Keylogger

A hidden program that writes down every key typed on a computer, including the password to the bank account.

Also known as key logger keystroke logger keyboard spy

Definition

A keylogger is a program that records every key someone types on a computer. It sits out of sight. It does not slow the machine down and it opens no window. It simply keeps a list of what was typed and sends that list to whoever installed it. The bank password, the email password, the card number a customer reads out over the phone, all of it lands in the same file.

The computer most at risk is the shared one in the back office. Nobody owns it and everybody uses it. The manager checks the bank on it in the morning, a supplier plugs a USB stick into it at noon, and a part-time member of staff browses on it at night. That machine is where these programs usually end up.

They get in three common ways. Someone opens an attachment that claims to be an invoice. Someone installs a free program to convert a file, or a cracked copy of paid software, and the recorder comes with it. Or someone with ten minutes alone plugs a small device in between the keyboard cable and the tower, which no antivirus can see because it is not software at all.

The signs are quiet, and that is the point. Typing feels slightly delayed. The mouse pointer stutters when you enter a password. A browser asks you to sign in again on a site you never signed out of. Money leaves the account in small amounts first, because whoever is watching tests the limit before taking more. If a member of staff says their email is sending messages they never wrote, suspect the back-office computer before you blame the phone. When Linkysoft is called in after money has gone missing, that machine is where we look first.

Cleaning one machine is not the fix. Change every password from a different device, turn on the code-by-phone step for the bank and the email, and look at the back of the tower for anything you do not recognise. Then get rid of the shared login. Linkysoft asks about that shared computer in the first hour of a security review, because it is where most small businesses lose money. Giving each person an account of their own inside a proper business system costs less than one stolen transfer.

Questions about Keylogger

Can antivirus software find a keylogger?
Often, but not always. A small device plugged in between the keyboard and the computer is not software, so no antivirus can see it. Check the cable as well as the screen.
How does a keylogger get onto an office computer?
Usually through an attachment that looks like an invoice, or a free program downloaded to convert a file, or a cracked copy of paid software. Sometimes someone with a few minutes alone plugs one in by hand.
What should I do first if I think one is installed?
Change your passwords from a different device, never from the suspect one. Turn on the phone-code step for the bank and the email. Only then clean or replace the machine.
Can a keylogger get past the code sent to my phone?
Not on its own, because that code changes every time. But whoever is reading your keys sees you type it and can use it within the minute, so a code alone is not a wall.
Is it legal to put one on a staff computer?
In most countries secret monitoring of staff is against the law. If you monitor at all, you must say so in writing and limit what you record. Ask a lawyer before installing anything.

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