What is Keylogger? How to Detect and Remove It?

What is Keylogger?

Simply put, a Keylogger (KL) is a tool designed to record all keystrokes on a computer, through software or a hardware device. This keyboard recording activity is also called keylogging or key-string logging. Although keyloggers are not illegal, their use is often associated with malicious operations.

Positive Use of Keylogger

Despite being used for illegal activities, keyloggers have several positive exploitation options. If used with good intentions, it can help parents monitor their children's PC activities or be used by an employer to determine how their employees use their PCs during work hours. However, it should be noted that this should only be done with the voluntary consent of the employees.  A keylogger can also be used to defend (write) passwords and other data in the event of an operating system crash (but there are certainly better ways to do this). In addition, keystroke logging has recently been adopted by scientists as a research tool for human writing.

Negative Use of Keylogger

As the name suggests, the purpose of a keylogger is to record every keystroke from the target computer, which is not always a bad thing. But unfortunately, the most common use of a keylogger involves malicious activity. KL programs are widely used by cybercriminals as a way to steal sensitive information from victims such as credit card numbers, passwords, personal letters, bank credentials, driver's license numbers, etc.

Types of Keyloggers

As mentioned earlier, there are two main kinds of keylogging devices. There are a software and hardware version. When it comes to software and hardware keyloggers, it is important to know the dissimilarities between the two types. While the software version is the most common, it should be understood how the hardware KL works.

Keylogger Hardware: 

• It normally consists of a small chip or wire that is physically attached to a computer or laptop;
• Most KL hardware can be removed easily;
• The extracted information can be viewed by the coordinating computer program, even after removing the chip or wire;
• Usually the preferred type of keylogger for companies that take care of their employees;
• The uniqueness of software keyloggers is the firmware version of the KL hardware, which can be connected to the BIOS of the computer and record data as soon as it turns on;
• KL wireless sniffers are capable of intercepting communication between wireless keyboards and a computer.

Software Keylogger

Unfortunately, a software keylogger is much more difficult to detect. There are many different categories, with different methods and technologies, but in general, we can consider the following:

• It usually consists of software that has been secretly installed on your computer by a hacker. It can be downloaded directly to the host computer (for example, using phishing attacks), or remotely.
• The most common software keyloggers only record computer keyboard activity, but there are modified versions capable of taking screenshots and clipboard logging.
• Less common types of programmatic KL include those based on Javascript (injected into websites), APIs (running inside an application), and web forms (recording any data submitted in web forms).

Preventing Hardware Keylogger

It is highly unlikely that you could have a hardware keylogger, especially in the privacy of your own home. However, this is possible in a public environment. Since a hardware keylogger typically uses a USB port to operate, your primary defense will be to use spot checks on the USB area of ​​your computer.

When entering sensitive information such as a password, you can also use your mouse to confuse the keylogger, if any. For example, enter the last character of your password first, then move the cursor to enter the rest. The keylogger will log the last character as the first. Selecting and replacing text while typing is also an option. You can try many different tricks or other methods to trick the Taiping. However, these methods are not very functional and may not work with more sophisticated keyloggers that also record screen or mouse activity.

Software Keylogger Prevention

• Software keyloggers are harder to spot, but installing a good antivirus will likely help keep you safe.
• Installing an anti-keylogger software is also an option as it is specifically designed to identify, remove, and restrict keylogger attacks.
• Be careful with email attachments and links. Don't click on ads and sites from a source you don't know.
• Update your software applications and operating system
• Any user who uses internet banking or any other online activity that involves money should be especially careful (including cryptocurrency adepts and traders).

How to Detect and Remove Keylogger

The easiest way to detect a software keylogger is to check the operation of system processes. If there is something that looks strange, you should search the internet and try to find out if it is a legal program or a known keylogger. In addition, it is also important to examine your outgoing traffic from the computer.

Getting rid of a software keylogger is not simple, but it can be done. First, you have to install an anti-keylogger and check if it can be removed. If your computer is still working strangely, and you suspect that the anti-keylogger has failed to fix the problem, then most likely you should completely format and reinstall your operating system.