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Anti-Keylogging Recommendations?
BeeazleBub writes "A friend asked me about the best programs to detect and remove spyware/logging/monitoring software that might have been placed on her computer by a spouse. Since there are a plethora of good and bad programs out there, I thought I would ask the slashdot crew for their recommendations. What is simple, reliable and most effective? I'm sure some of you have had the same question or circumstance. (No, booting from a Linux CD is not an option for this user)."
It's a domestic dispute that no one wants to get into. The obvious solution, to own your computer with free software, is not an option. All that's left is to delve into the cesspool of Winblows "solutions" and other inappropriate technical answers to an environment of broken trust.
No calls now, I'm
I'll bet there's a really interesting story behind this.
Here's the answer. She's trying to solve a human problem with a technical solution. It won't work. If she has to use a suspect windows computer, there's no software that will guarantee it's clean. It can't be done.
And if you can't trust the person you're married to, your main problems in life aren't computer problems.
Tell her to buy her own computer and keep it secure, and to get a good divorce lawyer... a husband that doesn't trust her is probably projecting his own untrustworthiness onto her.
The only true way to avoid keyloggers is never touch any keys... not very useful! On any computer, now how much control you might exert over it.. as soon as it is out of your sight, or you are asleep, it could in theory be compromised.
I like using Spybot Search & Destroy as one of my first tools to check systems http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
Only solution. Either the wife is spying on the guy, in which case she doesn't trust him, or the guy is baselessly convinced that his wife is spying on him, in which case he doesn't trust her. Either way, this relationship is doomed.
I've upped my standards, so up yours.
Got my genders mixed up. Regardless, my answer still holds.
I've upped my standards, so up yours.
If trust in a relationship is gone and you have to play hide and seek, there's only one option left. Divorce.
Format, Reinstall. That wipes software. Splurge and buy a new keyboard if you don't trust it. Do a quick look for suspicious looking hardware. That should handle the worst. Ah, and change the locks to the house. No point going to all the trouble is the Ex-Spouse has access to the machine.
Lets start refering to The War Against Terror by it's initials. . .
If I had any good recommendations for such tools, I'd give them, but I don't, so I'll try to help in another way. I'll pose some questions that hopefully your friend will be asking herself:
1) Isn't this missing the forest for the trees? If a marriage is so lacking in trust that she thinks her spouse is spying on her, there's a problem. If her spouse actually did install such a thing, there is similarly a problem. This is a much greater problem than the software itself. If she wants to save the marriage, this is the sort of situation where a counselor or similar trusted third party could be very helpful.
2) If the logger or other software is indeed there, what is she worried about him discovering? If she's just (rightfully) angry about the installation of this software, and trying to demonstrate a point by removing it, that's one thing. But if there actually is something she wants to hide, again this is a far bigger problem in the relationship than the software.
Good luck to your friend. This sounds like a tough spot to be in.
If booting of a Linux CD isn't an option because it is perceived as "too technical" no other tool can help (even booting from a clean media wouldn't help against physical keyloggers or sniffers).
A small Asus EEE PC with a encrypted SSD, grub/bios password and hidden away may allow the person to communicate in secret with some measurement of security against non-technical opponents with limited resources, if the person is able to use some kind of SSL proxy so that the data can't be sniffed easily. Tempest attacks or even simple hidden cameras may spoil even that.
So, get a divorce instead.
--
Regards
Just install a key logger of your own. Then you'll be able to see any access he's been making, including any to the keylogger he has installed.
From my own experience, Tin foil hats are good, but access to the government computers to make sure they aren't after you is more comforting to me.
Note to federal agents: I have not gained access to your computers. And you might want to change your desktop wallpaper, scantily clad women on a work computer is just begging for a lawsuit.
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
Although the least likely to happen is to check for hardware keyloggers first. They're in meatspace so it should be pretty damn easy to spot. Next would be booting from a Linux Live CD like Knoppix or something and using that instead of the potentially compromised computer.
Lastly, the guy should divorce her. If she's spying on him its to find grounds for a divorce that will net her a nice chunk of change in the settlement. Probably saying something stupid like he's surfing porn (what guy doesnt?) is the same as cheating or some other bullshit that a judge might accept to throw the book at him and have him paying alimony for the rest of his life.
09F911029D74E35BD84156C5635688C0
+2 Troll is Slashdot's way of saying groupthink is confused
There's no way to be 100% certain that nothing's being logged. Possible data gathering points:
No, there is no software you can run that will tell you if you're being monitored, by virtue of the fact that such software is impossible.
