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Software Engineering vocabulary · APIs, Networking and Security

Keylogger

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

/ˈkiːlɔːɡər/nounCommon term

In software engineering, keylogger means: Software or a small hardware device that secretly records every key a user presses, often to capture passwords and private messages.

In Turkish: tuş kaydedici, keylogger

How it is used

Often part of a trojan or spyware rather than a separate program. Hardware keyloggers are small plugs between a keyboard and a computer, so physical checks matter in shared offices. The activity is called keylogging or keystroke logging.

Example sentences

  1. The trojan included a keylogger that captured the user's banking password.

  2. During the office check we found a hardware keylogger on a reception PC.

Common collocations

  • hardware keylogger
  • software keylogger
  • keystroke logging
  • detect a keylogger
  • spywareMalware that secretly watches what a user does and collects information such as browsing habits, messages, passwords or location.
  • trojanMalware disguised as a useful or harmless program, such as a free tool or a document, that secretly performs harmful actions once it is run.
  • credentialsThe details that prove who a user is and let them log in, most often a username and password, but also keys, tokens and certificates.
  • malwareShort for 'malicious software': any program written to damage systems, steal data, spy on users or take control of a device without permission.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: APIs, Networking and Security

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