Keystroke Logger

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What Does Keystroke Logger Mean?

A keystroke logger is a device or program that allows the user to monitor what another user types into a device. In some cases, a keystroke logger is hardware that attaches to the keyboard or another part of a hardware system. In other cases, it is a program that is considered a type of spyware that can be slipped into a system and used in various ways, many of which are illegal.

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A keystroke logger may also be called a keylogger.

Techopedia Explains Keystroke Logger

In terms of the makeup of a keystroke logger spyware program, its most basic elements often include a dynamic link library (DLL), and an executable that runs the file. As the keystroke logger represents a somewhat common type of spyware or malware, there is a focus on how to identify, isolate and disarm these types of monitoring programs. Some users rely on utilities like tcpview to catch keystroke loggers, while others purchase anti-malware and anti-spyware programs that specialize in identifying these threats. Our guide on how to detect keylogger software provides further details on addressing keystroke logging software.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology expert

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of ​​a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.