What is a Keylogger Trojan | Antivirus Software

A keylogger is just how it sounds: a program that logs keystrokes. The danger of having a keylogger virus on your computer is that it can very easily track every keystroke that you enter from your keyboard, including all passwords and usernames.

Moreover, the Trojan keylogger is installed along with the regular program. Trojan horse viruses are malware that doesn't really look dangerous. They are connected to a regular, sometimes running program, so it looks like nothing bad is installed on your computer.

Trojan keyloggers are sometimes referred to as malware, keylogger viruses, and Trojan horse keyloggers.

Some companies use software that logs keystrokes to track employee computer use and various parental control software that logs a child's online activity. These programs are technically considered keyloggers, but not in a malicious sense.

What Does Keylogger Trojan Do?

The keylogger tracks and logs every keystroke that it can identify. Once installed, the virus either tracks all the keys and stores the information locally, after which the hacker needs physical access to the computer to obtain information, or the logs are sent to the hacker via the Internet.

A keylogger can take whatever it is programmed to monitor. If you have a keylogger virus and use your keyboard to enter information anywhere, you can bet the virus knows about it. This is true, whether it's an offline program like Microsoft Word or an online site like your bank or social media account.

Some malware can hold down key presses until a certain activity is detected. For example, a program might wait until you open your web browser and visit a specific bank's website before it starts.

How Do Keyloggers Get to My Computer?

The easiest way for a keylogger trojan to get to your computer is when your antivirus software is out of date or disabled (or not even installed). Anti-virus protection tools that are not updated cannot withstand new keylogger programs; they will go right through the AV software if it doesn't understand how to protect your computer.

Keyloggers are downloaded via an executable file, such as an EXE file. This is how any program on your computer can run. However, since most programs are in EXE format, it is almost impossible to say to avoid all EXE files in an attempt to avoid keyloggers.

However, you can keep track of where you download your software. Some websites are well known for scanning all of their programs before publishing them, in which case you can be sure that they do not contain malware, but this is not the case for all websites on the Internet. Some are simply more prone to connecting keyloggers (such as torrents) to them.

Check out our article “How to Download and Install Software Safely” for tips on preventing keylogger viruses.

Programs Capable of Removing Keylogger Virus

Lots of antivirus programs protect your computer from all kinds of malware, including keylogger Trojans. As long as you have an updated antivirus software like Protegent360, you must be secure enough to thwart any attempt by a keylogger.

However, if you need to remove a keylogger that you already have on your computer, you will have to scan for malware manually using programs like Malwarebytes or SUPERAntiSpyware. Another option is to use a bootable antivirus program.

Some other tools do not necessarily remove keylogger viruses, but instead, avoid using the keyboard so that the keylogger does not understand what is being typed. For example, the LastPass password manager can insert your passwords into a web form with a few clicks, and the virtual keyboard allows you to enter text using the mouse.