In the News

Comparison shopping has become much easier since the advent of the Internet, but finding the lowest price on your technology products may not be the safest choice, especially if this means relying on unfamiliar brands.  Swati Khandelwal reports in Built-in Keylogger Found in MantisTek GK2 Keyboards—Sends Data to China that the popular 104-key MantisTek GK2 Keyboard has been obtaining user information through a keylogger.

Our Take

E-mail attachments and malicious websites are one way to compromise data, but the odds that people realize they have been infected are much higher in these scenarios.  Hiding keyloggers, sniffers, and other malware in low cost computer peripherals like mechanical gaming keyboards,WiFi Access points, and storage devices is a good way to entice unsuspecting users into purchasing an infection that they are unlikely to detect for an extended period.

If something looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Recommendations

So how can you protect yourself from the growing presence of built-in malicious software in your technology?

• Be sure to look into the reputation of and latest news about unfamiliar technology brands
• Be suspicious of technology that is offered at a drastically lower price than its competitors
• Where possible, stick to well-known brands that have a reputation to protect–and the infrastructure to protect it
• Deactivate unused services on your hardware so that fewer unfamiliar software is running in the background