With the recent hacks of so many people in our guild I have been doing some googling on Keylogging and account hacking. The link below provides some interesting information on how and why keyloggers work and some means to possible protect yourself. As I find more links I'll post them here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystroke_logging

Thanks Saud

I actually like the idea of remapping the keyboard and am going to look at this. If you can set the map. Login and Set it back then essentially what I am picking up from this page is that what would result on the other end would be garbage.

Example for those that don't know the difference. The QWERTY keyboard is the traditional keyboard style 90% of people use every day. The DVORAK keyboard differs in that the keys are arranged according to most common use such to limit finger movement when typing. So a simple example of what would happen. If you mapped your keyboard to DVORAK using the idea of how DVORAK is laid out as I stated it. Your password is catdog. The keys you are actually pressing on your keyboard as seen by the logger (assuming qwerty) would be "jayhlu" So while you legitimately typed catdog the keylogger assumes you are using a qwerty keyboard and thus what is logged really doesn't match. Its an interesting idea and I am curious if it will work. Of course if you read the link and what I am stating that is all based on an assumption in the the keylogger is simply and looking for the tradtion 102 key layout of a qwerty keyboard.

That's an interesting idea. Do you use a Dvorak keyboard, or do you know how to use them?

I've always wondered if it was worth getting into a Dvorak keyboard layout, as it's supposed to be fast, but I've heard that it's hard to go back to a Qwerty keyboard (not hard as in "I don't want to" but hard as in "I have real difficulties typing on them because my mind has been retrained").

Does learning a Dvorak keyboard tend to mess up one's ability to type on a qwerty board?

I don't know dvorak asside from it being the #2 standard layout. I could never learn another keyboard layout either but I think could handle learning that typing my real password was really like typing something else. I can train my brain to type jibberish knowing that it really comes out different.

My sister sent me this like a year ago. This is the latest keyboard to make a push against qwerty. Boasting simplicity for layout. Note the purely alphabetical layout. The marketing push for this is to teach kids and then a whole new generation of computer users will grow up on a different keyboard.



The idea of beating the keylogger is the same. Your just mapping your keyboard so your typing something that your not.

Here are a couple of solutions as described in the Wiki aritcle

Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator

This utility will allow you to remap your keyboard in Windows XP or 2000.

You can also use an OSK (on screen keyboard) that is built into Windows 2000 and XP and can be that can be used to enter your login without using your keyboard. It even has a hover mode so that your not actually clicking the keys as indicated by the article that keyloggers also can record mouse clicks. The keyboard can be activated under Programs > Accessories > Accessibility.

A point of note. For this to work you must run the game in Windowed Mode.

Here is a thread on the WOW Customer Service forums.

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=27963528&sid=1

Tool recommended by Blizzard in the above post to run everytime before you log into WoW. Shows running processes and which ones are safe or not.

http://www.processlibrary.com/processscan/