Tag: keyloggers

More tricks to evade keyloggers on public PCs

The revised Vesik method involves typing nonsense characters into a password input box when using a public PC and then rearranging some of the letters to form your actual password with the mouse. If the PC contains a hardware keylogger or is infected with a software keylogger, rearranging a password in this way will usually suffice to obscure your credentials. Most hackers will concentrate on the 99% of users who type in their passwords at Internet cafés in the usual way.

One proposal sent in by many, many, many readers was a variation on a single theme. Namely, keep your sign-in information on a USB flash drive or memory stick, then copy and paste the info into the appropriate fields when you’re required to use a public PC or other unsecured computer.

Unfortunately, many keyloggers capture any information you place into the Windows Clipboard. I tested the copy-and-paste technique using the All In One Keylogger from RelyTec. (For more info, see the vendor’s site.) The program easily captured the sign-in IDs and passwords entered, whether I used the standard menu options (Edit, Copy and Edit, Paste) or the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V.
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Enable Vista Outgoing Firewall

As you know Windows Vista, like XP before it has a built-in firewall that protects your PC against external hack attacks. What you may not know is that like all the best third-party firewalls the Vista firewall can also block outgoing traffic, in other words it puts you in charge of the software on your PC trying to make use of your Internet connection. Most of the time this is just legitimate programs looking for updates and so on, but it can also be nasties, like Trojans and keyloggers, sending out details of your PIN numbers or spying on your web surfing activities. Read More»

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