Keyloggers?

[Jennifer]

I was wondering if anyone could tell me a easy and simple key logger? My younger sister and her friends are always on the computer and sometimes very secretive..... it's not porn but it's chat rooms like AIM and MySpace, things like that. So if any of you know a key logger that would allow me to monitor there steps please let me know.
thanks in advance,

--------------
Jenn...

[mjc]

I'm not sure that a keylogger is the way to go about this...

The first question I have...how old is she?

If she is 14 or under then there are other steps you or more appropriately your parents (unless you are her guardian) can take. Most of the sites you mentioned have rules governing usage by kids. You can have accounts terminated. It would also be a good idea to inform the parents of the 'friends'.

Also, blocking the sites, using combination of built in Windows tools and a firewall are generally much better than resorting to a keylogger.

Another thing is strict monitoring of internet usage...think about this. Would you let her go to the 'bad' part of (pick you city) without supervision?

No, I'm not talking a software solution, I'm talking a living, breathing, physcal presence...in the same room, type monitoring.

And my personal favorite rule...NO INTERNET IN THE BEDROOM, especially for anyone under 18.

[Sylvander]

If you want to teach someone how to be honest, you must demonstrate how it's done by being honest with them.

If you want to teach them how to have faith in others, you must have faith in them.

If you want to teach them how to be worthy of trust, you must show that you are worthy of trust.

Get it?

[Jennifer]

I agree with everything you say mjc. She is 13 about ready to turn 14.... her and all her friends go to "MySpace". They are suppose to be 14 but she used a false birthday like most of her friends. I don't mind her using the MySpace but I would still like to monitor her steps. She is somewhat over protected now by her mom, it's just that she can't be with her every second of the day.
She has a boyfriend and chats online with him a lot, we would just like to know more on what their chatting about.....not to be noisy, but more to see what kind of guy he his....... well maybe we are nosey, but then again like you said.
So still keeping a keylogger in mind do you know of a good one?
thanks, for your response,
----------
Jenn...

[Laguna]

I know where you are coming from with this.
And its not mine nor anyone else on this forums business as to why you want a keylogger or want to take the approach you are taking.

I don't know of any good keyloggers as I have never used one and I doubt I ever will.I know Sylvander knows of one as I remember him saying that he used one on one of his machines.

Why don't you try to google for a good one.
You just have to be careful what you download and what sites you look on.
I know a recommendation from someone here would help and I hope you get one but while you are waiting why not have a look around yourself?

[mjc]

Just be aware that installing a key logger without permission can, in many jurisdictions, be a prosecutable offence. It is considered the equivalent of hacking a machine! Oh and in the US, hacking can be easily bumped up to a Federal case, just by a hardcase prosecutor applying the anti-terrorism laws to it.

Also, for the most part, installing one is like intentionally infecting a computer with a virus. And many of them are little more than disguised back-door trojans and or the equivalent of root kits. Heck, one of the most popular commercial ones is just a pretty box on BackOrifice! BackOrifice is just one of the most well known, insidious back-doors around. And no one has ever been able to convince me that any commercial version is totally 'clean'. With any kind of key logger, especially one that sends reports over a network, there is a chance that you are not the only one receiving that report! Since 99.99% of ALL key loggers are repackaged trojans...it isn't to hard to figure out what that could mean.

I never have and never will recommend ANYONE to install one. In fact, I will actively dissuade the installation. I don't even like the idea of law enforcement officials using one, with court orders and owner's permission. There are other ways to deal with the problem and in my book, a key logger is like using a nuke to kill a mosquito.

You know what, you know that she has used fictitious information to get an account...have the account pulled. She will most likely end up banned, but in the long run it is better than finding out a year from now someone she trusted has been spying for the past year. Broken trust is much harder to repair...

And yes, it is a safety issue...with all the pervs and gutter trash that haunt the net, but education about the dangers and working toward a solution together is much better than destroying trust and driving her to go somewhere else to get on-line.

And Laguna...in some ways it is our business...

Why?

Because, in most cases it is illegal to install and use one. If the person is not the owner of the machine and you recommend doing something illegal--not saying that it will come down this way, but it could--you could also be held responsible.

Also, most of the time I have ever found someone wanting to install one has been for reasons that range from the downright stupid (I just wanna mess with my roomie's head) to dangerous.

That is in additon to the point of: Without the gloss of being a commercial product, these are some of the same pieces of junk that we spend so much time and effort on helping people remove from their machines!

[Fred_Flintstone]

She is somewhat over protected now by her mom, it's just that she can't be with her every second of the day.


I have had personal experience (as a parent) of this sort of thing, and myspace.com is in my opinion a VERY dangerous place for kids to be!!.

My younger sister TELL YOUR PARENTS!!
(or you might just have to explain the consequences to them and why you kept it from them)!!

