key logging. serious

U

unbeknownst

Guest
Hey is there any good keystroke loggers out there? ones I dont have to pay for I mean. Im pretty sure someone I know is screwing around on my comp and I want to be certain. This person is really good with computers too so I cant have some dummie recorder that shows up right there when it makes logs. Seriously, this guy I know works for a computer company and knows more stuff than I do. but I know enough to know when things arent right.
Please help. thank you.
 
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T

tjburns

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just swap out your keyboard for one with superglue on the keys over your lunch break...
 
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Just lock your computer
 
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U

unbeknownst

Guest
Ive tried locking it up and everything. but I dont just want to prevent it (if I can) from being hacked into anymore, I want to know what theyre doing, and just to be certain that it is local.
This is happening at home and i cant always hide my computer away. And there is a slight chance it is happening over wifi, though I doubt it.

Thanks for the link. I cant afford anything right now though. plus, I would prefer something purely internal, especially since this is on an ibook.
Thanks everyone.
 
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K

Kokopelli

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unbeknownst said:
Ive tried locking it up and everything. but I dont just want to prevent it (if I can) from being hacked into anymore, I want to know what theyre doing, and just to be certain that it is local.
This is happening at home and i cant always hide my computer away. And there is a slight chance it is happening over wifi, though I doubt it.

Thanks for the link. I cant afford anything right now though. plus, I would prefer something purely internal, especially since this is on an ibook.
Thanks everyone.

Well if it is remote, a keystroke logger will do no good. If you want to ensure no remote exploits there is a very simple solution. Turn it off when you are not around. If you are afraid of a local attacker (i.e. someone at the keyboard) then lock all accounts with a strong password.

Please be more specific, what do you suspect the miscreant is doing and how do you suspect he is accomplishing the deed. If a user can bypass a secure password in a short period of time he can also cover his tracks against a keystroke logger. If he is doing it remotely, again a logger won't do any good.

While it may sound like an attractive idea it is not a practical solution to your problem, legal and ethical considerations aside. Heck go low tech. Set a script to send a note to the system log on login.
 
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The only way to keep your system secure is through prevention. You can't try to "log" or "monitor" a hacker, because if your computer has been hacked, whoever did it can just disable your logging software. If I'm a hacker, and I want to hack your machine, the first thing I do is install a rootkit. I'd have almost as much control over your computer as you would.

If you believe your computer has already been compromised, then the safest thing to do is to re-install the Mac OS from scratch, and then keep them from getting back in.

In the future, set a good password, turn on your firewall, and use WPA encryption on your WiFi network. Lock your door, and log out whenever you leave your computer.
 
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Are there even any trojan applications that can give someone that kind of control over a computer running OS X?
 
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U

unbeknownst

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yeah I dont know that its remote. The reason I want a keylogger is because it just seems like this person has access to my computer. its like they just always know my password. and the only thing that tips me off in the first place is slight changes in things. files that I left open are closed or vice versa. but always something small. just the odd change in settings here and there as though they tried to put things back to how i left it but forgot small details. I have a strangely good memory for things like that, so if a desktop icon is out of place i will notice.

I really want to try key logging to perhaps rule that out. I do log my computer out a lot of the time, but I leave things running often, and Im so busy these days that if I cant leave it going while im out some of the time, then I'll never get anything done.

What should I use for firewall options though? I havent looked into that very much because in my past experience they just get in the way and Ive never really had sufficient cause to seriously consider using one.
 
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unbeknownst said:
What should I use for firewall options though? I havent looked into that very much because in my past experience they just get in the way and Ive never really had sufficient cause to seriously consider using one.

OSX has a built in firewall under system prefs/sharing.
 
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K

Kokopelli

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unbeknownst said:
yeah I dont know that its remote. The reason I want a keylogger is because it just seems like this person has access to my computer. its like they just always know my password. and the only thing that tips me off in the first place is slight changes in things. files that I left open are closed or vice versa. but always something small. just the odd change in settings here and there as though they tried to put things back to how i left it but forgot small details. I have a strangely good memory for things like that, so if a desktop icon is out of place i will notice.

I really want to try key logging to perhaps rule that out. I do log my computer out a lot of the time, but I leave things running often, and Im so busy these days that if I cant leave it going while im out some of the time, then I'll never get anything done.

What should I use for firewall options though? I havent looked into that very much because in my past experience they just get in the way and Ive never really had sufficient cause to seriously consider using one.

Why don't we try things the easy way first? Put your Mac to sleep and lock it. If the computer is awaken it will log it in the system.log. He could edit this log, but most people would not think to bother.
 

rman


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The easiest thing to do, is change your pass word to something harder to guess. Try using the follow character replacement.

e -> 3
s -> 5
i/I -> 1
o -> 0

Am use capital letters also.

So if you use a pass word like jones, it could be J0n35.
 

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