Fighting malware and spam

Keylogger

Malware that records key presses

Keyloggers are commonly trojans, implanted on a system to monitor the keys pressed and thus record any sensitive data, such as passwords, entered by the user.

Data thus gathered is forwarded to a third party, where it can be used in fraud and cybercrime. More sophisticated keyloggers include their own forwarding methods, while simpler ones may simply log the data to a file which is then picked up and passed on by a separate part of an infection.

Some keylogging software claims legitimate purposes, such as parents monitoring their children's online activities. As well as software keyloggers, various forms of hardware keyloggers also exist, for example sitting between the keyboard cable and the socket on the computer, or sniffing data sent by wireless keyboards.

As well as using anti-malware software to block and remove such software, many techniques have been developed to combat the loss of vital data to keyloggers. These include the use of encrypted password storage systems, keyboard reconfiguration, on-screen virtual keyboards, voice recognition and single-use passwords, among others.

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