Mimentum Blog

Posted By Mimenta on February 2, 2010

For most people, the first place they would look for keylogger telltale signs is the Start Menu and the Task Manager. Many keyloggers give you the option of keeping them off your list of Start menu shortcuts and out of Windows’ Add or Remove Programs list (Vista calls this Control Panel applet Programs and Settings.) Most keyloggers also hide themselves from the list of applications in Windows’ Task Manager. Keylogger Pro and both the free and paid versions of Perfect Keylogger also keep the executable from appearing under Task Manager’s Processes tab. Unfortunately, often this makes it difficult to uninstall the keylogger application.

If you’re concerned that your PC might be spied on, you can use the fact that none of these programs successfully hide their running executables from Microsoft’s free Process Explorer utility. Unfortunately, the correct company name or description seldom appears in the Process Explorer listing, so to spot one of these spies in Process Explorer, you may need to know the name of the keylogger’s executable.

The bottom line is – properly installed, a keylogger is totally invisable to all by the most tecno-savvy Geeks. There are programs out there that claim to find keyloggers but a keylogger that is hardware installed remains beyond detection of even the best of these.

Someone told me that by using the On Screen Keyboard in Windows (Windows/System32/osk.exe) utility, the keyloggers can’t monitor the keys you select with your mouse, from the screen display. Sorry but the key you select from the screen display is registered the same as if it was physically pressed. The signal or digital code at the processor is what is recoded by the keylogger, not the physical key stroke. Either way the key you select is recorded.

Many keyloggers will also record mouse button actions too.

The simple fact is if the keylogger is present and installed properly, with the user notifications turned off, you will nevr know it’s there. If you are using a computer at work, chances are you ar keylogged.

In the next session we’ll look at some guidelines to help combat keyloggers.

Categories: Business, Computing, Education, Mimentum
Tags: anti-fraud, anti-fraud advice, business advice, Business information, business on line, business success, create a business, Creating a business, fraud, Identity theft, Internet fraud, Internet scams, Internet security, Making money, online business, Online Business creation, Operating Systems, Software, starting your own business, Website design