Surreptitiously send all logged data to any specified recipient via e-mail.Record desktop activity by making snapshots of the computer screen at regular defined intervals.Capture all e-mails sent or received on the compromised PC, no matter if an e-mail client program or a web-interface is used.Record application activity, showing which programs were launched.Monitor Internet activity, websites and web pages visited.Record mouse activity, identifying buttons and icons selected during computer use.This new generation of keylogger software not only captures keystrokes, but is also able to: Recently, a new type of keylogger software containing greatly enhanced features has appeared. In this attack, a keylogger program was invisibly installed on users' machines through e-mail attachments or 'drive-by' downloads (web content which exploits known system security problems in operating systems, web browser and messaging software to automatically download and install arbitrary code) when users visited certain Web sites. These keystrokes are saved to a log file that can be transmitted to an unknown third party – e.g., in February 2006, it was publicly reported in the EU that foreign criminal organizations utilized keylogger software to capture users' bank account numbers and passwords, and stole over 1 million Euros. Keyloggers have been used to capture user names, passwords, account numbers or other sensitive information typed at the keyboard. Such is the case with keylogging software.Ī traditional keylogger program has the ability to record every keystroke typed at the keyboard at any time. In reality, like many malicious hacker tools, keyloggers originated as an administrative and diagnostic tool however, even helpful tools may be subverted and used for illegal or questionable activities. BackgroundĪ ‘keystroke logger' or ‘keylogger' is a type of software that is commonly associated with spyware, which is any unauthorized or malicious software installed to secretly monitor user activity and/or to gather data which is stored on a compromised computer. The purpose of this Bulletin is to advise Government of Canada (GC) departments and agencies of the security threat posed by modern 'keylogger' software with enhanced data capture capabilities which utilize 'stealth' techniques to hide from anti-virus and anti-spyware scanners.

Keylogger software