How to Know If There Is a Keystroke Recorder on My Computer
If you think someone is after your personal data, there are a number of routine things you can do to keep them out. Firewalls, virus and spyware protection and locking your doors can certainly help. If these steps still don't leave you feeling secure, and you think someone might be monitoring your keystrokes without your knowledge, it's a good idea to check your computers for keystroke recorders. Such recorders can take two forms: hardware and software. Both can be detected if you know what you're doing.
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Instructions
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Check for a physical keystroke recorder. These devices intercept and record your data before it even gets to the computer.
Finding these devices is as simple as following the cord from your keyboard to the back of your computer. If the cord plugs directly into the computer, odds are you're not being logged. If there is a device between your computer and your keyboard that you're not familiar with, this device may be a keystroke recorder. Plug your keyboard into your computer directly, and show the device to your administrator or whoever helps you out with your computer to find out more.
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Download KL-Detector (free download; see Resources) is a program designed to find software keystroke recorders. Software keystroke recorders are programs installed on your system, as opposed to the hardware keystroke recorders described in the preceding step.
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Run KL-Detector. Double-click the downloaded executable and follow the on-screen instructions, first being sure to close all the programs you typically use---even anti-virus protection, as such software can cause false positives. You will then be told to do a number of things a typical computer user does so that KL-Detector can find out whether a program is creating a log of your keystrokes.
If such a program is active, KL-Detector will tell you so and show you where the log file is so that you can confirm. If the log file looks like an accurate representation of the keystrokes you've made in the past few days, it's confirmed: there is keystroke recording software on your computer.
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Tips & Warnings
In most cases, installing a keylogger requires physical access to the computer. The best way to prevent a keylogger from being installed is to lock your doors when you're not around.
Some companies install keyloggers on corporate computers to monitor their employee's computer usage; in such cases, your company's computer administrator may not be much help.
