What Is Keylogger, How It Works?

A Keylogger is a program (software) or hardware device, capable of reading and storing everything that is written via the keyboard of your computer. As you may have guessed, these programs are widely used to monitor your PC when we are away from our location, but also for espionage, constituting a great threat to privacy.

What is Keylogger, how it works?
What is Keylogger, how it works?

What is Keylogger, how it works?

Other common names to indicate Keylogger are: Keygrabber, keyboard capturer, keystroke logger.

In this article, we will deepen which are the best keyloggers present, both hardware and software and how to defend themselves from them, in case without your knowledge you have one installed on your computer.

We remind you that you can use a keylogger to monitor your workstation, but spying is aserious crime,Giardiniblog strongly invites you to respect the privacy of others and the relative legal regulations in this regard.

1. The different types of Keylogger

They are divided into two large families:

  • Hardware, these are devices that are often inserted between the keyboard and the PC, so as to intercept and store everything that is written. They are impossible for the PC to detect, and it’s up to you to check that your keyboard is directly connected to the PC. There are also wireless Keyloggers, but they are much rarer and more expensive and allow you to intercept the packets, which the keyboard sends to the PC via wireless connection (bluetooth).
  • Software, these are small programs that are installed on a PC and that can memorize everything that is typed, even the words we delete. Computers are not the only device that can be spied on, since there are software Keyloggers also for mobile devices (Android and iOS smartphones and tablets), to store what is typed on the keyboards of our smartphones and tablets. Virtual Keyloggers are obviously considered malware (they are undoubtedly malicious software) and are detected and blocked by some antimalware and antivirus.

2. The best hardware Keyloggers

Online there are many hardware Keygrabber, USB and not. There are different shapes and sizes. In this paragraph, we will deal with the most interesting models available on Amazon.

KeyGrabber USB Keylogger 2GB

It is a very simple to use and very interesting USB solution, once inserted into the USB port and inserted into the output, it will begin to record all the activity of your keyboard.

Compared to other very economical solutions, it offers 2 GB of internal memory, which is a huge amount for a device of this kind, it can in fact store two billion keystrokes (equivalent to about one million pages).

The installation is very simple and obviously it is compatible with all systems and all USB keyboards (even the Wireless ones with the receiver, in this case the device must be inserted between the receiver and the PC).

AirDrive Keylogger Pro

Similar to the previous model, but to recover data from this, just connect via WiFi. This small device in fact creates a WiFi network to which you can connect to retrieve the entered data, instead of having to physically remove it from the computer on which it is installed.

KeyGrabber PS / 2 Keylogger 4MB

If you are dealing with an old keyboard with a PS / 2 connection, you must choose a suitable Keygrabber, this works like the first model, that is, it records everything that is typed in its internal memory.

It must be inserted between the keyboard and the PC and is compatible with every operating system and every keyboard. It is easily disguised as a keyboard adapter.

Airdrive KEYLOGGER Pro cable

It is a very particular model, it has the shape of an innocent USB extension, instead it contains a WiFi Keygrabber, which works similarly to the AirDrive Keylogger Pro that we have described above.

3. How to defend yourself against hardware Keyloggers

As mentioned previously in the description of the various models on the market, defending yourself is simple, if you suspect that you are being spied on, you must check that your keyboard (or its receiver if it is a Wireless model) is directly connected to the PC.

Do not trust extension cables or even PS2 USB converters, where you could hide a Usb or Ps2 keylogger.

Also, if you are suspicious of a hardware keylogger, you may need to check inside the keyboard, especially if it is easily removable. In these cases, there are many keyboards tampered with a Keylogger inserted inside.

If you suspect that you are being spied on, but do not find any physical device between the keyboard and the PC, you may instead be the victim of a software Keylogger, a topic covered in the next paragraph.

4. The best free Keylogger software

There are severalfreesoftware-typekeyloggers that detect and store everything that is typed on the keyboard. This software not only memorize everything you see typed on the screen, but also what we delete and rewrite or the typing of function keys or arrows.

In this paragraph we will describe which are the bestonline keyloggersyou can find:

Keylogger Free Revealer

Unfortunately, this program is only available for Windows but it is really complete. It records not only everything you type on the keyboard, but also the programs that are opened, so it is much easier to reconstruct the activity in progress during the recording.

The software has an easy-to-use interface, and can be simply hidden so as not to appear in the taskbar, nor among the list of installed programs.

Installation is very simple, just download it fromthis page. During the installation you will be asked toenter a password, type123 . You just have to follow the instructions on the screen.

Refog Free Keylogger

If you are looking for a Keylogger for Mac, as well as for Windows, you can try this fantastic and complete free software. Even if the installation is initially in English, we can set the interface translated into the Italian language.

Installation is simple, just connect tothis siteand download the executable suitable for your system. Once downloaded, just click on it to start the installation.

Once the installation is complete, you can launch the software and set the interface in Italian, just: launch the application, click on the ”View ” menu, then press on ”Language” and finally choose the ”Italian” item.

The software is very simple to use, just a few clicks will be enough to show you its power and versatility.

Hooker

It is a simple and quick program available unfortunately only for Windows. We insert it because it does not need installation (it is available in the Portable version). It has the basic functions is comfortable and light.

To download it, just go to this page. Once downloaded and started, the monitoring starts directly by clicking on the ”Start” button . To adjust the operation, just go to ”Options” and then to ”Settings“.

Even this software can be hidden. To invoke it, just press the combination Ctrl + Alt + Shift + F9.

5. How to defend yourself against software Keyloggers

Software keyloggers are insidious to find, often it is good to use some antikeylogger software, which you find inside good antimalware and antivirus.

An alternative way to find them is by using the task manager, which informs you of all the software started on your system. If you look between applications and running processes it will be easy to find unknown apps that are always running, unless this is disguised as a common process like svchost.exe.

If you cannot locate a software keylogger, but are convinced that it is present on your computer, the only way to get rid of it is to format and reinstall the operating system.

An inconvenient, but still effective method of making life difficult for a software keylogger is to use the virtual keyboard of the PC, to enter the most important data such as sensitive passwords.

Most of the keyloggers in fact cannot steal the typing through this method, so it would be necessary instead a software that records a video of the screen, software much easier to discover.

Protecting yourself from a Keylogger, as you have been able to understand, is very important to protect your privacy from spies, jealous or malicious friends, as the stolen data can be of any kind, from the normal passwords of the accounts of Google, Paypal, Amazon to bank data, such as credit cards, access to Poste Italiane or other banks’ websites or simply our conversations with family, friends, relatives or people you just met on the net.

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