# Keylogger detection?



## 3Xnocharm (Jun 22, 2012)

Can some tech savvy person here tell me how to detect if there is a keylogger on my laptop? :scratchhead: My ex made a joke about it, and it isnt sitting very well with me, so I would like to look into this.


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## Kearran (May 3, 2013)

If you have nothing to hide then no worries. 

If you value your privacy anyhow, then I say reload it and password protect it for your safety.


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## Sanity (Mar 7, 2011)

Kearran said:


> If you have nothing to hide then no worries.
> 
> If you value your privacy anyhow, then I say reload it and password protect it for your safety.



She said *EX* and I don't understand why people here keep saying its ok to install a keylogger on their partner's machine. If you have to go to those lenghts to prove infidelity then its time to talk to a lawyer and file. Life is too short to worry about where your spouse parks his/her genitals. 

OP,

I would recommend that you restore your computer to factory specs (just to make sure) and put a stong password on it. Some keyloggers are difficult to remove and some come with rootkits. 

You can also try the following:

Resplendence Software - Free Downloads
Free Rootkit Detection and Removal | Sophos Anti-Rootkit Tool

If you have any questions let me know. The paranoid in me would wipe and restore though.


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## Malpheous (May 3, 2013)

Yeah. Probably should reload form scrap. Bit creepy an ex would say that.


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## 3Xnocharm (Jun 22, 2012)

I will try the two links you posted, Sanity, thank you! I really dont wish to wipe the whole thing, as I currently have no problems with it, and am afraid of issues popping up. And no, I have nothing to hide, but my life is not my ex's business any more.


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## Sanity (Mar 7, 2011)

3Xnocharm said:


> I will try the two links you posted, Sanity, thank you! I really dont wish to wipe the whole thing, as I currently have no problems with it, and am afraid of issues popping up. And no, I have nothing to hide, but my life is not my ex's business any more.


Even if you did a Klingon blood pact with the ex it doesn't matter. As an adult we have a right to not be monitored like children.


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## tobio (Nov 30, 2010)

3x, what was it our ex said that bothered you?


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## 3Xnocharm (Jun 22, 2012)

tobio said:


> 3x, what was it our ex said that bothered you?


We were having a discussion and I asked if he had keylogged my laptop. (he had stalked me after we split, I still have no idea how or why, since he is the one who dumped ME) He said "it still is"...now that was most LIKELY a joke, but it just didnt sit real well with me anyway.


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## ocotillo (Oct 17, 2011)

3Xnocharm said:


> Can some tech savvy person here tell me how to detect if there is a keylogger on my laptop? :scratchhead: My ex made a joke about it, and it isnt sitting very well with me, so I would like to look into this.


Unfortunately, it is not easy at all for the average person because you're handicapped by the fact that you can't trust anything Windows tells you on a compromised system. 

Keyloggers are almost all cloaked as rootkits. To make matters worse, publishers of keyloggers and publishers of anti-virus/anti-malware software often have tacit agreements between each other. 

If I were you, this is what I would do.

1. I would inform my ex that use of keylogger software on another adult without their permission (Even your spouse) is a felony in many states of the U.S. Prisons, workplaces and schools are pretty much the only exceptions.

2. I would further inform my ex that the laptop is going to be taken to a professional. If keylogger software is found, the publisher will be contacted. Serial number will be matched to purchase information. Most of the publishers cooperate when the software has been used illegally.

3. Be polite. Let your ex know that you're telling them this as a courtesy and out of concern. If keylogger software that your ex purchased has been installed on the machine this will be the only chance to come clean before the situation escalates out of your control.​
If you don't want to confront your ex and/or take the laptop to a professional, you _could _save your data off the system, format and reinstall your OS. That can be a lot of work and is comparable to killing a fly with a shotgun. But it does work.

You could also try a rootkit detection tool like this.


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## northland (Apr 13, 2012)

Sanity said:


> I don't understand why people here keep saying its ok to install a keylogger on their partner's machine. If you have to go to those lenghts to prove infidelity then its time to talk to a lawyer and file.


