A “keyboard logger” is a hardware or software program that records keystrokes on a computer. And when we say “keystrokes,” we mean every single key we press, in order, and usually with a time stamp.
Freaky, right? Think about it: keyboard loggers record every document we write, every email we type, every site we visit, every Facebook post we post, and every password we enter. Every…key…we press. Sounds like a stalker-y Sting song.
This isn’t something that just randomly comes with a new laptop, like Skype or an electronic calculator. No, these bad boys have to be installed. Some company’s IT departments will install them on employee computers to make sure people aren’t leaking sensitive info, but for the most part, keyboard loggers are installed by nefarious actors for nefarious reasons. They can get to us via malware, questionable email attachments, itty bitty lines of code, viruses, USB attachments, etc., and once that logger is downloaded onto our system, our keystrokes are private and personal no more.