About this interactive
What you are doing: deciding whether each keylogger is hardware or software.
The two kinds: a hardware keylogger is a physical device placed between the keyboard and the computer, or built into the keyboard. A basic one records keys on its own chip, so no software is installed and a scan finds nothing, but someone has to come back to collect it. (Some hardware models add Wi-Fi to send their logs out; every hardware card here is the basic kind.) A software keylogger is a program installed on the computer; it can save to a hidden file or send keystrokes over the network, which means an antivirus or endpoint tool might flag the program, and network monitoring might spot the data leaving.
How to use it: ask whether it is a physical thing in the cable path or a program running on the machine. Sending data over the network is not the test on its own; the installed program is. A wrong answer resets your streak.
What you'll learn
- Tell a hardware keylogger from a software one: a physical device sits in the keyboard path and stores keys on itself, while a software keylogger is an installed program that can log to a file or send keys over the network
- Explain the trade-off — a basic hardware logger has to be collected in person, while a software logger’s installed program or its network traffic can be detected
Aligned to
CompTIA Security+
2.4
Given a scenario, analyze indicators of malicious activity.
Key terms
- Keylogger
- A type of spyware that records keystrokes on a device and transmits them to an attacker, capturing sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, and private messages without the user's knowledge.
- Hardware Keylogger
- A physical device inserted between a keyboard and a computer that records keystrokes locally on the device itself, requiring physical retrieval to collect captured data.
- Spyware
- Malware that secretly monitors and collects user activity and sends it to a third party without consent.
Topics
Keylogger
Hardware Keylogger
Interactive
Streak Sort
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