Editing Keyboard technology (section)

=== Keystroke logging ===
Unencrypted [[Bluetooth]] keyboards are known to be vulnerable to signal theft for keylogging by other Bluetooth devices in range. [[Microsoft]] wireless keyboards 2011 and earlier are documented to have this vulnerability.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/01/14/this-fake-phone-charger-is-actually-recording-every-key-you-type/?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000591|title=This Fake Phone Charger Is Actually Recording Every Key You Type|date=14 January 2015|publisher=AOL|work=TechCrunch|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810130517/https://techcrunch.com/2015/01/14/this-fake-phone-charger-is-actually-recording-every-key-you-type/?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000591|archive-date=10 August 2017}}</ref>

[[Keystroke logging]] (often called keylogging) is a method of capturing and recording user keystrokes. While it can be used legally to measure employee activity, or by law enforcement agencies to investigate suspicious activities, it is also used by [[Hacker (computer security)|hackers]] for illegal or malicious acts. Hackers use keyloggers to obtain passwords or encryption keys.

Keystroke logging can be achieved by both hardware and software means. Hardware key loggers are attached to the keyboard cable or installed inside standard keyboards. Software keyloggers work on the target computer's operating system and gain unauthorized access to the hardware, hook into the keyboard with functions provided by the OS, or use remote access software to transmit recorded data out of the target computer to a remote location. Some hackers also use wireless keylogger sniffers to collect packets of data being transferred from a wireless keyboard and its receiver, and then they crack the encryption key being used to secure wireless communications between the two devices.

[[Spyware|Anti-spyware]] applications are able to detect many keyloggers and remove them. Responsible vendors of monitoring software support detection by anti-spyware programs, thus preventing abuse of the software. Enabling a [[Firewall (computing)|firewall]] does not stop keyloggers per se, but can possibly prevent transmission of the logged material over the net if properly configured. [[Network monitoring|Network monitors]] (also known as reverse-firewalls) can be used to alert the user whenever an application attempts to make a network connection. This gives the user the chance to prevent the keylogger from "[[phoning home]]" with his or her typed information. Automatic form-filling programs can prevent keylogging entirely by not using the keyboard at all. Most keyloggers can be fooled by alternating between typing the login credentials and typing characters somewhere else in the focus window.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cups.cs.cmu.edu/soups/2006/posters/herley-poster_abstract.pdf |title=How To Login From an Internet Cafe Without Worrying About Keyloggers |author=Herley, Cormac |author2=Florencio, Dinei |website=Microsoft Research, Redmond |date=2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808070236/http://cups.cs.cmu.edu/soups/2006/posters/herley-poster_abstract.pdf |archive-date=8 August 2017 |access-date=10 September 2008 }}</ref>{{update inline|date=March 2024}}

Keyboards are also known to emit electromagnetic signatures that can be detected using special spying equipment to reconstruct the keys pressed on the keyboard. Neal O'Farrell, executive director of the Identity Theft Council, revealed to InformationWeek that "More than 25 years ago, a couple of former spooks showed me how they could capture a user's ATM PIN, from a van parked across the street, simply by capturing and decoding the electromagnetic signals generated by every keystroke," O'Farrell said. "They could even capture keystrokes from computers in nearby offices, but the technology wasn't sophisticated enough to focus in on any specific computer."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.informationweek.com/security/vulnerabilities-and-threats/6-tips-to-secure-webcams-stop-keyloggers/d/d-id/1113012|title=6 Tips To Secure Webcams, Stop Keyloggers|work=Dark Reading|date=10 December 2013 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230233248/http://www.informationweek.com/security/vulnerabilities-and-threats/6-tips-to-secure-webcams-stop-keyloggers/d/d-id/1113012|archive-date=30 December 2013}}</ref>