From the perspective of what are they, keyloggers are mechanisms (software or hardware) that log your key strokes. The real issue with keyloggers are this: "Keyloggers pose more risk to business and home PC users than any other method used for committing cyber crimes." Therein lies the problem.
Keyloggers are very difficult to fight because they can so easily run in stealth mode. They use very little CPU.
These mechanisms are getting so sophisticated that they can track websites visited by the user and only log keystrokes entered on the web sites of particular interest to the crook.
Many keyloggers now use rootkit technology to prevent detection manually or using an internet security product. This may not mean much until you understand what rootkit technology is all about. A rootkit can take full control of a system.
For the most part a rootkits job is to hide files, network connections, memory addresses, or registry entries from other software used by system administrators to detect particular access to the computer resources. Rootkits can also be integrated into other software.
Rootkits can be used for destructive purposes. However, I want you to understand that rootkits in and of themselves are not evil. A Rootkit is just a technology that is used by criminals for evil purposes but can be used for good as well. At a higher level, keyloggers can be used for good as well but most of the time we see it in this most evil cyber crime context.
In this brief article, I have explained the most important points to observe about keyloggers. With this information, you should now see how important it is to have security software that can thwart this kind of technology. You should also note that if the software is not specially designed to be proactive then it will be useless in this fight. As you research anti-spyware security solutions, you must look for one that combats keyloggers and is proactive in monitoring the system for this kind of activity.
Olan Butler is computer repair specialist and an advocate for the spyware doctor anti-spyware software. Olan also writes backoffice software for a living. If you are in need of a solution to your spyware issue or want to shore up your system against keyloggers take a look at the spyware doctor solution
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