keylogger

noun key·log·ger \ ˈkē-ˌlȯ-gər , -ˌlä- \

Updated on: 28 Mar 2018

Definition of keylogger

: a piece of software that records the signals sent from a keyboard to a computer usually for the purpose of gaining information about the user without the user's knowledge

Malware works most commonly by installing a keylogger or some other form of spyware that watches what you type or see.
—Mat Honan

Recent Examples of keylogger from the Web

The keylogger is part of a malicious package that also installs an in-browser cryptocurrency miner that's surreptitiously run on the computers of people visiting the infected sites.

— dan goodin, Ars Technica, "More than 2,000 WordPress websites are infected with a keylogger," 30 Jan. 2018
The keylogger was apparently included for debugging during development and is disabled by default.

— sean gallagher, Ars Technica, "Laptop touchpad driver included extra feature: a keylogger," 11 Dec. 2017
However, a user or software with administrative privileges could activate the keylogger by making a registry change—potentially remotely using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) or PowerShell scripts.

— sean gallagher, Ars Technica, "Laptop touchpad driver included extra feature: a keylogger," 11 Dec. 2017
Such ads have the ability to install ransomware, keyloggers, and other types of malware when users do nothing more than visit a site hosting the malicious link.

— dan goodin, Ars Technica, "Senator urges ad blocking by feds as possible remedy to malvertising scourge," 16 Nov. 2017
The device was a next-gen keylogger that could be installed remotely on a computer.

— chris smith, Fox News, "The FBI has quietly been hacking Americans for 20 years," 16 May 2016
There is no evidence that this keylogger has been intentionally implemented.

— michael kan, PCWorld, "Certain HP laptops are found recording users' keystrokes," 11 May 2017
That raises the possibility, at least, that secret data may have been captured by the keylogger, and then transmitted over the public internet to someone outside the military chain of command.

— noah shachtman, WIRED, "Exclusive: Computer Virus Hits U.S. Drone Fleet," 7 Oct. 2011
To thwart early forms of encrypted communications, the feds came up with keylogger software that needed to be installed manually on a target's computer.

— chris smith, Fox News, "The FBI has quietly been hacking Americans for 20 years," 16 May 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'keylogger.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.