Because sometimes people are paranoid and they suspect infidelity where there is none and they need to satisfy their suspicions.

Sometimes people want to save their marriage even if there is cheating so they need to find out about the affair so they can bust it and knock the cheater back to reality so they can live happily ever after.

Sometimes a person needs ammunition for an impending divorce -even just as a pressure negotiating tactic- which can be obtained via a keylogger and other means.


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## ocotillo (Oct 17, 2011)

northland said:


> Sometimes a person needs ammunition for an impending divorce -even just as a pressure negotiating tactic- which can be obtained via a keylogger and other means.


Obtaining information illegally is almost always a bad idea: 

"Clearly an attorney cannot threaten a criminal charge. However we've seen the use of spyware used as a trump card time and again. Once the use of the spyware is proven, all the attorney needs to do is communicate that fact to the other side's counsel for the implications to be clear. Sometimes, this is done in the course of a deposition where the deponent will deny under oath having used spyware, only to have the evidence shown to them. Likewise, if they take the Fifth, but the evidence is extant, it is clear to all what the risks are. To put it bluntly, cases in which the use of spyware can be proven tend to settle quickly." -- Sharon D. Nelson Esq. _The Electronic Peephole: E-Evidence In Family Law Cases_​


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## northland (Apr 13, 2012)

Wow I never knew that VARS and keyloggers could be used against the person who has obtained the information via such means.

The use of such devices is advocated on most threads in this section of the board.

In retrospect, given the information contained in your post, that advice is rather reckless and irresponsible to say the least, at least if it's given without a disclaimer that the use of such devices is illegal.

Doesn't mean you can't use them to answer your own questions.. but don't let the other person know or you'll be in a very bad position in the event of a divorce or other legal motion.


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## EleGirl (Dec 3, 2011)

northland said:


> Wow I never knew that VARS and keyloggers could be used against the person who has obtained the information via such means.
> 
> The use of such devices is advocated on most threads in this section of the board.
> 
> ...


Anyone who is going to use things like keyloggers and VARs needs to look up federal and state laws first.

I've used them before. But it was only so that I knew exactly what was going on. I would not divulge the details of what I found to anyone. I certainly would not tell anyone that I was using them.

When I found out that my husband was cheating, one of the agreements I got from him was that we would put keyloggers on all of our computers. This way either of us could check up on the other any time we wanted. It was a way for us to protect our marriage.. often the BS will have a revenge affair so it's not just the WS who needs to be careful in what they do.

A keylogger is 100% legal if the person agrees to have one on their computer.


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## EleGirl (Dec 3, 2011)

northland said:


> Wow I never knew that VARS and keyloggers could be used against the person who has obtained the information via such means.
> 
> The use of such devices is advocated on most threads in this section of the board.
> 
> ...


Another point... most states now have nofault divorce. The courts do not care if one's spouse is cheating. So the evidence cannot be used on court anyway.


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## northland (Apr 13, 2012)

EleGirl said:


> Another point... most states now have nofault divorce. The courts do not care if one's spouse is cheating. So the evidence cannot be used on court anyway.


Well, no, the cheating won't matter. But if one spouse uses a keylogger or VAR against the other to find out about the affair, and they TELL them they used it and the wayward spouse has proof that they used one, they could use such an illegal act as levarage in a divorce trial such as one that has a dispute over custody or assets.

You know, something like "Give me sole custody and I won't have you prosecuted for the use of an illegal eavesdropping device".

That sort of thing.



EleGirl said:


> one of the agreements I got from him was that we would put keyloggers on all of our computers.
> 
> A keylogger is 100% legal if the person agrees to have one on their computer.


Hope you got his agreement in writing and notarized for good measure.


