Keylogger
Malicious software that secretly records everything a victim types, including seed phrases and passwords, and sends that captured data to an attacker.
A keylogger is malicious software that runs covertly on an infected device, recording every keystroke the victim types and transmitting that captured data back to an attacker. In a crypto context, this is particularly dangerous because it can capture a seed phrase (see Kaavon's "Seed Phrase" glossary definition), wallet password, or exchange account credentials at the exact moment a victim types them, giving an attacker everything needed to access and drain the victim's funds.
Keyloggers are typically delivered through the same vectors as other malware — malicious downloads, infected email attachments, or compromised software installers — and their crypto-specific risk is a key reason hardware wallets are considered meaningfully more secure than software wallets for storing significant funds: typing a seed phrase or confirming a transaction on a dedicated hardware device, rather than on a general-purpose computer that malware could be monitoring, removes the keylogger's ability to capture that sensitive input at all.
Examples
- A keylogger infecting a victim's computer could silently capture their wallet password or seed phrase the moment they type it, without any visible sign something is wrong.
- Using a hardware wallet to confirm transactions and enter sensitive information removes a keylogger's ability to capture that data, since the input never passes through the potentially compromised computer.