Ok, here's the deal.
For some reason, my dad decided to go all "OMFG! Y R U STAYING UP SO LATE???@?!?!!?!!!oneoEN!@!!!" last night, (even though it was only 10...) and he said I went to bed at 2. I asked him how he knew this, and he said "I just know." Later, I asked him the same thing, and he said "Your computer told me."

The way he was acting leads me to believe that he installed a keylogger on my computer. (It's mine. I paid for every penny of it, built it myself, ect. It's not a family computer.) I don't have anything to hide, really.. It's just that I thought he trusted me, and in turn, I trusted him.. Well not anymore.
Right now I'm at school posting this, by the way, it's the only place I knew he didn't have access to that I'd have access to in a short amount of time.
Last night, after he went to bed, I kinda freaked. I didn't panic or something, but I let my ego get ahold of me and wrote a short notepad file saying basicly "I know you're watching, and you won't be for long." Right after I did this, I saw the stupidity of it. I've lost the element of surprise.. In an effort to somewhat regain it, I "sabatouged" (s?) my computer this morning, (I unplucked various cables, made some seem like they were plugged in, but aren't, etc.) and left a note that said, "It was acting funny, so I'm leaving it off until I can watch the virusscan scan through when I get home." This way, if he looks at his log today while I'm at school, er.. Hopefully he won't be able to.

Also last night, I had an idea.. The best way to catch a thief, is with another thief. The best way to catch a keylogger, is with another keylogger. I set up a keylogger, I'll remember the last thing I typed, and then when I come home from school the next day, I check for any new keystrokes. I'd assume this would be the command or password to open the program. I'm hoping it's a command, because then I wouldn't have to find the actual program.. Anyway, once I'm in his keylogger, I print out some logs, and Boom. He's busted.
I tried installing a keylogger last night, (I did all the typing on a different computer, installed through the network.) but I was playing with it, and I think I need to register to view the logs.. And registering costs about 100 dollars.

Basicly, what I need are a few suggestions. Are there any:
Good, free, easily downloadable keyloggers. They don't need to be fancy, just record the keys, preferably with a timestamp. (I know I can GET things free, but I don't have alot of time.)
I need a few suggestions too. How should I approach my dad? Should I leave a nice little note on his computer, or approach him directly?

Oh yeah. Are there any programs you can use to check for common keyloggers? I've already checked my computer, and I'm positive it's not a hardware keylogger.

Thanks for your help, and I'm sad I can't trust my dad anymore...

Are you sure he didnt hear you tap tap tapping away at your keyboard at 2 in the morning?

hehehe ... this seems more like the screening of Spy Kids 4 errr 3 whatever
Anywayz, What O.S are u using? There's a .rar file that I uploaded to the File Downloads section, has a program called Process Viewer. It lists the name of the .exe file and the path from where its being executed. In this way u should be able to find any weird programs running in the background and u can kill them. If u can't end them using Task Manager then download another program called 'Task kill', also available in the File Downloads section. Just do a search and you'll be able to find 'em.
Hope this helps ....

Even if you cannot find a solution for your problem, I do hope you can learn to trust your dad again!

Luke, I AM YOUR FATHER.
What could you be doing up at 10 pm, OMG, you must be looking at porn!!!!!

No but all parents have a way of monitoring their kids, up to a certain age, they go through their kids bag, and while you're at school, they go through your room.
It's natural, although you paid for the computer, you aren't paying for the electricity, or the space where you store the computer.

That being put aside, now to help you, I would recommend on digger's Process Viewer, instead of adding another keylogger to your PC, it could just be that he hear's you tapping away, if not, he's taking an educated guess.
See if there are any running processes you're not too sure of.
Update us on your status.

-ddrj

ehm, ctrl+alt+del?
but XLog is a nice keylogger though it isn't really nice to your free memory...
it logs timestamps AND program caption. that way you can find a caption which looks like a keylogger orso (many keyloggers have a simple caption with the word Log or Key in it so you can search for that word then )
http://www.gmgdesign.com/products/XLog/index.php
note: norton pops up...
pretty funny story btw....
but not very nice

Run in the registry tells all... check it out and see if there are any files that shouldn't be running... 2 AM? thats late? sheesh parents these days don't understand the night is the best time

Hmm.. I dont even think he is using anything as sofisticated () as a key logger. He just needs to open up ur win explorer and look at either the last creation dates of files or when a file was last modified.

Hell, he can even just do an advanced search in windows explorer to look for files modified in the last 24hrs and get the info.

I am assuming of course that you are actually doing -something- on the comp and not just sitting there staring at the screen until 2am.

And trying to hide that isnt so easy.

And if it is your own computer, and you dont find any key loggers, how about setting, say, a bios password on it, to ensure it is protected when you are away from it?

If it is a case of him simply, as OneNight said, looking at file creation/modified date/times, then stopping him from even accessing windows should solve your mystery

edit: just a thought, if you are on the internet and you dont have your own phone line, all he has to do is pick up the reciever ...could be something as simple as that!