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## ocotillo (Oct 17, 2011)

northland said:


> Well, no, the cheating won't matter. But if one spouse uses a keylogger or VAR against the other to find out about the affair, and they TELL them they used it and the wayward spouse has proof that they used one, they could use such an illegal act as levarage in a divorce trial such as one that has a dispute over custody or assets.


Yes.

If one spouse finds out that a keylogger has been used on them illegally, the threat of civil suit can and has been used as leverage.

A seminal case in privacy law is M.G. vs. J.C.

Briefly, a man suspected his wife of having an affair. He tapped her phone and found out that she was having a same sex affair. 

He threatened to use the tapes in a custody battle. (By playing them for the rest of her family and humiliating her.)

She sued him for civil damages and it cost him $60K out of the joint estate in 1990's dollars. 

It really backfired on him in a big way when all was said and done.


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## EleGirl (Dec 3, 2011)

northland said:


> Well, no, the cheating won't matter. But if one spouse uses a keylogger or VAR against the other to find out about the affair, and they TELL them they used it and the wayward spouse has proof that they used one, they could use such an illegal act as levarage in a divorce trial such as one that has a dispute over custody or assets.
> 
> You know, something like "Give me sole custody and I won't have you prosecuted for the use of an illegal eavesdropping device".


A person needs to be smarter than to tell their spouse how they got information. What I found was that the data collected could be used to find a secondary level of info. For example I found a phone number. So I called the phone number and talked to the OW who gave me even more info than I had before. I never told how I got the phone number… only that I spoke to her.

People make the mistake of showing their hand. 



northland said:


> Hope you got his agreement in writing and notarized for good measure.


I got it in writing and signed. This was 10 years ago. Today I’d have it notarized.


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## hookares (Dec 7, 2011)

EleGirl said:


> Another point... most states now have nofault divorce. The courts do not care if one's spouse is cheating. So the evidence cannot be used on court anyway.


I wish these forms of electronics were available twenty years ago.
There were a few hints that I picked up that my cheater was unfaithful, but I could never quite confirm my suspicions.
It would have been worth about 200 thousand dollars to me had I known earlier.


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## Afra (Mar 29, 2012)

Sanity said:


> She said *EX* and I don't understand why people here keep saying its ok to install a keylogger on their partner's machine. If you have to go to those lenghts to prove infidelity then its time to talk to a lawyer and file. Life is too short to worry about where your spouse parks his/her genitals.


I can't agree any more. It is horrible if my BF install a keylogger in my personal computer.


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## Runs like Dog (Feb 25, 2011)

3Xnocharm said:


> Can some tech savvy person here tell me how to detect if there is a keylogger on my laptop? :scratchhead: My ex made a joke about it, and it isnt sitting very well with me, so I would like to look into this.


There are plenty of anti-keyloggers of varying success. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=ant...:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=fflb

Here's what I do. All my machines are locked down with 2 factor authentication dongles so no one gets on them but me. Period. End of discussion. If you're not that anal you can set your machine to only allow low function users on so that they can't install or change anything. 

Encypt everything. Including USB drives and portable hard drives. And if that's not enough there's software that allows you to set a failed login attempt counter so that after x number of failed login attempts it does a multipass diskwipe shred of all media.

But the short answer is there's tons of anti keyloggers.


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## KanDo (Jun 15, 2011)

I used this to find the keylogger on my computer
Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10
Download Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10


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## Sanity (Mar 7, 2011)

A friend of mine's wife was starting to check his phone daily for pics and texts. He put a password and she demanded it to which he refused, and refused for months until she apologizes for going through his phone without permission. People should respect boundaries plain and simple.


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## BrockLanders (Jul 23, 2012)

Use malwarebytes and rootkitrevealer to see if you have anything.


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## BrockLanders (Jul 23, 2012)

Runs like Dog said:


> There are plenty of anti-keyloggers of varying success.
> 
> https://www.google.com/search?q=ant...:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=fflb
> 
> ...


^^^

This.

Use google authenticator everywhere you can. Use LastPass as a login/password safe and encrypt your hard drive with TrueCrypt (open source and free).


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