The concept of Keylogger

Keylogger is one of the hacking techniques used to generally get passwords of credit cards, debit cards, gmail accounts and more. So here we are going to study what keylogger basically means and how it is made.

Generally referring, a Keylogger as the name says maintains the logs of keystrokes. So, to understand what is keylogger, we need to understand two technical terms - log and keystroke.

• Log ; A log, in a computing context, is the automatically produced and time-stamped documentation of events relevant to a particular system. Virtually all software applications and systems produce log files. In simple language, a Log is like a diary in which all the activities are mentioned in a structured manner along with the time at which they were done.
• Keystroke : A keystroke is a single press of a key on a keyboard. Each key press is a keystroke. Keystrokes can be used for programming purposes to respond to the user pressing a particular key. Taking an example, did you ever thought how did the computer realize to go to next line when we press the 'ENTER' key on the keyboard?!. Here, keystroke is most used. It takes the keystroke as input and based on the input, it produces output on the screen.

Keylogger is the short form of Keystroke Logger. A keylogger is software that tracks or logs the keys struck on your keyboard. It does this task in a covert (hidden) manner, so that you don’t know that your actions are being monitored. This is usually done with malicious intent to collect your account information, credit card numbers, user names, passwords, and other private data.

Despite all these, keylogger is also used for legitimate (legal/good) purposes. Parents can monitor their children’s online activity or law enforcement may use it to analyze and track incidents linked to the use of personal computers, and employers can make sure their employees are working instead of surfing the web all day.

Nevertheless, keyloggers can pose a serious threat to users, as they can be used to intercept passwords and other confidential information entered via the keyboard. As a result, cybercriminals can get PIN codes and account numbers for your financial accounts, passwords to your email and social networking accounts and then use this information to take your money, steal your identity and possibly extort information and money from your friends and family.

Why Keylogger? 

A second most asked question is - why to use keylogger and not other methods. Keylogger is customizable. That means, we know that a keylogger captures every key one has typed. Now we can customize, how we want the data to reach us - via mail, or uploaded to our server, or any other way. Hence, the way the data reaches to us is decided by self. Hence, there would be no security in the way of data and receiver except the device's firewall. Once the keystrokes are recorded and bypassed through device firewall, there is no other barrier in the way i.e. the road is clean.

Hence, keylogger is the simplest method to track victims' passwords, usernames, pins, etc. Also, in the case of social media and chatting apps like messenger, hike or WhatsApp. We know that whatsapp is the most secure server for chatting over internet as it uses 256-bit encryption method. This encryption is applied as soon as the message is typed, but keylogger is faster than that. It captures keystrokes as soon as the key is pressed. Hence, whatsapp chats can be easily tracked from victims' device to us through keylogger.

How do you detect a keylogger?

Keyloggers are tricky to detect. Some signs that you may have a keylogger on your device include: slower performance when web browsing, your mouse or keystrokes pause or don’t show up onscreen as what you are actually typing or if you receive error screens when loading graphics or web pages.

What can you do to protect yourself?

Just as you maintain your own health on a daily basis by eating well-balanced meals, getting plenty of rest and exercising, you must also maintain your computer or mobile device’s health. That means avoiding keyloggers by avoiding actions that could negatively affect your computer, smartphone or tablet, like visiting dangerous websites or downloading infected programs, videos or games. Here are some tips:

• Use caution when opening attachments – files received via email, P2P networks, chat, social networks, or even text messages (for mobile devices) can be embedded with malicious software that has a keylogger. (This method will be taught later.)
• Watch your passwords – Consider using one-time passwords and make sure key sites you log into offer two-step verification. You could also use a password manager which will automatically remember your user name and passwords, but also prevent keylogging since you are not typing in any information on the site as the password manager will do that for you.
• Try an alternative keyboard layout – Most of the keylogger software available is based on the traditional QWERTY layout so if you use a keyboard layout such as DVORAK, the captured keystrokes does not make sense unless converted. (Try to understand on your own. For queries, post comments below.)
• Use a virtual keyboard – This is the most secure way. Even when keylogger is installed on your system, it can't capture keystrokes. Using on-screen keyboard, you just have to click on the keys you want to type with the help of your mouse. Hence, as you do not press any key on your keyboard (hardware), no keystrokes are recorded. Such a system is used in most of online banking services mainly SBI ONLINE banking service.