Presuming you already know the technical definition of a keylogger, I must raise a quite normal issue for someone who actually wants to buy a keylogger: “Should I choose a software keylogger or a hardware keylogger?”. Well, I will try to emphasize a few points of view regarding both of them and even after doing that I don’t think my verdict would be perfect for all, but it will help you choose.

Let’s start with the hardware keylogger, because this might be a little less explored than its “soft brother”.

You say “hardware” so there you have it: no need to interact with the operating system. This is a major advantage because the differences between the operating systems are equalized and reduced to the keyboard activity. When you work with a hardware keylogger you physically capture all the keystrokes because the little piece of hardware that is the keylogger is mounted right at the insertion spot for the keyboard cord. This leads us to another facile task regarding the hardware keylogger: it can be installed really easy, without having to access the user account, just the PS2 port or USB port on the computer case.
The bad news regarding the hardware keylogger is that it can be spotted really easy, with a simple look thrown at the keyboard cord. Also, the hardware keylogger stores much less data than the software keylogger and it certainly cannot send you an email with the latest reports.

The software keylogger is an application that must be installed. As I said before, the access to the user account is a must, and the compatibility with the operating system must be assured. The full side of the glass regarding this is that once you have installed it and configured it, the keylogger runs stealthily and records everything, from keystrokes to visited websites and all the chat activity, to screenshots and used documents. It can also send you an email every day, or every couple of hours to inform you on the latest activity on the respective computer.

Some antivirus programs can detect software keyloggers and report them as threats. The keyloggers are considered as threats because they can sometimes used by some people with hacking inclined occupations and who want to steal in this manner credit card numbers, account numbers and any other valuable information that is stored in a computer and that can be exploited.

So is it time to draw a conclusion? The hardware keyloggers and the software keyloggers are indeed similar, but also very different. The software version is a lot richer in information, but also harder to put in place. The hardware version is more rapid, efficient, but can be light in information and spotted maybe easier than the software version with antivirus software. The nature of the occurring situations that determine you to want one may be decisive. What serves you better at that time will make the difference. It is important however to be informed regarding what are their strong and weak points.

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