How to Detect Keyloggers in Windows Systems

by Delhi Magazines Delhi Magazines

Typically designed for employers to monitor the use of their computers and level of productivity shown by employees, keyloggers are excessively being used by hackers and surveillance agents to steal passwords and other confidential information. They can target even up-to-date Windows systems, aiming to monitor your keystrokes on the keyboard. As they say, prevention is better than cure, we have a few ways by which you can detect these threats in advance before they cause any serious damage to you and your PC.

What are Keyloggers?

Keyloggers can be either software or hardware, typically designed to record keystrokes on a keyboard. Where hardware keyloggers are inserted using a USB or a rogue driver, making them easier to detect and remove; the software keyloggers work remotely on your PC, making them stealthier and undetectable in the infected system.

A Keylogger can allow scammers to access your financial information, passwords, and your anonymous online posts and comments, just by monitoring the keystrokes, the rhythm and pattern of the keystroke entries of the person using the keyboard. On top of it, software keyloggers do not impact system performance, making them all the more difficult to detect, unlike regular viruses and trojans.

This undetectable nature of the keyloggers may seem scary, but take solace in the fact that a keylogger needs to be installed properly on your PC for it to be effective. And this is what you can take advantage of to suspect that your Windows system has been attacked by keyloggers. Below are some measures to do so.

Use the Task Manager to Detect Keyloggers

Open the task manager by right-clicking on the Taskbar. Then open the background tab and go to the “Windows logon application.” Check if it has a duplicate entry like “Windows logon (1).” If you do find something like this, someone else has likely logged on to your Windows system. Taking this as the first sign of a potential keylogger, end the program by right-clicking on it. Also, check the boot menu under the “Startup” tab for any suspicious-looking programs and disable them.

Use the Command Line to Detect Suspicious Internet Connections

After checking that no one else is logged in on your computer, it’s time to look for any suspicious Internet connections to your device. All you need to do is open the Windows command line in Administrator mode, and then enter the following command “netstat -b” (without quotation marks, in small letters).

After this, you will be able to see all the websites and software connected online to your Windows computer. If you see, Windows Store, Edge browser, or other system apps such as “svchost.exe,” don’t worry, these are harmless. However, you can check the IP addresses online to detect any possible remote location.

Advanced Technique: Keystroke Encryption

Keystroke encryption tools like KeyScrambler are fantastic to prevent keylogging, as it will encrypt all your keystrokes before they are sent online. KeyScrambler is virus-free and safe to use with a free software’s edition, helping you secure keystroke data across 60+ browsers. You can easily download the software from its official website.

Make sure that you enable KeyScrambler from the right system tray after installation. KeyScrambler is designed to encrypt all your keystrokes from any browser such as Google Chrome or Firefox.

We hope that these techniques help you keep you and your computer safe from hackers and scammers, who are always on the lookout for one careless mistake by you.

I’m Anny. I’m a social media manager living in USA. I am a fan of technology, design, and music. I’m also interested in fitness and movies.

Source: How to Detect Keyloggers in Windows Systems