A key logger (which I used) is not YOUR answer.. you have a duty of care to your sister ..and if that means you tell your parents what your fears are.. so be it!.. it is their responsibility, and you do not have the right to make decisions for them.

If they asked for a keylogger I would be more inclined to share the information I gained during my (parentally traumatic) experience!.

TELL THEM.. they have a right to know if their child is at risk!! :eek:

[Laguna]

For one thing Jenifer is this machine yours or your sisters or your parents?
And secondly mjc I was under the frame of mind that someone here might be able to recommend a safe keylogger for her.I did say if she looks around herself to be very careful what she downloads.

With the moral issue put aside it is completely up to her how she handles this matter if it is her machine.I agree that there is a lot of rogue programs out there I don't need to be told that nor do I mean to go against your advice mjc as I know your a very knowledgable person when it comes to computers.
But as long as we here on the PCGuide forum make her fully aware of the risks she is taking what else can we do?
We aren't the law and we are not the family we do not know what any of her circumstances are.

And I believe that we shouldn't pry either.Although I agree that there are MANY other ways to go about this but it isn't really our place to tell her to do them.We can just offer.I know if it were me I wouldn't install a keylogger as I
wouldn't trust one and I am always carefull about what I install on my machine but as far as we are concerned it is her choice

And how could I be in trouble for recommending a google search?
Isn't google the ultimate resource for everything on the internet?
It's just me being helpful of her needs as I don't see it as my business to tell her to go about protecting her siblings any other way.
It well and truly isn't my business.I wouldn't like people on the internet telling me how to protect my siblings but i wouldn't mind being made aware of the risks I was taking with software I was installing.

And I do not live in the USA and wouldn't be prosecuted under US law.
I didn't recommed the google search for malicious reasons nor as far as we know does she want the program for malicious reasons.

That is the only point that I am trying to get across.
I know this forum doesn't promote, recommend or help with certain things and I respect that but if she wants to go ahead with this are we allowed to help or will she have to take it somewhere else?

[Budfred]

I think you are missing the point Laguna... You are aiding someone in what is probably an illegal and ethically wrong act... Even if you are just referring to Google, you are doing so without adequate warning of the risks involved and you are lending support to someone spying on her own family... You do not know anything about the person who wants to spy and what true motives might be... This person may be a year older and just intrusive... Or maybe this person is really a jealous boyfriend who is trying to check on a girlfriend and the whole story is bogus... We don't have that info...

What we do know is that keyloggers are dangerous pieces of software that are used to steal all sorts of information from people, including financial information that can be used to destroy people financially... We also know that the stolen information can be used for blackmail and extortion... We also know that it can lead to destruction of family relationships when one spies on another... Do you really want to be even indirectly responsible for any of these things happening??

[Puter Padowan]

It's really disturbing to hear the horrors that a piece of software could cause.

I hope no one takes what Budfred says personally... it's just that even if Jennifer IS telling the truth, it's not the way to handle the situation that was explained nor should keyloggers be an "answer" to anything period. The dangers and risks seem to significantly outweigh the positives.

Secondly, (And no offense) this site isn't a therapy session for people who may be having family difficulties. I know that there are people on this thread who just want to help and I'm not lashing out any one... but the reality is we really have no idea who is real and who is not. There are so many simpler ways to go about blocking access to sites such as firewalls, password protecting your user accounts, and so forth... If you truly feel that it's a MAJOR concern, then truly your BEST bet is to have a talk with your parents about it. Ever heard of the saying "Those who are aware do not die"?

Lastly... lets not forget that any old jerk could get onto this forum, read the information and use it to do something that they shouldn't be doing. The last thing the moderators need is to find out that their site provided information that helped lead to stealing identities, account numbers, or anything along those lines.

I have read some seriously horrible stories about families who lost EVERYTHING they have had just because of an insecure internet connection... and I mean EVERYTHING.

[Laguna]

lending support to someone spying on her own family... You do not know anything about the person who wants to spy and what true motives might be... This person may be a year older and just intrusive... Or maybe this person is really a jealous boyfriend who is trying to check on a girlfriend and the whole story is bogus...

Never thought of it that way...
Good point but from the perspective I was having I just seen it as her business.
Sorry if i was going against the board rules.
I just took her story to be true(Not saying it isn't) and your right we don't know this so point taken :)

[mojo1]

I was wondering if anyone could tell me a easy and simple key logger? My younger sister and her friends are always on the computer and sometimes very secretive..... it's not porn but it's chat rooms like AIM and MySpace, things like that. So if any of you know a key logger that would allow me to monitor there steps please let me know.
thanks in advance,

--------------
Jenn...

I use LINK REMOVED
You can download and try for free.

[jlreich]

Mojo1, linking to a commercial product on your first post is considered spam around here.

And if you read through the thread we do not encourage key loggers.

Reported to mods.

[PrntRhd]

Link removed, please don't put it back.