illicit activity, keyloggers do have a few positive use cases. If used for good, it can help parents monitor the computing activities of their children or used by employers to determine how their employees are making use of their computers during work periods. It is worth mentioning, though, that this should be done with the employees’ consent.
A keylogger may also be used to protect (record) passwords and other data in case of an operating system crash (but there are certainly better ways to do that). In addition, keystroke logging has been recently adopted by scientists and established as a research tool on the investigation of human writing processes.
Negative Uses of a Keylogger
As the name suggests, the purpose of a keylogger is to log each and every keystroke from the target computer, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Unfortunately, however, the most common use of keyloggers is related to malicious activity. KL programs are being widely used by cybercriminals as a way to steal sensitive information from the victims, such as credit card numbers, passwords, personal emails, banking credentials, driver’s license numbers, and so forth.
Types of Keyloggers
As mentioned earlier, there are two main types of keylogging devices – the software version and the hardware version. When it comes to software vs hardware keyloggers, it is important to understand the differences between these two types. Although the most common is the software version, one should comprehend how the hardware KL functions as well.
Hardware Keylogger:
- Usually consists of a small chip or wire that is physically attached to a computer or laptop.
- Most hardware KL can be easily removed.
- Gleans information that can be reviewed with a coordinating computer program even after the chip or wire has been removed.
- Usually is the preferred type of keylogger for companies who desire to look after their employees.
- Unlike software keyloggers, firmware versions of hardware KL can be attached to the machine’s BIOS and record data from as soon as a computer is turned on.
- Wireless KL sniffers are able to intercept the communication between wireless keyboards and the computer.
Software Keylogger
Unfortunately, a software keylogger is much harder to detect. There are many different categories with varying mETHods and techniques, but in general, we may consider the following:
- It usually consists of a software program that has been secretly installed on your computer by a hacker. Can be either downloaded directly on the host computer (e.g. via phishing attacks) or it can be downloaded remotely.
- The most common software keyloggers record only the activity of the computer’s keyboard, but there are modified versions able to perform screenshots and clipboard logging as well.
- Less common types of software KL include the ones based on Javascript (injected into websites), APIs (running inside an application), and web forms (record any data submitted to web forms).
Can a Keylogger be Detected
The good news is keyloggers can be detected using (free) antivirus software options. Reliable antivirus software functions as a keylogger detector when it scans your device to find keyloggers and other types of malware. At the same time, it prevents new malware infections from reaching your device.
How to Check for Keyloggers
The easiest way to detect a software keylogger is to check what is running from the system processes. If there is somETHing there that looks odd, you should search online and try to find out if it is from a legitimate program or a known keylogger. Moreover, also examining your outgoing traffic from your computer is a good idea as well.
How to Remove a Keylogger
Getting rid of a software keylogger is not easy but it can be done. You should first try to install an anti-keylogger program on your system and check if it can be removed. If your computer is still acting odd and you suspect that the anti-keylogger program was not able to solve the problem, you should probably format and reinstall your operating system completely.
Closing Thoughts
Despite the serious threat it poses, protecting yourself from keylogging is not that difficult. You can ramp up your defenses using Windows Defender for instance. There are a few warning signs: if your system is much slower than usual, or you start noticing unwanted pop-ups and advertisements, or there is a change in browser settings or the search engine used, your system may have been compromised.
What’s great is now that you know how to check for keyloggers, you can use the techniques discussed above to get to the heart of the problem.
