How to Stop a Keylogger
A keylogger is a type of computer virus that monitors and records the keystrokes on your computer, then relays that information back to a third party. It can reveal your personal information and be especially dangerous if you purchase products online, use online banking or do other similarly sensitive tasks. The key to stopping a keylogger is catching it before it has a chance to log any sensitive information on your computer. Use a well thought out strategy and some basic software tools.
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Instructions
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Open your Task Manager by right-clicking on the taskbar and selecting the Task Manager option. Look through the list of computer processes on the Processes tab. If there are suspicious processes that you don't recognize, select them and click the End Process button. Your goal here is to do your best to stop the keylogger so that it can't collect any personal information from your computer. If you can't decipher which process it is in the task manager, you can start an on-screen keyboard so that you can type in commands for your computer without having your keystrokes recorded by the keylogger. Launch the on-screen keyboard on Windows XP by clicking on the Start button, going to "All Programs," then to "Accessories," "Accessibility" and then on the "On-Screen Keyboard" option. In Windows Vista or Windows 7, click the Start button and search for "Ease of Access Center." Open this program and choose the option to launch the on-screen keyboard. Use this keyboard to type in all commands throughout the rest of this process.
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Use an anti-virus program to thoroughly scan your computer. If you do not have an anti-virus program, use a free online virus scanner from a company like Trend Micro, which offers a free online virus scanner (you can also use an online scanner from another anti-virus company if you wish). When you scan your computer, be sure you perform a full system scan and that you remove any infections you find.
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Use an anti-malware program to scan your computer. Download a free anti-malware program such as Spybot - Search & Destroy or Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. Install one of these programs and run a complete system scan on your machine, much like you did with the anti-virus scanner. Remove any infections you find.
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Restart your computer and scan it again with an anti-virus and anti-malware scanner. If infections that were previously found and removed are no longer present, you can safely assume you have stopped the keylogger that was on your computer.
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Tips & Warnings
While you don't have to use an on-screen keyboard when cleaning your computer of a suspected keylogger, it's a good idea to do so, just in case someone is actively monitoring the keylogger's data stream. You don't want to reveal to the culprit that you're on to them in case they decide to crash your computer.
