Downloading a keylogger on someone's computer as a joke?

[Captain M4d]

Some of my idiot friends downloaded a keylogger on my brother's computer a joke. So I have a few questions for your ethicists and techies.

1. Could this be considered a joke?

2. While my friends may have no malicious harm, is it possible that if a virus/spyware program were to be downloaded in addition, there would be a possibility that a hacker could gain access to the keylogger files?

I'm trying to prove a point, but they're making me feel like an idiot by thinking that it's wrong to install a keylogger as a joke.

 

[No Limit]

What kind of "friend" spies on his friends. And why did they have access to install the keylogger in the first place? It would depend on the keylogger they used but it is likely that other spyware could be attached to it. For starters run a scan using malwarebytes.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

Get new friends, less idiotic this time.

 

[Laivasse]

Whether or not it's 'wrong' to install it as a joke depends on your relationship with them, I guess. Some people have 'friends' who might hide a shit in their toilet cistern as a joke.

If it's not the type of relationship dynamic where you, say, clip eachother's heels, punch eachother in the solar plexus or bone eachother's girlfriends for a laugh, then they have probably overstepped their bounds. They could have got anything from that keylogger, including your brother's most personal info; banking passwords and all sorts.

Also as No Limit says, they could have inadvertently compromised the comp in other ways unrelated to the keylogger, if they are as clueless as they sound. Do you know what form the keylogger took? I tested one out of curiosity once, and I learned that there are indeed some 'legit' keylogger programs around which install, do their job, stay hidden from whom you want them hidden, and then uninstall painlessly on demand. There's also the chance it's some trojan-riddled piece of crap that they got from who knows where. Scanning the comp should go without saying.

But also, if these are 'friends', it should be no problem to go to them and demand a demonstration of everything they did, including the features of the keylogger they installed. This'll most likely tell you where the keylog files would end up, whether they might have been filched at any point, and whether they genuinely did uninstall it properly.

 

[Sir Phoenixx]

I don't see how installing a keylogger could be a joke. Sounds like they were actually going to try to use the keylogger but someone found out.

A joke would have been installing a fake BSOD program/screensaver, or a program that makes the disc drives eject at random times. Taking a screenshot of the desktop & icons, setting that as wallpaper and then disabling "show desktop icons". Download and install a program that changes the keyboard layout, change it to random keys (or change a bunch of keys to do nothing, so he thinks his keyboard is dying). You get the idea, stuff that could actually be construed as a joke, a keylogger would be invisible to the "joke" recipient.

 

[Asus]

I would definitely talk with anyone if they did that on my PC. Same as if they took my car without asking. Either would be breaking a trust barrier and I wouldn't take it as a joke.

Obviously the car example is a bigger deal but same idea. If anything happens its my stuff that gets broke and it's stuff normally they would ask to mess with (on that level anyway).

 

[swan_song1973]

thats kinda really douchey.

 

[kineaesth]

It's not really very cool. It's like 'haha, I snapped your SIM card in half'


'As a joke'

Yeah. Have strong words.

 

[CyberPitz]

I've seen so many keyloggers that include virus' and trojans just to help the keylogging process.

The friends are utter idiots, and need to burn in hell.

Do it to them, then sell their passwords to their bank accounts on the internet.

 

[MuToiD_MaN]

That's a huge invasion of one's privacy and terribly unethical. Get new friends if they think that that is a joke.

 

[xcellerate]

yea, it's really not funny. Messing with anybody's property is over the limit, at least for me it is.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

Why do I get the feeling that this "Pumrudny" is one of the pranksters? :O He probably keylogged you too. You better go all Kathatsung on everyone's ass.

 

[kupocake]

Getting information from a keylogger is the research for a good prank (or tbh, a really nasty malicious one), but definitely not the prank itself.

What were the expecting to find out anyway? The immediately obvious use of keylogging is plain theft. If you're going to expose someone's internet searches for Furry porn that's amusing enough, but really, you may as well just look through someone's browser history, because it's always far more amusing to catch a lazy wanker than an active one.

 

[Kadayi]

I'm trying to prove a point, but they're making me feel like an idiot by thinking that it's wrong to install a keylogger as a joke.

Re + tards

The solution for which is: -

1) Sledge Hammer

2) Shallow grave

3) Blunt head trauma

 

[Acepilotf14]

Ask them if they would like it if you installed a keylogger on their PC as a joke.

 

[Barney Fife]

Like most of the guys said: All practical jokes must have limitations, and no practical joke should overstep the boundary. And like Laivasse said "Boning your friend's GF is not a joke." Or Asus said "Taking your friend's car without permission is not cool."
Also, practical jokes should never linger on, because then they become revenge, and some day someone will be pissed and that will end friendships.

I'm going to tell you all something I did back in the day "As a joke," which cost me the best friend I had.
In collage, a friend and I played a rude joke on another friend of ours (A Good Man) While he sleeps, we broke and egg on his ass, and in the morning when he woke up and felt the sticky residue on his ass, he went mental on us, told on us, we got kicked out, we were lucky that he didn't kill us, because he did go up there.
Now that I'm pushing 40, I get reminded of how douchey I was. That joke also ended my relationship with the other participant friend.

Also, downloading key-logger and installing on a friend computer is not only a bad joke, it also reckless, because, remember, this is a Trojan, and there is reason why that name was given; it could be the real thing.

Take Care.

 

[Krynn72]

I'd be more upset over the fact that its a terrible joke in regards to humor. HAHAH I SAW WHAT YOU TYPED.

Oh. Ok, yeah you pranked me real hard i guess.

Even in spite of the ethical reasons, its still a terrible "joke" because it wouldnt even have produced anything funny.

 

[Bakurei]

If the keylogger could dig up and broadcast any personal details from your computer (passwords etc) I'd turn to the police. No matter even if the kids didn't have an idea what they really were doing. Hillbillys only learn the hard way. So take it to the police then go inform the kids, pranks on you now, bitch!