Welcome to my guide! I hope this helps, if it does. Please thank the thread. Just to keep track of people it helped

Table of contents:

1. Explaination
   
2. How can a PC get infected?
   
3. Prevention
   
4. Recognizing a key logger / R.A.T
   
5. Deleting
   

1.0 Explanation

This is a basic tutorial on how to keep your computer clean. As this is TTG I guess most people know already, but it might be of use. I'm sure something like this might have been posted before, but is only to be expected on a long standing forum.
what does a keylogger do?

Basically exactly what the name suggests. It will record all your keystrokes and put it in a log. Most people think it cant do much damage, but they are wrong.

What does a R.A.T do?

A remote administration tool (Will be referred to as R.A.T from here.) is a tool which makes someone else able to control your computer. A legal example of a R.A.T is Team viewer. Of course, Team viewer is safer since you can control access with the password provided. However, with most R.A.Ts you will have no idea you have them.

2.0 How can a PC get infected?

The answer to this is pretty simple, you download it. Usually you will get infected by downloading things from the wrong places.

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These wrong places include:

- Torrent sites
- YouTube
- Random sites on the internet
- Java drive by

From all these things, a Java drive by is probably a thing you dont know. If you load a java applet on the internet, you get asked if you trust the publisher and all the files that the applet will run. However, these java applets can download a file to your computer which might harm it.

3.0 Prevention

Preventing this is necessary. It can read anything you type, either it is Runescape details, bank account details or MSN addresses. So, how do you do it?
The best thing to do is get a virus scanner and a program designed against malware and spyware. I made a small list of programs you can use. All downloads are from the official site and you can check it.

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These are only a handful virus scanners that can protect your computer. There probably are more then 30 others. These are given as they are well known. However, this does not cover the Anti-Malware / Anti-Spyware. You can download these programs here:

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To ensure the best protection you will also need a Firewall. You can either use the windows standard or use one of these:

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4.0 Recognizing a key logger/R.A.T

There isnt much on this subject. The obvious things about a file make it suspicious; you should always double-check if you download from an unknown source. However, there are a few things that will reveal the key logger or R.A.Ts identity.

For one, most key loggers are small. Of course, there are key loggers that can be even 100GB big. Most of the time if you are downloading either a game or another file and you dont really trust it, just check it.

There are more things you can do to check your file. Most of the time, there are lazy people trying to get some quick loot for Runescape or other game. Most people do not check their key logger for mistakes and thats where we can profit from.

Might be a bad example picture, but I will replace it with a better one soon. This is from a well-known key logger which a lot of people use. Of course, there are many more of them.

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As you see, the file details and such are pretty much the standard things you expect from a file. However, why did they change the name? Of course, you cant see the original file in that picture.

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This was the file, but the original file name was changed a lot. A further look in the file revealed this code:



Even if you are not that good at understanding those computer terms, you most likely will know what it says. The Me.Send.Email and New infection part tells enough about the file, it is a key logger.

This file has been virus scanned using [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] and the results are:

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5.0 Deleting

Deleting a key logger or R.A.T can be tricky. The best thing to try first is to scan your computer using an Anti-Virus and anti-Malware program. These programs are listed at prevention but I will put them here as well.

Anti-Virus:

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Anti-Malware:

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If your virus scan or anti-malware cannot find anything, you will have to do it manually. This can be done by checking your downloads. Another good thing to do is to check your start-up files. You can use these programs to easily check what you have running each time your computer starts up. Just as a reminder, watch out with what you disable. Do not disable anything important, to check if your computer needs it, please Google it.

Some links to Start-Up managers:
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Alternative:

Either open MSConfig using CMD in the start bar, if you do not know how to do this you can make a simple batch file to open MSconfig.

(Make a new text file, put the text in, save as msconfig.bat and select all files.)



this is how above program will look like if you open it.

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If you still need more help, feel free to ask it on this thread or via a personal message, I would rather not do this using visitor messages. I hope this has helped you and feel free to reply and vote on the poll. Also feel free to ask any questions that are related.

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