Do You Need a Secret Keystroke Logger?

What is Keystroke Recording?

Keystroke monitoring software gives parents the ability to secretly read every word that their children types on their keyboard. Children can be in chat rooms, writing emails, surfing the Internet, or using passwords for access to accounts you may not know existed. If your kids type it into their computer, you will be read and review it.

A remote keystroke logger is a keylogger that provides the added benefit of keystroke monitoring from work, or from a second residence in the case of divorced parents. Some brands of keystroke logger software can also record mouse clicks. These applications may also keep a web history so parents can see what pages are being visited, and what application is being used without their knowledge.

All Keystroke logger programs keep records of all computer keystrokes typed on the keyboard. The recording process is totally transparent to your children, but also to anyone else who uses the computer while the services are activated. No one will be able to find out if the keystroke recorder is installed on your computer as its folders are hidden from all users in your system. They are generally invisible to all anti-virus software.

If you have an older computer with minimal memory resources, you may find the computer runs slower because it is recording all data entered through the keyboard. However, most of today's applications do not cause suspicious slowdowns, and take up very few system resources.

Most keyloggers reside at the kernel level, which makes them difficult to detect, especially for user-mode applications. They are frequently implemented as rootkits that subvert the operating system kernel and gain unauthorized access to the hardware, making them very powerful. One disadvantage to this approach it that it may fail to capture autocomplete passwords, already stored on the computer, as this information is passed in the application layer.

Reasons for Using Key Logging Software

In most cases, keystroke logging software is an extreme parental reaction to some disappointing action of a teenager. Examples of these actions could include, but not be limited to:

  • Drug or alcohol use.
  • Dating issues and/or sexual activity.
  • Illegal activities that involve the use of the computer.
  • Secret access to inappropriate websites.
  • Monitoring computer activity behind password protected websites the parents don't have access to.

Other types of chat monitoring software provide keystroke logging based on the use of keywords. For example, if alcohol consumption was a concern of yours, this type of keystroke recorder would only begin recording when any combination of "alcohol-related" keywords were entered into the computer.

This would save the parents from reviewing much more data and allow their time to be spent on more relevant topics of interest. Just imagine how much redundant data a log may contain, if a parent has to read everything that was typed into a computer. If you don't keep up with the task on a daily basis, you could find the software too much of a hassle for you to achieve the parental control goals to are trying to set for yourself.

What is the Best Keylogger Software?

The best keylogger is the one that fits your individual needs. All keystroke logging software has their own features, so it may be a good idea to first download a free keylogger trial version of the application before making your final purchase choice.

Even if your kids are techno geeks, and really knowledgeable with a computer, they still won't be able to remove or disable the Keylogger. In fact, they won't even know it is running if you don't tell them! If you add MySpace and Facebook activity recording to the service, you will know everything your kids are posting about themselves, and everything their friends are posting about them. If you setup your keyboard monitoring software to include online search, you will know everything they are searching for on Google, Yahoo, AOL, MSN and Bing.