How keylogging malware steals your information (includes video)

Keyloggers are a malicious form of software that can secretly install on your computer and then tracks personal and sensitive information, such as bank and credit account numbers, passwords and corporate data, as you type it into the keyboard. That information can then be used by the thief for fraud and identity theft.

Keyloggers are easily downloaded, and can infect machines simply through a visit to a site such as YouTube, social networking sites like Facebook, and other so-called "legitimate sites," said George Waller from StrikeForce Technologies.

"It happened two months ago to NBC," he explained. "The site was hacked, a Citadel Trojan keylogger was put on their site. So, everyone that went to the site for those few days was infected."

Phishing is another common way that computer users become infected with keylogger software.

Unfortunately, most antivirus programs do not detect keylogging software.

Waller demonstrates the dangers of keylogger malware, and how it works, in this short video.

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Read more about data protection in CSOonline's Data Protection section.