What is Keylogger?
A Keylogger can be both, a piece of software or hardware that is used to monitor activity on the computer. It keeps track of every action performed on the computer on which a Keylogger has been installed. This way, it can be used to capture messages, passwords, credit card numbers, and pretty much anything else.
It is easily installed and can notify you about anything that happens on the computer. It’s mostly used by people who wish to check the activity on their own laptops and PCs. Keyloggers can be installed, in the majority of cases, by malware, but also by protective parents, spouses or employers.
It keeps track of keystrokes, capturing passwords and messages, it can send regular screenshots to the other computer allowing you to see what the user is seeing. It also sends the lists of websites that have been visited, applications that have been used, documents that were opened, and monitors the surfing behavior.
Should you use it?
Yes and no. It all depends on how you want to use it. WolfEye says that the legality of using a Keylogger for employee monitoring must be checked by a lawyer. So, the laws differ from state to state. Yes, it can, in theory, be used by employers to monitor their employees, but it is mostly forbidden by law.
It can also be used by parents making sure their children are safe online. As the popularity of the Internet is growing, the parents are becoming more and more worried about the safety of their children. Kids can be easily manipulated into doing certain things, meeting certain people, and cyberbullying isn’t uncommon. It’s understandable that parents want to know details about what their children are doing online.
The best way to use this, however, is to keep track of the activity of your own computer that typically no one else is using. In case you left it somewhere and wish to make sure no one is using it, you can install a Keylogger and stay informed about any unauthorized PC use.
The Keylogger runs secretly in the background not letting anyone know that it’s been installed. They can usually be seen and removed by using a proper anti-spyware program, but some better Keyloggers might go unnoticed. On the other hand, hardware-based Keyloggers do not affect the performance of the computer and there is no software being downloaded onto the computer. That also means that anti-spyware has nothing to detect. However, this is usually impractical as there is a piece of hardware attached to the computer and it’s going to raise some questions.
Once the hardware has been plugged, there is nothing else you need to do. They can be damaged or removed, but not without that going unnoticed.
Keylogging software can be combined with other types of software so that you can better keep track of what’s happening on the computer. You can always simply put the password on your computer and make sure no one is using it, but if you’re truly worried, Keylogger can help.
