New type of keylogger...
 

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Just in case you aren't feeling paranoid yet, here's some news to help you on your way. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have discovered a way to find out what you are typing by making an audio recording of the key clicks. They claim a 96 per cent accuracy rate.

Time to soundproof our rooms!

Re: New type of keylogger...
 

Um, they can already spy on your computer by picking up its radio waves. They can do this from a car parked across the road.

Re: New type of keylogger...
 

<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre> Um, they can already spy on your computer by picking up its radio waves. They can do this from a car parked across the road.
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This is just for crt, or lcd too? Just curious.

Re: New type of keylogger...
 

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This is just for crt, or lcd too? Just curious.

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It's tough to find a definitive answer - for obvious reasons this stuff isn't published that much on the web. CRTs emit radiation that can be detected and isolated up to a 1/2 a mile away. With the right equipment you can easily view the screen image on a neighbor's CRT in real time, and it's not that expensive. There have been serious issues with bank security resulting from this capability.

Any electromagnetic device emits radiation when it is operated, and from what I've read the radiation from LCDs is easily detected and reconstructed, but it's of significantly less strength than CRTs. My guess is the effective range is probably 50 or so metres (the similar effective range for devices like microchips and RAM), but it's hard to be sure.

Re: New type of keylogger...
 

Obvious question, with that capability what happens if there are a numberous amount of people in the 1/2 mile radius with their computers on, what happens then?

Re: New type of keylogger...
 

Do walls or any other physical structures block the range that these radio waves are transmitted?

Re: New type of keylogger...
 

I find it very hard to believe thay can do this with any kind of accuracy in all but the most isolated cases. In any residential area there could be numerous CRTs (TVs, monitors, etc) as well as LCD displays. Not to mention they must account for obstructions as well, of many differing densities and thicknesses. Certainly not something to worry about.

Re: New type of keylogger...
 

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I find it very hard to believe thay can do this with any kind of accuracy in all but the most isolated cases.

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Wow. google tempest or van eck radiation. It's possible to read the information on one computer monitor (CRT) of a line of terminals in a bank. It's like tuning into a TV signal, each monitor has a mostly unique signal which the decoder can pick up. Sometimes there may be interference, but in most cases it's possible. The radiation goes through walls just like a TV signal.

That said, I wouldn't be concerned about it. Very few people know of this capability or have the technical expertise/interest to try and do it.

Re: New type of keylogger...
 

It doesn't sound like it's advanced enough to cause much harm if you choose your passwords carefully, even if someone was trying to use it right next to you. The algorithm requires someone to get large audio samples of your typing and then it still has to make intelligent guesses based on real English words; something your password should never be.

Re: New type of keylogger...
 

one can also click off and on the password entry part and type random letters and numbers in if you are really paranoid about it.
i am uncertain whether this would be effective against traditional key-loggers however.

but you don't HAVE to type your whole password in straight through.