Plug-in USB hardware device captures keystrokes on Mac and PC USB keyboards.

Plug-in KeyGhost USB Keylogger (hardware device) records all keystrokes
typed on any PC and Mac USB keyboards. (PS/2 and Large Dinn models
also available)

Easiest way to capture keystrokes on any Mac or PC. Record all
keystrokes typed on USB keyboards now.
Installs in under 5 seconds, just plug it in.

Can record on one computer and retrieve on another.
Keystrokes stored in internal flash memory, no batteries required.

No software install required to record or retrieve keystrokes.
KeyGhost USB Keylogger contains built-in access menu that works in any
text editor on PC or Mac.

http://www.keyghost.com/USB-Keylogger.htm

KeyGhost is again leading the development of computer monitoring
hardware. This is the worlds first and only USB hardware keylogger!

Please email me with any questions or comments.

Anyone interested in reviewing or testing the latest KeyGhost hardware
keylogger devices, please send me an email with 'KeyGhost' in the
subject line.

http://www.keyghost.com

Cheers,
Theo

"Theo" <theo@keyghost.com> wrote in message
news:1128075545.483084.292420@g49g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...

<snip>

> KeyGhost is again leading the development of computer monitoring
> hardware. This is the worlds first and only USB hardware keylogger!

Out of interest, was this the one first shown on BBC television in '03, or
something different?

Is it the storage version, the Wi-Fi enabled device, or the one relying on
an installed driver to copy stuff to a network share?

Oh. Silly me: you said "only".

--

Hairy One Kenobi

Disclaimer: the opinions expressed in this opinion do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of the highly-opinionated person expressing the opinion
in the first place. So there!

> Out of interest, was this the one first shown on BBC television in '03, or
> something different?
>
> Is it the storage version, the Wi-Fi enabled device, or the one relying on
> an installed driver to copy stuff to a network share?
>
> Oh. Silly me: you said "only".

Dear Hairy Dne Kenobi

The version shown on TV in 03 was a PS/2 version (different protocol).
This version that we have announced is the world's first and only USB
Hardware Keylogger. This version works on Mac and PCs with USB
keyboards attached.

We released it in beta at the beginning of this year. It has now passed
our extensive testing procedures and we have chosen to make it
available.

http://www.keyghost.com/

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Kind regards,
Theo

P.S. I hope my email was not construed as spam by readers of the
computer.security group. It contains information (warning) about our
new device that others may wish to acknowledge.

It is also important to note that the device can be installed inside
USB keyboards. This seems to be the most common oversight.

Take care.

Kind regards,
Theo

"Jim Watt" <jimwatt@aol.no_way> wrote in message
news:ulcvj154hccagjqj7b08g24g0k9af1ju8r@4ax.com...
> On 1 Oct 2005 19:36:15 -0700, "Theo" <theo@keyghost.com> wrote:
>
> >Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.
>
> What a stupid idea, its hardly a covert device.
>
> Having alerted us about what to look for, there is no need for
> future product anouncements to this newsgroup - or spam as
> some might say.

Actually, Jim, it's not that simple.

The BBC news report I saw used a USB device (Theo, take note) shoved around
the back of a machine. When dealing with somewhere like a trading floor,
with all machines shoved under the desk, you get pretty much limitless
access to what's being typed on a particular box.

Being USB, it's something that a cleaner can insert in full view of CCTV
without averting suspicion.

I suspect the new version is based on the relatively new MicroChip USB PIC
library. One of the early demos was a serial keyboard reader; shouldn't take
a genius to combine the two.

The trick is to either close the USB facility altogether (often impractical)
or simply kill the main ports in the BIOS. Any active USB can, of course, be
potentially also used for a diskey type of device.

H1K

"Jim Watt" <jimwatt@aol.no_way> wrote in message
news:34f5k15fb3pk81i3erbm2k1lhp78snu2s5@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 03 Oct 2005 18:12:02 GMT, "Hairy One Kenobi"
> <abuse@[127.0.0.1]> wrote:

<snip>

> >I suspect the new version is based on the relatively new MicroChip USB
PIC
> >library. One of the early demos was a serial keyboard reader; shouldn't
take
> >a genius to combine the two.

> The promotional pictures on their website (which, in fairness they
> say may not be totally representative) show a device daisy chained
> between a keyboard and the USB port. Its pretty obvious and I
> do spend time under peoples desks looking at the backs of
> machines. Although there are a good number of USB mice,
> USB keyboards are unusual at present.

