Editing Keystroke logging (section)

{{Short description|Action of recording the keys struck on a keyboard}}
{{Computer hacking}}
'''Keystroke logging''', often referred to as '''keylogging''' or '''keyboard capturing''', is the action of recording (logging) the keys struck on a [[Keyboard technology|keyboard]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Nyang|first1=DaeHun|last2=Mohaisen|first2=Aziz|last3=Kang|first3=Jeonil|date=2014-11-01|title=Keylogging-Resistant Visual Authentication Protocols|url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6746187|journal=IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing|volume=13|issue=11|pages=2566–2579|doi=10.1109/TMC.2014.2307331|s2cid=8161528|issn=1536-1233|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Conijn |first1=Rianne |last2=Cook |first2=Christine |last3=van Zaanen |first3=Menno |last4=Van Waes |first4=Luuk |date=2021-08-24 |title=Early prediction of writing quality using keystroke logging |journal=International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education |volume=32 |issue=4 |pages=835–866 |language=en |doi=10.1007/s40593-021-00268-w |s2cid=238703970 |issn=1560-4292|doi-access=free |hdl=10067/1801420151162165141 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> typically covertly, so that a person using the keyboard is unaware that their actions are being monitored. Data can then be retrieved by the person operating the logging program. A '''keystroke recorder''' or '''keylogger''' can be either [[software]] or [[Computer hardware|hardware]].

While the programs themselves are legal,<ref>[https://www.keylogger.org/keylogger.html#h_8 Use of legal software products for computer monitoring], keylogger.org</ref> with many designed to allow employers to oversee the use of their computers, keyloggers are most often used for stealing passwords and other [[confidential information]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/keylogger|publisher=Oxford dictionaries|title=Keylogger|access-date=2013-08-03|archive-date=2013-09-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911175015/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/keylogger|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[https://securelist.com/keyloggers-how-they-work-and-how-to-detect-them-part-1/36138/ Keyloggers: How they work and how to detect them (Part 1)], ''Secure List'', "Today, keyloggers are mainly used to steal user data relating to various online payment systems, and virus writers are constantly writing new keylogger Trojans for this very purpose."</ref> Keystroke logging can also be utilized to monitor activities of children in schools or at home and by law enforcement officials to investigate malicious usage.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rai |first1=Swarnima |last2=Choubey |first2=Vaaruni |last3=Suryansh |last4=Garg |first4=Puneet |chapter=A Systematic Review of Encryption and Keylogging for Computer System Security |date=2022-07-08 |title=2022 Fifth International Conference on Computational Intelligence and Communication Technologies (CCICT) |chapter-url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9913618 |publisher=IEEE |pages=157–163 |doi=10.1109/CCiCT56684.2022.00039 |isbn=978-1-6654-7224-1|s2cid=252849669 }}</ref>

Keylogging can also be used to study [[keystroke dynamics]]<ref>Stefan, Deian, Xiaokui Shu, and Danfeng Daphne Yao. "[http://cseweb.ucsd.edu/~dstefan/pubs/stefan:2011:robust.pdf Robustness of keystroke-dynamics based biometrics against synthetic forgeries]." computers & security 31.1 (2012): 109-121.</ref> or [[Human–computer interaction|human-computer interaction]]. Numerous keylogging methods exist, ranging from hardware and [[software]]-based approaches to [[acoustic cryptanalysis]].