Keylogger: Spying your Online Whereabouts
The keylogger is also called Key logger, keystroke logger and system monitor. A keylogger may be a small program or a hardware device which monitors each keystrokes that users type on the keyboard of a specific computer. A keylogger as a hardware device is a small plug, same size of a small battery, which serves as connector between the computer and the keyboard. Since it can be plugged at the back of the computer, it will not be obvious that it is plugged in. As the user types using the keyboard of that computer, this device will then collect each of the keystrokes and then save them as text in its own hard drive which is also miniature. The person who installed the device will then have to remove it physically in order to have an access to the information which the device gathered.
This program does not require access to the computer physically. This program can be downloaded by someone on purpose of wanting monitor the activities of a specific computer or it can be downloaded as a spyware and then be executed as a part of remote administration trojan horse. This program consists of two files that installs in the same directory and these are the DLL or dynamic link library file which does the recording and the EXE or executable files which installs the DLL file and what triggers for it to work. This program record all the keystroke that users types and uploads this information over the internet to whoever installed this program.
Although these programs, keylogger, are promoted for purposes so as to allow parents to monitor the online whereabouts of their children, privacy advocates agreed that it is highly potential for abuse.
Tags: Computers, Technology