Keyloggers: I Know What You Typed Last Session

Keyloggers are software programs used to record the keystrokes of computer user. The purpose of the program can be derived from its very name: it "logs" the "keys" being pressed by a user. One purpose of keyloggers is to diagnose an error in a computer system. They can also be used to determine the rate of productivity of some types of employees, especially those with clerical jobs. The field of law enforcement and even spies can make use of keyloggers to obtain encrypted keys or passwords without going through security measures. The most common use of keyloggers today is to monitor the computer usage by various users, mostly by private parties.

Often, keyloggers come as a standard feature of parental control software or Internet monitoring programs. Keylogger software may also be downloaded or purchased on its own. Keyloggers, and monitoring software as a whole, are used by parents to learn how their children are behaving online. Although this may seem to be an invasion of privacy that even children are supposed to have, many parents still decide to install software like this to prevent their children from the many forms of harm and bad influences that they may get from the Internet.

Keyloggers are capable of recording all the keystrokes of your child, including regular alphanumeric characters, shortcut keys or combinations, and even what are called "hidden characters." This means that the users of this software may even gain the passwords that are being entered by the computer users. You might think that you won't be able to make sense of the logged keystrokes, as they may come jumbled and senseless. However, keyloggers are programmed to organize the data they gather.

Keyloggers often employ a system of arranging the keystrokes chronologically and you may also obtain the exact time the characters were pressed. These software applications also tell you where the logs are typed, as the data is also arranged by window. This means that you can easily access other person's email and other types of online accounts. There are also keyloggers that allow you to print a copy of the generated transcript.