Have her get a cheap laptop - maybe an Eee PC - and configure OpenVPN to a friendly router. You're a geek, right? If you're serious about her privacy, make it happen.
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
I found Anti Keylogger Shield, but I don't know if it works.
The ONLY guaranteed method of removing ALL Spyware/Key-logging software is to reformat & start over. Some of the nasty stuff is near impossible to get rid of.
C'mon, this is Slashdot.
Obviously you just modify your space bar and numlock LED drivers to perform all I/O in morse code.
Then you type in and display bunch of misleading information to entrap the eavesdropper into doing something silly / stupid / illegal and nab 'em on it.
As far as still being able to check your email and bank accounts and stuff without compromising your passwords, just set up some kind of password vault that uses biometric authentication or something so you never have to type in your actual login / password on the untrusted machine. You'd have to do the setup for the private key and all on a trusted system of course.
Don't use a keyboard. Duh.
For extra points you gotta flip them bits manually.
Open a notepad window or 2. Interspares real typing with putting random stuff into the notepad windows. That way, when the keylogger results are read, they come out of as complete rubbish. A more sophisticated software one might distinguish between where the text was entered, but it would have to dump the file somewhere. Type randomly and look for files that inflate. That would confirm the presence and then you could edit it. Then the keylogger would record you editing the keylogger's log, creating a bizzare echo of everything you type from the reader's perspective. Tripping.
Most people are assuming that the spouse resides in the same residence. If the spouse is already out of the house due to separation, and is possibly using spyware/hardware to collect information for blackmail or court, then there is the option of having someone over to purge the system and visually inspect it.
Any networking hardware like routers that could be compromised would need to be replaced or reflashed. Since she doesn't have the capability of dealing with a boot CD, her only option is third party intervention or going to the library to use their computers.
We're missing too much info...
How tech savvy is the spouse? Does he still live there? What kind of network setup is being used? etc. etc.
And deliver anything personally.
And nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power lost.
Install linux, next problem.
On either system good virus scanner will keep you covered from 95% of keyloggers so your fine unless you married a geek, but if you married a geek you'd be running linux/bsd anyway (possibly with a custom filesystem)
IranAir Flight 655 never forget!
-William Brendel
For software keyloggers, you can use a tool like SpyBot to try to find them -- however, I can't guarantee it'll find your specific keylogger, if there is one. There's probably better software at this point, but I haven't used Windows in years.
Another option is to use Windows' built-in search, and search for files modified in the past couple days. If there's a keylogger, odds are its log files will show up. I've accidentally found a keylogger on a friend's computer this way.
Another option is to use a liveCD for everything important. Pick up an Ubuntu LiveCD, and start into that when you need to do things that are suspect.
Keep in mind, however, that you may instead have a hardware keylogger. You may have a dongle like this one, which plugs in between your computer and your keyboard. You could also have one built into your keyboard -- there are companies that sell keylogging keyboards, and companies that will embed a keylogger into a keyboard -- either a specific model, or your own if you mail it to them. There could also be one built into the computer, but I don't know of any company that does that.
Moral of the story: if you can't trust the security of your computer, don't use it for things you don't want someone else to see. It might be time for her to invest in a cheap laptop, such as an Eee PC, and either do all her work on a connection he doesn't have access to, or over ssl connections or a VPN.
However, like others have said, worrying about a keylogger from your spouse isn't exactly the sign of a trusting relationship. I assume your friend knows this, and this is a preamble to a separation or divorce. If it's not, I'd suggest your friend and her spouse seek marriage counseling. Good luck to her.
Comes to /. for technical advice: good!
/. relationship advice: o noes!!!!
Gets from
Equine Mammals Are Considerably Smaller
It's really easy to say "If the relationship's that broken, just divorce."
It's also badly missing the realities.
If there's that much paranoia, odds are one or both parties are moving towards divorce but know they need to do a bunch of things to either avoid getting screwed in the process (or, if they're malicious, screw the other side).
From experience with friends going through divorce, you should really be doing a bunch of things before you turn the cold war hot:
You should ensure there's money to pay for lawyers in accounts that can't suddenly turn up empty on you.
You should ensure that any evidence of infidelity on their part is documented. Likewise, you should be making sure you've not left any trails on your part.
You should be making sure you've got copies of things like the mortgage paperwork, house deeds, car titles, etc.
You should be contacting a lawyer first, not after you've set things in motion.
Many of these can be handle via the web/email. The last thing you want is the spouse you're leaving having logged conversations with your lawyer and having grabbed the passwords to all of your accounts so they gain privileged information after the split.
