What is the basic purprose and function of a keylogger? [closed]

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Closed 9 years ago.

开发者_JS百科 Improve this question

Ok I know I might seem a bit noobish, but I'm very new to this term. I think it has to do with recording what ever the user is typing into the system and recording it without the user knowing his confidentiality is being compromised.

So thats my basic understanding of the functionality of a key logger. Am I correct?

Is is purpose to compromise confidentiality? Is that the only application of key loggers? What is the key logger suppose to show and it output?

Before I go on making one in C#, I want to have a clear vision of what a key logger is suppose to do.

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A keylogger logs keystrokes as you mention.

There are legitimate and illegitimate uses. A legitimate use would be to log keystrokes for auditing purposes, like logging what people do in a sensitive environment. An illegitimate use would be to steal passwords, credit card numbers, PII data, etc.

In the legitimate use described above, there could be multiple purposes, most around improving security. (E.g., provide a mechanism for non-repudiation, identify process mistakes and training gaps, etc.). In the illegitimate use, the purpose is generally to get secret information.

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Most anti viruses will block any application that tries to make a global hook to log keys. That said key loggers can be used positively e.g. For accessibility, for monitoring you kids activities etc.

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A keylogger sole purpose is to keep tracks on every key you type. Most of the time the term is associated with malware or viruses. It would send the keys to a server for latter use by a "bad guy".

However, in a the context of a specific application, you may have to register a keyboard hook to get some information about the user input. In that case, you would be creating a specific application (keyboard-based quick-launcher, copy/paste monitor, whatever) not a keylogger. The difference is that getting the keyboard information is just a prerequisite not an end.

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A keylogger records all the activities like keystroke, email, website, application, screenshot, CD-Rom, doc, USB drive, printer and chat message. It is usually used for employee monitoring, parental controls or other invisible computer monitoring.