Software keyloggers (key logger, keystroke logger, key stroke logger) belong to the group of software products that control activities of the user of a personal computer. Originally software products of this type were intended solely for recording information about pressed keystrokes, including system keys, into a specialized log file, which was subsequently studied by the person who installed the program. A log file could be sent via a network to a network drive, an FTP server located in the Internet, via e-mail, and so on. Now these software products that have kept their old name have many additional functions, e.g. they intercept information from windows, mouse clicks, contents of the clipboard, take screen shots and make pictures of active windows, keep records of all e-mails, both incoming and outgoing, track file activity and changes of the system registry, record tasks sent to the printer, intercept sound from the microphone and images from the webcam connected to the computer, etc. Authorized use of keyloggers (including hardware or software products that include a keylogger as a module) enables an owner/security administrator of an automated system or a computer owner to do the following:
- learn about all cases when critical words and phrases (i.e. words and phrases, disclosure of which to third parties will lead to material losses) are typed on the keyboard;
- access information stored on the computer's hard drive in case the login and access password are lost or unavailable for any reason (employee's illness, deliberate actions of the personnel, etc.);
- identify (and locate) all attempts of guessing passwords by means of brute force method;
- control use of workplace personal computers during non-working hours and identify what was typed on the keyboard at that time;
- investigate computer-related incidents;
- conduct research related to studying accuracy, responsiveness and adequacy of the staff's response to external actions;
- restore critical information after computer system failures;
Also, you are welcome to read our archive with the descriptions of monitoring software (keyloggers) promoted through our site. Some of these products with detailed reviews really deserve your attention though they have not been included into Top Keyloggers list.
Categories' definitions
OS Support
This group shows which of the operation systems are supported by the monitoring software
- Windows 10 – keylogger runs on Windows 10
- Windows 8 – keylogger runs on Windows 8
- Windows 7 – keylogger runs on Windows 7
- Windows Vista – keylogger runs on Windows Vista
- Windows XP – keylogger runs on Windows XP
- Windows 2000 – keylogger runs on Windows 2000
Security
This group shows how the monitoring software hides and secures itself from external interference
- Invisible program folder – the folder of keylogger cannot be found by mechanisms available to the user without any monitoring software knowledge
- Password protection – the configuration part of keylogger can be protected by the password
- Accessed by keyword – keylogger can be accessed by typing a pre-specified keyword
- Accessed by hotkey – keylogger can be accessed by pressing a pre-specified combination of keys
- Configurable self-removal – keylogger can be set to be automatically removed on a pre-specified date or after a specified period of time
- Configurable warning message – keylogger allows showing the PC user a window, informing him he is under monitoring; the text of the message can be configured
- Hidden in Task Manager – keylogger doesn't show its processes in Task Manager or masks them the way an average user can't understand they belong to it.
- Hidden startup entry – keylogger hides itself from a list of startup programs.
- Secured emails – keylogger can use public SMTP servers protected by SSL/TLS for sending log-files.
- Pre-configured installation – keylogger can be pre-configured before the installation, so once it is installed on a monitored PC, it is already configured.
Monitoring
This group shows what monitoring features are present in monitoring software
- System logon (password) – keylogger can intercept the logon password
- Typerwriter keys pressed – keylogger can log the letter, numeric and character keys pressed by the user
- System keys pressed –keylogger can log system and other keys, except letters, pressed by the user
- Created files – keylogger can log the fact of files creation
- Deleted files – keylogger can log the fact of files deletion
- Copied files – keylogger can log the fact of files copying
- Renamed files – keylogger can log the fact of files renaming
- Opened files – keylogger can log the fact of files opening
- Clipboard – keylogger can intercept the content of clipboard
- Started applications – keylogger can log started applications
- System logon – keylogger can log the system logon time
- System logoff – keylogger can log the system logoff time
- Printer queue – keylogger can log the documents printed
- Mouse-clicks – keylogger can log mouse-clicks. Log file should contain name of the application or object the mouse was clicked in and the name of the button clicked
- Sounds – keylogger can record sounds
- System inactivity time – keylogger can log the period of time user was idle
- Screenshots – keylogger can make desktop screenshots
- Adjustable screenshot frequency – using keylogger one can adjust the frequency of screenshot-making
- Adjustable screenshot quality – using keylogger one can set the quality of the screenshots
- Desktop or window shot option – using keylogger one can choose either to make screenshots of the entire desktop or only active windows
- On-mouse-click screenshots – keylogger can be set to make screenshot each time the mouse button is clicked
- Microphone Audio Recording – the program records all sounds emitted near your computer, e.g. voice chat conversations, capturing them from your computer's microphone
- Webcam Capture Recording – the software captures and stores images from your computer's webcam, which allows you to see at any time what is happening around your computer
Online monitoring
This group shows what features for monitoring of user's online activities are present in the monitoring software
- URLs opened in Edge – keylogger can log addresses visited in Microsoft Edge
- URLs opened in Firefox – keylogger can log addresses visited in Mozilla Firefox
- URLs opened in Safari – keylogger can log addresses visited in Safari
- URLs opened in Opera – keylogger can log addresses visited in Opera
- URLs opened in Chrome – keylogger can log addresses visited in Google Chrome
- Client-based emails logging – keylogger can log both incoming and outgoing messages sent and received using built-in OS email software
- Screenshots of visited websites – keylogger can be set to make screenshot each time user loads a website
- ICQ chats (2-side) – keylogger can log both sides of chat conversations made in ICQ messenger
- Skype chats (2-side) – keylogger can log both sides of chat conversations made in Skype
- WhatsApp chats (2-side) – keylogger can log both sides of chat conversations made in WhatsApp
- Viber chats (2-side) – keylogger can log both sides of chat conversations made in Viber
- Social network monitoring – the keylogger is capable of logging users' activity in popular social networks, such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, etc.
Reports
This group shows what features for reports' creation and information filtering are present in the monitoring software
- Monitoring certain users option – keylogger can be set to monitor a pre-specified list of users
- Events duration – log-files of keylogger contain the information on the duration of events happened
- Specified programs monitoring – keylogger can be set to monitor a pre-specified list of programs
- Search by keywords – using keylogger one can perform a search per keywords in log-files
- Several days report building – using keylogger one can specify custom period of time he wants to see the logged information for
- Logs sent via email – keylogger can send the log files to a pre-specified e-mail address
- Logs sent via FTP – keylogger can send the log files to a pre-specified FTP
- Logs sent via LAN – keylogger can send the log files to a pre-specified place in LAN environment
- Logs sent via Dropbox – keylogger can send the log files to a Dropbox account
- Logs copied to a portable device – keylogger can be configured to save the log-files to USB portable drive
- Maximum log-files' size – using keylogger one can specify the maximum size of the log-file
- Automated clearance of log-files – keylogger can be configured to clear lo-files automatically
Other
This groups unites all other important features however not listed in our groups
- Reaction to a specific keyword – using this feature one can create a list of keywords and configure keylogger to somehow react on their appearance (e.g. send an email to a pre-specified email address)
- Monitoring scheduler – keylogger can be set to work on schedule
- Programs' blocking – using the feature one can create a list of unwanted programs; starting of these programs will be blocked by keylogger
- Websites' blocking – using the feature one can create a list of unwanted websites; visiting of these programs will be blocked by keylogger
- 5+ languages – keylogger is translated on more than 5 languages
- 2-5 languages – keylogger is available at 2 - 5 languages
- Real-time Remote Viewing – if you wish, you can view what is being done on your PC in real-time mode
- Access from Android and iOS – Using a special mobile app for Android or iOS, you can monitor your computer with no need to have physical access to it
