In short, keylogger, categorized into two main categories: software based keylogger and hardware based keylogger, can silently record every keystroke made on a computer without any notice of the computer user. All keyboard activities can be captured in stealth mode. Keystroke logging is useful for parental control, employee monitoring or any legal personal use.
Software based keylogger is normally installed on your hard drive, which is called spy software. Software keylogger is wildly used: Parents can install software keylogger to monitor children’s Internet activities; Employers install employee monitoring keylogger on company computers to keep tab on employee’s online working activities; A wife could install a software keylogger to monitor the husband’s online conversations such as instant messaging, emails, and chat rooms to ensure her husband has no online affaires and cheating. Software keylogger can send logs to an email or ftp address which makes it convenient for people to check. Some parental control keylogger software even includes websites and applications blocking features, and employers can real time spy on staff desktop with employee monitoring keylogger.
Looking for Professional Employee Monitoring Solution for Mac OS X?
Check out All-in-one Employee Monitor – Easemon for Mac!
Keylogger software is smart, powerful, and invisible. But the problem is that it can be detected and removed by anti-spyware.
To bypass the check of spyware removal tools, people resort to hardware keylogger. Hardware keylogger is made up of a tiny memory chip embedded in a device that is applied via the computer’s bios or else through a physical device plugged between your keyboard and the computer. Keystroke information is stored in a tiny memory chip in the hardware keylogger that can be browsed by using special programs that usually come with the hardware keylogger package.
Detection of hardware keylogger by using anti-spyware is impossible. So it becomes difficult for outsiders to notice the existence of hardware keylogger if they don’t have the knowledge of what hardware keylogger is, where it is normally installed, and how it looks like.
True stealthy, but the function of hardware keylogger is limited, unitary.
Keyloggers are two-edged swords. They can be used for both good and evil, depending on how people use them and what the purpose is. Equipping yourself with knowledge about keyloggers is the best way to stop the bad and utilize it for positive.