So, rather than assuming "It's broken. Go for divorce." and setting them up for a world of hurt they're trying to minimize, how about we try answering the question instead?
Why do these moronic ask slashdot questions always rule out the one useful answer in the very question?
"A Linux live CD is not an option". Bullshit. You windows-swilling pansy, grow some balls and try Linux. It won't kill you, it won't make you gay, and it won't rape your dog. Are you terrified of being free from >99% of viruses/trojans/spyware/adware/rootkits? Is there some kind of Stockholm syndrome going on here? You LIKE it when windows beats you, don't you? You hide the bruises, that's why you always wear those sweaters.
You sick, twisted fuck.
Just another "DOJ fascist authoritarian totalitarian bootlicker" -- Zeio
Under Windows, there is no sure way of detecting malware once it's already installed, as it takes steps to hide itself.
The only sure way is a clean install or re-imaging from a hidden partition at boot. Something that would be a pain to set up and probably wouldn't even work with the current incarnation of Windows.
Your bet bet is to get your friend to install these Sysinternals ">utilitys and see if they can detect the keylogger by its activity. Monitoring activity at the firewall is also a good place to detect suspicious activity.
What is it about Windows that your friend absolutly needs to use. Are there alternatives out there.
If you absolutly can't survive without Microsoft applications then why not use a version of Linux that comes with CrossOver, this allows Windows applications to run natively on Linux, without the the same level of malware threat. Eg, by clicking on an URL or opening an email attachment.
davecb5620@gmail.com
I used http://www.qfxsoftware.com/ freeware on my personal computer for months without known problems. This question is a reminder to install it on my new drive. Supposedly this program ignores the question of are keyloggers present : it just encodes signals from the keyboard and reconstructs them downstream.
A number of others have already speculated about how bad this relationship must be for the woman to believe her spouse is spying on her. However, it is just possible that this is a post-divorce problem. Suppose they have already divorced and she ended up with this computer. I can imagine that she might want to make sure it isn't sending sensitive information to her ex. I could be completely off-base, but I thought I'd point out a semi-plausible scenario where someone might reasonably make this request. In any case, I think a wipe and re-install is probably the only reliable solution.
I'm presuming they're not booting from a LiveCD because they don't have a password. Remember, most BIOSs can be reset by removing the motherboard battery (If you do this, the password will be different and he'll know). If he's soldered that in your only hope would be replacing the mother board or a brute force attack... And Don't forget that if he's gone to these extents he probably has a way of knowing if the computer case is opened. And probably has the house bugged. IMHO, there is something seriously wrong here.
If the problem is being spied on by their spouse then using a computer outside the home sounds the best option.
I did a website for a women's aid group ("WA"), they wanted information about how to keep it hidden from an abusive partner that the women were in touch with WA. I did a review of what the national centers gave as advice, including details of removing history files and such. In the end I settled for the only method being to use a public computer (eg at a library).
Someone else can spy on you for sure, but unless your partner works at the City IT center or for the library (or wherever) then it's not going to be your partner spying on you.
If you _need_ to get out the house and contact someone and your being abused and can't - please call directory enquiries and contact your local Womens' Aid organisation. They can advise you, give you temporary accommodation in a safehouse, help you talk to the police, help you seek mediation; basically empower you to take back control of your situation.
Just have her start playing World of Warcraft. She'll find out if she has a keylogger pretty quick.
Is she mormon by any chance?
I'd bet that if she spent a few minutes Googling the right things that she could tell right away if he is spying on her. Example... 1. Google "secretly removing my spying husbands penis while he is sleeping" 2. Watch for him to sleep 3. Still is divorce. (PROFIT?)
Since most of the posts are not answering your question at all, here are some programs which can help.
I have been fixing Windows computers for over 10 years and can suggest the following programs from personal experience. There is no guarantee that they will find all keyloggers but they will detect the progs you find by using google.
1) Spybot Search & Destroy (free) http://www.safer-networking.org/
This is a spyware checker, cleaner. It will also find keyloggers and screen capturing software
2) Antivir (free for personal use) http://www.free-av.com/
This is an Antivirus / malware program which I have found to kick the shit out of Norton Antivirus (Personal + Corporate) and McAfee.
3) Norton Antivirus 2008 (not free)
This is another antivirus program, it is not as good as Antivir but it may contain different malware signatures then Antivir.
4) Adaware (free) http://www.lavasoftusa.com/
Like Spybot but less strict, I don't use it anymore but you should run it anyway.
