People who use a PC always fear that someone might be looking at all their activities for stealing thier password, reading their messages and more. But these are not just false fears it is possible for someone to spy on your computer using Keylogger.
Whatif someone has secretly rigged your computer with a keylogger as well? Don’t worry, in this article I will tell you how to detect a keylogger on your computer so that no one can spy on you. So without wasting anytime, let’s get on to it.
What Does A Keylogger Look Like?
If you know how does a keylogger look like it would be easier for you to find and detect it on your computer. So basically there are two types of keylogger used in order to spy on someone’s computer and these are:
1. Physical keylogger:
A physical keylogger is a keystroke logging device that looks like a USB drive and connects to the USB port of a computer. These device once connected to your PC will collect all the information you have typed on it using the keyboard.
It is easy to find these keyloggers on your computer, you just have to check the USB ports of the CPU your computer is connected to. Since it looks like a regular thumb drive most people don’t get suspicious of it. But if you find an unknown pendrive like thing connected to your computer then you must get alerted and get rid of it.
2. Software keylogger:
Physical keylogger can only track a PC but you can find Keylogger app for Android as well as computer. Moreover, unlike physical keylogger it is not possible to detect a software keylogger with your naked eyes. A keylogger software once installed on the target computer hides into the background and record all the keystrokes pressed on the keyboard.
You may not even find a keylogger in the task manager because it is hidden behind a fake name which look like a system application. But don’t worry, keep reading the article and you will find out how ro detect a keylogger on your Mac or Windows computer. But before that let’s find out why do hackers use keyloggers.
Why Do Hackers Use A Keylogger?
There are various reason why a hacker would install a keylogger on your device and some of the most prominent reasons are:
- Stealing your passwords
- Knowing your social security numbers
- To find out your address
- Stealing your bank and credit card details
- To get access to you social media account and more
How To Detect A Keylogger On Your Computer?
1. Check The Task Manager
On you computer you have a program called task manager, it keeps a tab of all the background process of you computer. You can go to task manager and find the programs that are using recourses on your computer. A keylogger will most probably be hidden under a fake name so you have to check each and evey process really carefully.
To open task manager, press Ctrl + Alt + Del
Next, go to Task Manager> Process tab
No go through all the background apps one by one. You can easily detect a keylogger on you computer this way. You can search on google to find out if a software is a keylogger or not if you don’t know what it actually is.
2. Use Anti-Malware Software
Windows PC has built-in anti virus program but it may not be that effective against a keylogger. Hence you may need to use a third party anti-virus program such as Avast, Bitdefender,etc. These apps will help you run a scan on your computer and find hidden malware, viruses, spyware and keyloggers.
How To Get Rid Of Keylogger On Your Computer?
Once you have found the keylogger on your computer you can now easily delete it from your computer. There are variou ways to do it and some of them are as follows
1. Delete From Apps & features
Once you have spotted a keylogger, you can find and uninstall it from your program and features to remove it from your computer completely. Follow the steps to uninstall a keylogger from your computer
- Go to Control Panel >Apps & features
- Find the keylogger by name
- Uninstall it by right clicking on it.
- Now, exit the program and restart your computer.
With this you have successfully removed the keylogger on your computer and now you can use it without any fear.
2. Remove From Temp Files
Keyloggers can hide in the temp folder of your computer so that they don’t get identified. It happens mostly in the case when the keylogger was installed through link spam or if you have download some content from shady websites.
To remove Keylogger from Temp files you can go to your search bar and type %temp% into it. Once you find the temporary files of your computer, just delete them.
3. Factory Reset Your Computer
Some keyloggers are so advanced that you cannot detect them no matter what you do. However, if you feel that you are being tracked by someone through keylogger then you can factory reset your computer.
A hard reset will remove all programs from your computer including the Keylogger. But remember before you reset your computer keep a backup of all the important data so you don’t loose it.
But how do you know that someone has installed a keylogger on your computer if you can’t find it? Don’t worry you can look at the warning signs discussed below to know if there’s a keylogger on your computer or not.
Signs That Your Computer Has A Keylogger
Sometimes you may not be able to detect a keylogger through the methods I have shown you above. But don’t worry you can know if your computer has a keylogger if you see any of these warning signs
- Computer has gone slow
- Keyboard not working properly
- Computer getting heated up for no reason
- Higher data consumption than usual
- Storage space is used
Final Verdict
Finding a keylogger on your computer is no easy task since these are hidden in the background and secretly monitor your activities. But don’t worry you can follow the steps show in this article to identify or detect a keylogger on your computer.
Once you find the keylogegr it is easy to get rid of it. As a caution you should always keep an antivirus installed on your computer. These apps will inform you in advance if there is some keylogger working in the background. Also, you should not download things from shady sites or click on links sent to you by unknown person. Because if you do so then the chance of keylogger getting installed on your computer increases.
