Keystroke Logging: The "Unknown" Internet Evil?

But everyone's doing it Mom. I would look like a loser if I didn't. Such a statement could have resonated at the congressional hearing had by Hewlett-Packard last month. Lisa Lerer of Forbes.com reports that HP was involved in a "pretexting" scandal but says that a much more common form of company snopping that HP and other companies may use is keystroke logging.

They're Watching You

Keystroke logger programs are used to track e-mails, record keystrokes made by the employee, and to record screen-shots. Basically those that invest in a keystroke program can see what you look at, type and recieve on the internet. Lerer reports that the loggers are widely used both by the public and corporations. Advertisers may also send them out attached to emails. Webroot Software reports that seven percent of computers have them with or without the user knowing it.

What Does it Mean for Business?

More like, what does it mean for employees? Lerer reports that most keystroke loggers come from external devices (like usb ports), attachments, operating system flaws and websites. Corporations that use the keystroke programs would, from my realitvely ignorant position, probably already have them installed on employees computers. From a business prospective these programs are good for the bosses and bad for the workers. Employees need to monitor their "leisure time" online and realize that they may not be as trusted as they may think. Bosses need to take into account just how invasive their particular keystroke program is. Lawsuits could be even more prevalent in the future.

Lerer's full article can be found on www.msnbc.com.