Once you get it off just put a screensaver with pass make a hard one like %%good*5pass&^ there you go a good pass well and he can break that unless your dad is l33t

Here is a very nice keylogger. It super hidden, it is invisible from everyone but you. In Windows 9x, it isn't even in the task list. http://www.spyarsenal.com/familykeylogger/

Ok, lets start from the top.
Dillinja- Nope. He was two doors, a staircase, and a floor away. He didn't hear me. (And I type super-stealthy.)
Digger- XP Pro. (Mandrake is sitting on 3 CD's ontop my chassis... so close...) I tried that, and looked at the processes running.. but they all looked normal, or I didn't know what they were. I looked at the directories they went to though, and they all checked out.
DDRJ- I'm almost 15, and he's trusted me for the past five years, ever since I figured out the password to connect back when we were on dial up. (Trusted as in stopped peeking over my shoulder, telling me when to go to bed, ect.) Boy that was funny...
MrBob- I didn't understand about half your post.. , but from what I did, alot of keyloggers don't seem to show up in the cntrl-alt-delete thing. (Or at least the better ones don't..)
dissolutions- I agree completely. My prime work hour is between 2 and 3 AM..
Dillinja- I'm going to set a windows password on my Administrator account, and then open up a "dad" account which pretty much all you can do is log on, and log off. (The network runs through my computer, so if mine isn't logged into SOMETHING, then you can't print. So if he needs to print, he needs to log into something on my computer.)
Isaiah- I don't trust screensavers.. But yeah, I was going to go along with that too, probably.
Jlhenry- I'll check that out.

I've had the worst luck with keyloggers by the way... the best one I found, you could sometimes access the log, and it told you it was running when you turned the computer on, and gave you the option of uninstalling.. Useless.

Thanks for your help guys.

I've tried Ghost keylogger. I must says its nice. I downloaded it from a P2P network using emule so I don't have a web-link to it. It has the capability to send the logs to an email that u specify. Its wicked

Just install a remote tool like winvnc and make sure the icon can not be seen in the systray, and enable weblogon or copy vncviewer to the computer at school

That way can you use the "view only" mode and see what is happening with your computer

Greetz VV

Format your computer, install a 256 bit encryption tool, and make a pass u will ALLWAYS remember, that wy nothing on the disc can be read, no one will get access to it, and your dad... Well he cant do anything...

It makes the computer a bad ass fort if u have it turned off and someone tries to get access to it. Like your dad... If he dont have the pass, no way he's getting in...

You realize that until your 18 your parents are liable for what you do in life? Instead of locking your parent out, which is almost an admission of guilt, why don't you discuss with them what you are doing that late at night, unless you have something to hide of course. Just my opinion but it would be better to take a low tech approach to this situation than what you are doing. Your dad can always just remove your pc from your possession. ( I don't care if you bought it, you know he has the legal right.) which would be his low tech approach. And from a technical side, your activities don't have to be monitored at your machine, they can be monitored at the egress point of your home network.

Hey,

This is the link of ghost key logger, go and find it..

http://www.grassheap.com/software.php?ID=1413

Manu

hmm... where can i get one of those encryption tools?

SgtRush- Shh. I'm trying to forget that one. I know he technically owns me and everything I "own." The thing is, I don't think he's as worried about what I'm doing, as much as when I go to bed. (More likely a combination of both.) He's really been on my case as to when I go to bed lately, even though he usually gets 2-3 hours less sleep than I do..

Dues DK- I think that's a bit durastic.. (s?) Sure, I COULD do that, but even so I'd need to give my dad an account because he needs my computer on and logged in to print.. But anyway, I'm going to place an account password, which would pretty much stop him.

I've searched through for things that have been edited in the past few days, and I recognize everything that's come up... So if he's using a keylogger, I think it's emailing him the files. Which sucks for me, but is also good for me.. I'm going to instal a keylogger here, where he checks his mail from home. Once I check my pretty little log, I can check his email for anything suspicious.

And he keeps hinting to things like "I followed a trail of breadcrumbs" or "You're computer told me".. It's really aggrivating.

Is your computer passworded. It might be easiest to just keep <em>him</em> out.

anything with a timestamp blows your whole "covert op" out of the water.

lol , sorry .... but why do you think it is a keylogger ? In the Syslogs ( i don't know the name in a english window os ) u can see all error messages , when windows were rebooted , shut down , etc . So i don't think that he installed a keylogger , he just look in the logfiles ....

fiddle your pc clock .......
then your pc would lie to him......
and he would get pissed

does he know your password ??

how much does he know about computers??

and IS YOUR COMPUTER ON THE FLOOR!!! *hummmmmmmmm* *vibrate*

or is your dad pearing through the door??