5) Windows Defender (free) http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx
This one is made (purchased) by Microsoft and is actually quite good, I can highly recommend it to remove crap from a computer. This one is free and includes an "active shield"
If you run suggestions 1,2,4 and 5 above you can assume that your computer is clean. To be sure format and reload.
As for the rest, follow the advice above and end the relationship....
Everyone who buys Wild Hunt will receive 16 specially prepared DLCs absolutely for free, regardless of platform.
Keyloggers are designed to hide. Hence, while non-experts may be able to get lucky with some, with others they will not stand a chance. Sorry.
However the problem is different. In most juristiction, installing a keylogger is a criminal act. One that could well tip the balance in a divorce proceedings. (I expect divorce will be the next step here, as things cannot really work out anymore: One or both partners are paranoid, and there is no trust left.) So if there is good reason to believe in the presence of a keylogger, paying a forensics expert to discover it and doument this in a fashion that will hold up in court, may be a good idea.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
This is the only post I've seen that attempts to actually answer the question.
And yes, she needs to either switch to Linux or use a computer at the library.
-AtC
*sig not found: invalid address*
For sensitive things like typing in passwords to financial sites, a graphical authentication should be utilized wherein the user "types" with her mouse. But, as has been pointed out, there is no 100% safe protection.
Simply boot a Knoppix CD and use that. Physically check for hardware keyloggers and you are done.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Don't use the compromised computer.
Don't use the compromised network.
Assume anything that could be compromised is compromised. Email accounts, IM accounts, online bank accounts, etc. etc. Don't use them.
Given that software keyloggers can be found, (rootkit detector and an encrypted partition) is it possible, perhaps only theoretically, to protect youself from phyical keyloggers without taking your keyboard apart?
Do hardware keylogers supply thier own batteries or could it their power usage be (again theoretically) detected?
Do they log messages from they computer to the keyboard (e.g lock changed)? could anti key loggers spam the keyboard with lock toggles until the memory fills up?
With the ones that dump their logs when a key combination is pressed (this is more common in the ones you hide inside they keyboard, could the fact that somebody is trying at a million words per minute be logged?
sure none of these will keep the nsa off your back, but then again the spouse of the woman the OP is sleeping with is probably just going to have installed some cheap ass detectable software key logger, making 99% of the posts in this thread void (i only saw this containing any answers.
IranAir Flight 655 never forget!
Come back to the guild.
If you don't trust the machine, format and re-install it.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
Few well probably read this now but i think it might work. First get a new keyboard and glue its screws. Then reinstall windows, lock down bios with a password and disable booting from anything but the hard drive. Then install windows steadystate. Its like reapplying a ghosted image each time she reboots, so no changes can be permanently made to c: unless the admin specifically allows them to be made permanent such as after an update. Give her a limited user account. Hopefully you can also lock the case and/or enable a case open warning from the bios. Nothings perfect but i think this is a decent approach.
FDISK should do the trick.
I'm sensing two people trying to keep a relationship hidden from a spouse. Whether it's physical, long-distance via AIM/email or whatever.
Huge paranoia probably due to the person you're afraid of intercepting something incriminating is still in the house?
If my theory isn't the case, tell your friend to get out. Go to family, a shelter, anything. Just get the F out. If there's nothing sinister under the surface here, that's not a healthy relationship. Get. Out. Of. It.
If my suspicions prove accurate, I can share this:
I've been on the moral low-ground of a similar situation in my (much) younger, (much) dumber days. The guilty have a tendency to get extremely paranoid about everything. That's not to say that a psychotic husband isn't standing in your bushes with a 9mm at this very moment looking through the window. It happened to me, and that's a point that I really feel the need to drive home. My sloth of a cat jumping when a twig snapped is probably the only reason I'm typing this right now.
I guess the point of all of this is: tread carefully. Don't be so naïve as to believe that things can't spiral out of control within a single heartbeat in ways that you never imagined. It doesn't even particularly matter if you truly care for the person or if you're just chasing tail. You cannot predict what another person, even one that you feel you know well, is capable of doing when blinded by rage. I've seen people turn homicidal, I've seen people turn self-destructive.
So the take-away is: watch your ass. If you truly care for this person and it's reciprocated, why haven't they left their spouse? Seems to me that you should be considering a plan for the future as opposed to hiding in the present. You're just delaying the inevitable.
Meddling in two people's fucked up relationship? Sounds like a great way to get yourself into a position to have your ass sued off. Or maybe you'll get lucky and play a role in triggering a murder or suicide. What are you, an idiot? Run the fuck away.
