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When you have decided that there is a need for a keylogger to be set up to track a user’s actions on the computer, you will have to choose between two major keylogger types, each of which have unique benefits. Depending on your needs and experience with computers, there is a significant difference in the usage of these two types.

Software-based keyloggers

The most common interpretation of the term ‘keylogger’ refers to software, which after being installed, tracks all activity on the computer. In this case, the logged information is stored on the hard drive of the computer, and is accessible as a form of data. Some software keyloggers offer to send the log files by email, while others can only be accessed directly from the computer they’re installed on.

As these keyloggers are installed on your computer in the form of software, it is obvious that with proper tools they can be discovered and removed. Of course, it depends on the complexity of the design of the keylogger – some might be visible in the task bar, while others might need the latest piece of anti-spyware software to be discovered.

Hardware-based keyloggers

The other large category is hardware-based keyloggers, which serve the same purpose, but are fundamentally different in the way of achieving their goal. They are fully self-contained hardware units that are attached to the computer, most usually as a plug between the keyboard and the computer, and they require no software to be set up. Different to software keyloggers, all the data is stored on the piece of hardware, and it never appears on the computer that is being monitored.

Consequently, the only way to retrieve the stored data is by retrieving the hardware unit itself. As the data is not stored on the computer, it can’t be accessed while the keylogger is working, nor is it vulnerable to anti-spyware software or hard drive crashes, which would usually erase software keylogger data.