Digger- I use Opera, and I clear cookies/history/ect regurally.
Dissolutions- Shh. I realized this afterwards..
Chris- I don't have a password on this computer, because as I've said before he needs it to be on and logged in to print. He owns a computer networking company, and yes. My computer is on the floor. (And no, he isn't peering through the door. He was definitly asleep, and I'd hear him going down the stairs.

That sounds like a cop-out answer to me.. And I don't like sleep.

He owns it, but doesn't do much of the technical stuff for it.

Of course it could be a trojan of some kind.Does he have his own comp. l think SWATIT [trojan scanner] is worth a download [it's free anyway].
http://swatit.org/

A keylogg scanner called 'whoswatchingme' can be had here [90 day trial]-
http://www.trapware.com/ProductsDownload.html

Of course, verging on the paranoid, he could have a pinhole camera installed in a clock in your room lol.

*peers over shoulder*

*stands up to block the moniter from view*

*detonates an EMP bomb* That'll get that nasty cam...er..a... Oops.

Anyway, thanks for the help everyone. I can't find anything, so I was probably just being paranoid... Like usual. Oh yeah, and the Commies are coming!!

Ok I had an idea if you still come here, set a transparent screen lock to come on when your dad logs on (from the registry or just put them in the startup folder) he can then print and he cant fiddle with your pc. If that is what he is doing

i underestand you
1-first install FIREWALL maybe keylogger send the information to email or ..
and firewall catch it and it will tell you which program do it
2-second install ANTIVIRUS if you dad install comman KEYLOGGER you can find it

type something and press [enter] then shutdown your computer
tafter restarting your computer ssearch for that word in your computer
&& stupid work && maybe you find

install another KEY LOGGER TO understand what did your dad do when you are out
if he has phisical access to your computer its to good to find KEYLOGGER
you can find password for decode of KEYLOGGER and many other things
at the end KISS your father

this is a really funny thread, thanks guys.

in case the poster was actually serious... first off you are probably just being discovered because you are dialing up and tying up the phone line - and dad has a device to see the line is in use (radio shack for $5, or many phones have it built in to let you know the other line is in use), or he has a computer on the same connection (if you have dsl/cable) and he just sees the traffic. (either through blinky lights on the modem, or sniffing, or because he's doing something himself and the connection is slow)..

*if* your dad did install some kind of monitoring software, 99.99999% of the time it is some off-the-shelf software that is *KNOWN* of, so thus can be detected with spyware/adware/antivirus tools. Get TDS-3 or heck, even Spybot S&D...
http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=download
totally free ware. install it, update it, then scan.

really though kid, you should just work hard to get out of your parents house and be your own man. get a job. get a place to live. you can plug your computers in there and have fun all night if you want -- just take responsibility for your own life and you'll be amazed at the opportunities that open up.

just set up a lock password that will keep most ppl out.

Or do like me drop windows and install linux and loop-AES and use 256bit AES encryption on everything but your boot partition. 20+ character keyphrase 1000k keyhashes etc. It's impossible to break(100 years), even with all computers in the world combined.

löööööl nice story
just install a antivirus the most standart keyloggers will be detected


mfg fL4Shb4Ck

lol@!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

try a nice virii or keylogger to find out where he is looking for the login times.
it could be:
his own keylogger (like you said)
windows internal logs
his own virus (nah its just ur dad, dont be paranoid)

one thing you cant help is your dialup logs he gets via mail.
anywayz, if you're looking for a really good keylogger, you may want to look for actmon: http://www.actmon.com/
its one of the best out there, and runs very low on resources.

i wish you good luck

Godspeed,

FLX

Your father doesn't need a keylogger, if you open eventvwr it will tell you the last activity + it's time. most, if not all av programs will write to the log when started/stopped.

If you can't fool your dad, fool the system.. > change the time in the bios before you start up your os. say about 2 or 3 hours earlier. that will fool the eventlog and any keylogger with timestamps..

bonarez

Your father has prolly installed a rootkit and recompiled windows kernel. U should also look for hidden webcams under your bed. The best solution is to format c:, flash your bios and install some cannons all around your bedroom.

Disable the input on his user and add the program to his users startup. Problem solved.

Is your computer on a home network?

If so, he is probably just watching you traffic.. Sorry there isnt anything you can do about that.

If this guy is serious, if you have a router - your dad could easily be watching the traffic viewer on that.

Find out the password to the router and change it, or reset the router manually - some routers lose their configs that way and default back to the default password, which I'm sure you can find somewhere.

hmm i doubt hes using a keylogger. what he could be doing is logging into the router (with my router its as easy as clicking on the icon) and itll say which pcs are connected at the time. or if the router is in eyesight he can see the lights blinking. anyway putting a keylogger on top of a keylogger would be dumb... waste of time. most likely he can see the glow of your computer screen at your door. or the router thing or something like that most likely physical evidence and not the computer. also a good idea is setting a bios password which would stop him from getting in as soon as it boots (windows wont even start). and then if he takes off the bios password it would be too obvious.

This post was dead a year now. Why bring it back?