Online Safety and Keyloggers
Using Keylogging Hardware and Software To Protect Your Children
Jan 6, 2008
Keylogging software and hardware-based keyloggers often get a bad wrap. Like any tool, a keylogger can be used for both bad and good purposes. In the case of this article, keylogging should be taken as a positive step toward safeguarding a child's activities on the Internet.
For parents who are concerned about what their child is doing on the computer, who the child is talking to, and what web sites they are visiting, using free keylogging software or purchasing a piece of keylogging hardware may be an appropriate step. Please realize that this article does not consider the ethical ramifications of monitoring a child's computer use in this way. That debate is best left to the individual parent's discretion.
What Is a Keylogger?
Hardware-based keyloggers and software-based keyloggers both work around the same principle. Both types monitor and record all of the keystrokes made by a computer user through their keyboard. The data is saved to a file (often hidden and optionally password-protected) for later retrieval.
With most of the free software keyloggers, this file is saved directly to the hard drive of the computer it is installed on (although more sneaky versions can transmit the results to another computer via the Internet).
A hardware keylogger is a physical device that is placed between the keyboard and the computer, usually in the form of a small coupler. The data is stored on the device and can be accessed using special software.
Using a Keylogger To Protect Your Children When They Are Online
One of the biggest threats to a child's safety when online is the willingness that many children have to give out personal information to complete strangers. By analyzing the data collected by the family keylogger a parent can quickly and easily determine if their child is being a safe computer user. The data can also be used to see if the child is visiting web sites that are not appropriate or forbidden by family rules.
Making the choice between one of the many free software keyloggers or a plug-in hardware keylogger is often dependent on the situation and on the tech level of the child using the computer. Hardware key loggers are better in some ways in that most people never bother to look at the back of their computer unless they are cleaning it or installing new hardware. Software keyloggers are better in other situations.
In all cases, the use of such software or hardware on any computer that is not owned by the person logging it can be extremely illegal. As mentioned previously these tools can be used for evil as well as for good. The use and monitoring of such devices should be thoroughly thought out before using them on any PC.
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