Are keyloggers legal?
About once a day, I’m asked by our customers if keyloggers are legal. We even added this question to our FAQ base, however, the questions keep coming and even after they are replied by authorized attorneys, they still raise dispute on the Internet.
Being the part of Security Software Development team, I can tell you for sure: Keylogger is a completely legal monitoring tool.
Here’s what the TopTenReviews.com staff says: “Even though an individual may be using a keylogger find out information about you, like your usernames and passwords or credit card information, they are perfectly legal. It's the individual trying stealing your password and credit card numbers that is performing an illegal act, not the keylogger software itself. There are times when keyloggers are useful. An employer may want to make sure his employee is not divulging trade secrets, or a spouse wants to make sure his or her spouse is not cheating on them. Or possible you want to make sure your child is not carrying on inappropriate conversations with an adult. There may be a moral issue involved on its use, but it is legal.”
Having several persons at home access my own PC, I presumably warn them on every boot that the system is monitored. I don’t want them to utilize my PC for illegal purposes, and being the owner of the computer, I have all the right to know what is being done on it.
I keep telling to our clients that Keylogger is only a way of monitoring, just a great, multi-functional monitoring tool! You may surely use keyloggers like our Elite Keylogger to infringe upon someone’s rights, but it is up to you, whether you want to screw the laws or you are using the software for legal matters. Elite Keylogger doesn’t STEAL any information – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW! If you are given the admin permissions (which are required to install each of our keylogging applications) – you have the right to install anything you might need. It is more the moral issue whether you will start the monitoring, but it is anyway legal, allowed and never prohibited.
I would also like to mention other opinions from common online users who discuss the same question at security-forums.com:
As you know, even FBI uses keyloggers to carry out many governmental investigations.
Thanks for your time to read this, hope to see your comments.
P.S. One of my future posts will deal with Lies about keyloggers, so stay updated.
Being the part of Security Software Development team, I can tell you for sure: Keylogger is a completely legal monitoring tool.
Here’s what the TopTenReviews.com staff says: “Even though an individual may be using a keylogger find out information about you, like your usernames and passwords or credit card information, they are perfectly legal. It's the individual trying stealing your password and credit card numbers that is performing an illegal act, not the keylogger software itself. There are times when keyloggers are useful. An employer may want to make sure his employee is not divulging trade secrets, or a spouse wants to make sure his or her spouse is not cheating on them. Or possible you want to make sure your child is not carrying on inappropriate conversations with an adult. There may be a moral issue involved on its use, but it is legal.”
Having several persons at home access my own PC, I presumably warn them on every boot that the system is monitored. I don’t want them to utilize my PC for illegal purposes, and being the owner of the computer, I have all the right to know what is being done on it.
I keep telling to our clients that Keylogger is only a way of monitoring, just a great, multi-functional monitoring tool! You may surely use keyloggers like our Elite Keylogger to infringe upon someone’s rights, but it is up to you, whether you want to screw the laws or you are using the software for legal matters. Elite Keylogger doesn’t STEAL any information – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW! If you are given the admin permissions (which are required to install each of our keylogging applications) – you have the right to install anything you might need. It is more the moral issue whether you will start the monitoring, but it is anyway legal, allowed and never prohibited.
I would also like to mention other opinions from common online users who discuss the same question at security-forums.com:
- “as long as you inform the user that ther activities may be monitred it is
ok to use a keylogger, otherwise its entrapment.”
- “Workplace
keylogging may well be legal without express notification through corporate
policies regarding privacy.”
As you know, even FBI uses keyloggers to carry out many governmental investigations.
Thanks for your time to read this, hope to see your comments.
P.S. One of my future posts will deal with Lies about keyloggers, so stay updated.
posted by Alex Kogan at
1:03 AM
3 Comments:
True, I never used keyloggers, I think you can always tune user privileges to meet your expectations and prevent users from doing actions you don't want them to. But I agree that if you are the owner of the PC - you have the right to monitor it, at least let the user know that he's being monitored.
By
Anonymous, at 12:03 AM
Concerning corporate keyloggers' usage, here's where my opnion goes. Many companies and educational institutions usually have a couple of pages in their employee or student handbook regarding these legal issues. I think, this has to be signed prior to employment. In it there will be a section on IT/IS. In this section can be a few sentences telling the prospective employee that all communications and Internet usage, for instance, are the property of the company (as it is with the computers that you use). All data on the computers, network, and anywhere else in the company belongs to it. And by signing the handbook (or whatever) you agree to this monitoring, as there's no other way.
Something like that, and its truly legal. There's no invasion of privacy since the employee or student has agreed to the being monitored. IMHO
Jeff
By
Anonymous, at 12:27 AM
It is probably not illegal to keylog your own computer or computers. It would be illegal to use any passwords etc found that way.
By
Anonymous, at 12:49 AM
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