What Can Keyloggers Do in 2012?
Back in the days of MS-DOS a keylogger was exactly what the name implied – a program to log keystrokes. Those days that's all you needed, but today computers are used for so much more, meaning there's so much more that needs to be logged. Although the name 'Keylogger' is still used, it's more commonly referred to as 'Computer Monitoring Software' because of the other features that the software can perform.
The most important feature of a keylogger, that has evolved as computer security has evolved is stealth. For the software to be effective it needs to be hidden as it works. That means that keyloggers these days can be set up then entered into stealth mode and not be seen in the task bar, task manager or add/remove programs list. They're also usually installed in a random directory deep inside the Windows directory, as to avoid detection.
The most important feature of a keylogger, that has evolved as computer security has evolved is stealth. For the software to be effective it needs to be hidden as it works. That means that keyloggers these days can be set up then entered into stealth mode and not be seen in the task bar, task manager or add/remove programs list. They're also usually installed in a random directory deep inside the Windows directory, as to avoid detection.
We've already mentioned the keylogger function which will obviously be included in all computer monitoring applications. The software should also log the application that the keystrokes were entered into, along with the date and time of the entry. This means that applications used are also logged, usually in a chronological list, along with the time and date of use.
The next most common function will be screenshots, which can be taken at set intervals (say every 1 minute) and/or whenever a new window is made active. These screenshots, like everything else will be tagged with the date and time.
Documents and Printers should also be monitored. Any new, opened, moved, saved or deleted file will be logged and any document sent to a printer will be logged, along with the name of the printer it was sent to. Anything copied and pasted should be logged as well. These document related functions are great for monitoring an office computer.
Finally, but most importantly, websites will be monitored. Any website visited will be logged in chronological order, along with the date and time of the visit and usually a snapshot of the visited site.
The user interface of a keylogger will usually be opened using a secret key combination and password, which you can use to view the logs at any time. You'll also usually be able to enter your email details to get the reports sent to you remotely at set intervals. These options are usually adjustable from the settings window, along with other options like uninstall and whether to monitor other user accounts etc.
As mentioned above, these are the general features you'll find in most commercial keyloggers. Some will have less and some will have a few extra. Webcam monitoring is a feature that's appearing more frequently from some developers but the above features are enough to monitor most users activities.
If you're looking for a keylogger with these features check out Gecko Computer Monitoring Software, which has a 2 hour free trial.
THIS POST IS A GUEST POST BY: Lewis Waller
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