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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Take strokes against keyloggers

The Spokesman-Review

How Do I … prevent my personal name and password from being captured by keyloggers?

Keyloggers are stealthy programs installed on computers that can capture user login and password information as it’s typed. People who use public computers or machines inside Internet cafes are at some risk, if those businesses don’t take active steps to keep the keyloggers at bay.

In general, one should avoid accessing sensitive personal or financial records on a public computer. But when it’s necessary, take precautions.

A simple half-solution is this: type your password with extra letters somewhere in the middle. Such as: if your password is toothfairy, type “tooth38842fairy.” Then take your mouse and highlight and delete the extra characters.

Plan B would be to type “t1o2o3t4h5f6a4i2r7y” and then use the mouse to delete the eight unneeded digits.