Interesting - I didn't go as far as looking at the site.

For a "world-beater", it sounds pretty old-hat, compared with what was
happening a few years ago.. and precisely like a primitive sniffer using the
PIC libraries.

Bearing in mind the teeny amount of RAM available, was a comment made about
how to actually use this as an exploit (e.g. add code to handle comms, or a
pick 'em up EEPROM)?

Can't be too sophisticated, if it can't automatically pick-up a keyboard
from a USB hub...

H1K

Hairy One Kenobi wrote:
> The BBC news report I saw used a USB device (Theo, take note) shoved around
> the back of a machine.

If the reporter mentioned a USB device he or she was using his or her
poetic licence. Same re: comments about WiFi etc.

Kind regards,
Theo

"Theo" <theo@keyghost.com> wrote in message
news:1128850208.126864.251550@g43g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
> Hairy One Kenobi wrote:
> > The BBC news report I saw used a USB device (Theo, take note) shoved
around
> > the back of a machine.
>
> If the reporter mentioned a USB device he or she was using his or her
> poetic licence. Same re: comments about WiFi etc.

Erm.. more than license, I suspect - it was shown on camera, and basically
looked like any other dated Diskey (i.e. on the large side)

H1K

> Hairy One Kenobi wrote:
> > Erm.. more than license, I suspect - it was shown on camera, and basically
>> looked like any other dated Diskey (i.e. on the large side)

Anything shown on camera would have been a flash drive or some kind of
adaptor (USB to PS/2?).

Here is a link to a recent BBC news report which includes a picture of
a hand plugging a printer cable into a Parallel port with the caption
'Hardware keyloggers plug straight into a computer'.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4358287.stm

Kind regards,
Theo

"Theo" <theo@keyghost.com> wrote in message
news:1128903389.685878.9650@o13g2000cwo.googlegrou ps.com...
> > Hairy One Kenobi wrote:
> > > Erm.. more than license, I suspect - it was shown on camera, and
basically
> >> looked like any other dated Diskey (i.e. on the large side)
>
> Anything shown on camera would have been a flash drive or some kind of
> adaptor (USB to PS/2?).
>
> Here is a link to a recent BBC news report which includes a picture of
> a hand plugging a printer cable into a Parallel port with the caption
> 'Hardware keyloggers plug straight into a computer'.
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4358287.stm

Stock photo shot (and, as you point out, inaccurate).

The *television* report showed a Diskey-type device.

If there was bamboozling going on (not exactly an outside chance in the
Computer industry ;o), then it was from the consultancy firm to the BBC. The
talking-head was very specific about a device that used USB at the PC end -
"under the desk, where someone would be unlikely to notice". (Can't promise
that the wording is 100% accurate, but the meaning is clear)

If you're thinking prior art, then don't worry too much - the US Patent
office is notoriously inefficient when it comes to searches. (Although, that
said, I can only think of an assortment of Industry news reports at
"OneClick" that support that sweeping assertation, rather than a specific
set of examples. Best treat that as "Grade C hearsay")

H1K

Hairy One Kenobi wrote:
> Stock photo shot (and, as you point out, inaccurate).
>
> The *television* report showed a Diskey-type device.

And it probably was a Diskey device. Without having seen any solid
evidence of these device(s) back in 2003 I will make the assumption
that the report that you mention was inaccurate and misleading.

> If there was bamboozling going on (not exactly an outside chance in the
> Computer industry ;o), then it was from the consultancy firm to the BBC. The
> talking-head was very specific about a device that used USB at the PC end -
> "under the desk, where someone would be unlikely to notice". (Can't promise
> that the wording is 100% accurate, but the meaning is clear)

I have seen many similar errors in technology reports. E.g. KeyGhost
has been referred to as a software keylogger in countless reputable
newspapers and magazines. :o)

> If you're thinking prior art, then don't worry too much - the US Patent
> office is notoriously inefficient when it comes to searches. (Although, that
> said, I can only think of an assortment of Industry news reports at
> "OneClick" that support that sweeping assertation, rather than a specific
> set of examples. Best treat that as "Grade C hearsay")

I agree,... we can treat the notion of a pre-existing USB hardware
keylogger as hearsay and move on.

Kind regards,
Theo