Have her just vanish. Tell her to leave her passport behind and on no account to touch her bank accounts. Once you are sure she is out of harm's way, Tell the local police that your friend is missing.
Uncle Sams's paranoid police and vindictive legal system will do all the dirty work for her, and keep her (ex-) spouse securely out of mischief for at least 25 years. End of problem.
Forget about computers. They are veritable goldmines of all sorts of stories and spoor. Do not use them for private communication - ever.
This isn't about your spouse wanting to read your email, it's about your spouse not trusting you.
You need relationship counciling, not security software.
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
The questioner says she can't run a live-CD. I can only imagine that's a problem of her ability with computers; in which case installing, scanning, interpreting, then properly removing the software is probably going to be too onerous for her.
He's going to know that she has scanned for spyware, it'll be in his keylogger info.
IMHO the solution is to use a different computer that the spouse could not have accessed, eg at a library or cybercafe.
If they wanted suggestions for combating keyloggers then they should have asked for that instead of couching the question in terms of spousal abuse.
Really, get some floppies and install Slackware 11.0.
There's very little you can do about this, to be honest. A determined person with that sort of access to a computer is only going to be defeated by someone with the same level and amount of access: your friend herself. You won't be able to keep up.
Nor, frankly, should you. This is a sign of some serious problems in that relationship. Your friend might be to blame, or her spouse might be to blame, or the concept of blame might not even apply; it's tough to tell with the little information here. But the solution here is communication: they need to hash this out between themselves, possibly with a mediator (who should not be you, by the way). The best way to defeat a keylogger is to make the other person not want to install it in the first place.
If only the submitter had claimed to be trying to protect their WoW account from getting hacked, he would have gotten the help he needed instead of a lot of off-topic relationship advice....
Deep Freeze won't completely fix any problems that are already there either on the computer or in the relationship, but it can "freeze" the hard drive, or drives so that any changes made to them won't stay on the next reboot. There are ways to work around it if you boot from a floppy, but just remove the floppy drive and you are set. Deep Freeze's website is http://www.deepfreezeusa.com/ ... also a great secondary use for deep freeze is to use it on main OS's drive so that it'll keep whatever virii or other problems you run in to, whether it's that time limited demo software's timer or something else from remembering that it's been installed once you reboot. Makes an awesome little sandbox, and lots of universities use it to keep students from installing junk on the comptuers for good - even though it does arguably encourage downloading and installing software since it lets most record of downloaded and installed stuff, warez or otherwise, from being too traceable once you reboot,... which leaves some kiddies installing time delay demos over and over and over without any repurcussions.
It should be pretty easy.
1. Have her find some dirty hippies.
2. Have her explain that her old growth keyboard is threatened by loggers.
The fact that you have a keylogger installed in the first place strongly suggests that your difficulties are political in nature. Especially if it's a machine locked down so tight that a LiveCD isn't possible.
My advice for you is to either:
1. Find a cyber cafe or other computer to use
2. Count your blessings and be grateful you can access SOME things
Case in point: I know someone who I chat with over IRC, who has recently been VERY absent because he has to stay with his uncle, and his uncle is no less than the head of network security at a major Fortune 500 company. He absolutely cannot chat over IRC there, and only by using MSN (which his uncle doesn't know about) is he even able to maintain a presence.
He can't use proxies, he already removed a keylogger, and there is a router that logs EVERYTHING that goes in and out of the box he uses.
The only privacy he gets is when he uses a cyber-cafe, and that requires non-home usage.
PS:
Dear brother post:
Don't be such a hardass. This specific "ask slashdot" is a very good, albeit primitive, specific case of what generally fills the YRO section.
When we hear so much about China, China, China and RIAA, RIAA, RIAA, it's nice and refreshing to hear a reality check in the form of problems right at home.
What if he or she has cheated on you in the past, what if you have kids together? Then you can't just leave and get a new life, you'll be stuck with that person.
As far as monitoring people, trust should be earned, not just given. If they are so loyal that you don't have to monitor them because they monitor themselves, great. But many people aren't capable of monitoring their own behavior.
So what you are saying is that people who cannot be monogamous should not ever get married. That is correct, but it's beside the point. If they already are married then it's too late.
Who said anything, about the relationship being abusive? There is evident lack of trust, but "abusive"?..
Uhm, a bit of fear-mongering, but Ok...
Hold on, how can something, that can not kill you, possibly ever be "as bad or perhaps worse", than something, that can?
What if you think, that it was your fault — fully or in large enough part to try to repair?
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.