How to protect your computer from keyloggers
Every keystroke you make, they’ll be watching you. Keyloggers are
stealthy malicious trackers capable of recording everything you type on
your keyboard.
And they are extremely dangerous – by quietly residing in your
device, they collect the most sensitive data of yours. Without you even
knowing, your passwords, banking details, or your ID info may end up in
the hands of cybercriminals.
But here’s the good part – you can prevent that from happening. Let’s learn more about keylogger protection.
How do keyloggers steal your information?
A keylogger is either a piece of malicious software or a hardware
device. Both types serve the same purpose – they log all your
keystrokes, this way capturing your sensitive data.
Software-based keyloggers usually come as malware and infect
computers through malicious links or downloaded files. These keyloggers
silently run in the background without you even knowing that someone is
eavesdropping on your keystrokes.
A hacker keylogging
Hardware keyloggers are small physical devices plugged inline
between a computer and a keyboard. They store keystroke logs in their
internal memory, and there’s no way for an operating system to detect
it. However, they are clearly visible if you simply take a look at your
USB or PS/2 port. For this reason, software-based keyloggers are a go-to
choice for most cybercriminals.
As a matter of fact, not only for cybercriminals.
Protective parents worrying about what their kids do online, jealous
spouses, employers running investigation on their workers – there are
many cases when people may turn to keyloggers for gathering information.
Nevertheless, these are rather rare scenarios, and keyloggers are
mostly used by hackers, cybercriminals and identity thieves who want to
take advantage of your personal data.
What data do you risk losing?
Keylogging victim
Once a keylogger is slipped into your device, everything you type is
captured and accessible to the attacker: your login names and
passwords, banking details, ID information, personal messages, and email
content. Scary, right? Let’s look at the ways of how to protect
yourself against keyloggers.
How to prevent keylogging?
#1: Use a password manager
Keyloggers can’t record what you don’t type. Here’s where automatic
form filling comes in handy. Many browsers already have this ‘remember
password’ feature built-in and offer you to save and sync your login
credentials. But hold on a second – letting your browser store your
passwords may bring more risk than protection.
Just imagine: a malicious intruder gets access to your device, or
you innocently allow someone to use your computer. What happens then is
someone immediately gets access to every account you were kept logged
in. For example, in Google Chrome it’s enough to type in
chrome://settings/passwords in the URL field, and here they are – all
your passwords listed. So in the end, relying on a browser to handle
your account logins is simply a false sense of security.
Instead, a third-party app manager is what you should go for. When
your passwords are not typed in but filled in automatically, keyloggers
can’t get them. The only exception would be the scenario when you enter
them for the first time – if your device has already been infected with a
keylogger by that time, everything you type, including your passwords,
is susceptible to logging.
In case you’re lost among the variety of password managers
available, LastPass and 1Password are two popular ones you should give a
go.
#2: Keep software and apps updated
Not letting keylogging malware to infect your device in the first
place is the best keylogger prevention. Like any other type of malware,
keyloggers may be injected into your computer through software
vulnerabilities. Left unpatched, they serve as an open gate for
attackers. And not necessarily for those who want your keystrokes – you
may face all kinds of cyber risks out there.
App icons on screen
Be proactive by never skipping software updates. Developers are
regularly issuing security patches to take care of critical software
vulnerabilities. We know that hitting that ‘skip’ button is always
tempting, but you should never do that. Just accept the fact that
keeping your software and apps updated shields you from many negative
consequences of data theft. Again, it is easier to avoid the risks than
to deal with unpleasant data loss issues afterward.
#3: Use antivirus
Malicious keyloggers may be lurking on websites or hiding in
downloadable files, waiting for inattentive victims to fall into their
trap. Using a trustworthy antivirus program is a good way to protect
against notorious cyber threats coming from the web, including malicious
keystroke loggers.
Since most antivirus programs can only fight off the threats they
can recognize, there is a chance that some new type of malware can slip
through. Nevertheless, a good antivirus is a basic yet crucial step for
preventing keylogging.
#4: Stay cautious
If a keylogger happens to be on your computer, you must have
downloaded something you shouldn’t have or clicked on a link you
shouldn’t have clicked. These are common scenarios of how malware finds
its way into the devices of incautious users.
For this reason, always be vigilant to minimize the risk. Download
applications and files only from trusted sources and think twice before
opening suspicious emails – especially clicking links in them.
Also read: What should you do when faced with a suspicious email?
#5: Change your passwords frequently
This one is more about reducing the harm of possible keylogging.
Regularly changing your passwords is a good practice of protecting your
account in general. Although setting up a new password involves hitting
keys on your keyboard that could potentially be logged, it’s actually
worth taking the risk.
Change passwords frequently
Here’s why: if your passwords are breached through a keylogging
attack, it isn’t likely that they will be used immediately. So if you
change your passwords, let’s say, every two weeks, the stolen info will
no longer be useful to an attacker.
#6: Add an extra layer of protection – use VPN
Combining the measures listed above should give you comprehensive
keylogger protection. To enjoy all-around security online, consider
using VPN to encrypt your online data. Choose a trustworthy VPN service
provider that offers advanced security features and keeps no logs of
user activity.
When come to the issue of online privacy and security, we suggest to
use a VPN, and our recommendation is RitaVPN. RitaVPN is an excellent
tool for protecting your online privacy and security. And with the using
of RitaVPN, you can also access your favorite geo-blocked content.
It allows P2P connections on all servers and offers specialized servers
for Netflix and other favorite streaming channels. RitaVPN is a
relatively new
VPN service, but it’s already making a name for itself,which makes it one of the best VPN in 2019.
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