Keyloggers are a common type of malware. Upon infecting your computer, they will record your keystrokes. Everything you type will potentially be seen by the hacker who deployed the keylogger. Whether you’re typing a sensitive email or logging in to a bank account, the hacker may see it. While all keyloggers are designed to record keystrokes, though, some of them perform other malicious activities on infected devices.
Screenshots
There are keyloggers that take screenshots of infected devices. They will still record all of your keystrokes, but they will also take screenshots of your computer.
Some keyloggers are designed to take screenshots in response to any user action. If you move your mouse, for instance, they may take a screenshot. Other keyloggers are designed to only take screenshots when a user visits a particular website or runs a particular program or app. Regardless, there are keyloggers that log keystrokes and take screenshots.
Clipboard Copying
Another malicious activity that some keyloggers perform is clipboard copying. They will copy — as well as transmit — any text that you copy to your computer’s clipboard.
In Windows, you can copy text to your computer’s clipboard by highlighting it and pressing Ctrl+C. And you can paste it by pressing Ctrl+V. Upon using the Ctrl+C command, some keyloggers may create their own copy of the text. They will copy your computer’s clipboard. Since most people copy important text to their computer’s keyboard, some keyloggers are designed with this feature.
Log Online Searches
Some keyloggers are designed to log online searches. As you type keywords into a search engine, they will log this information. You won’t have any privacy when browsing the internet. Rather, the keylogger will log your keystrokes as well as your online searches.
Keep in mind that using your web browser in private or incognito mode won’t prevent keyloggers from logging your online searches. These alternative browser modes will only prevent websites from tracking your activities; they won’t prevent keyloggers from logging your online searches or otherwise tracking your internet usage.
Computer Details
Keyloggers are designed primarily to log keystrokes, but some of them may capture information about the computers they infect. If your computer is infected with one of these keyloggers, the technical details about your computer may be seen by the hacker.
The hacker may be able to see all of the processes running on your computer. The hacker may also be able to see how much random access memory (RAM) memory your computer has and what the memory is used for. And the keylogger may even relay information about your computer’s bandwidth usage to the hacker.