Computer Security (CMSC 426): Keylogger, Email Exfiltration Homework

This document presents a student's solution to a computer security homework assignment (CMSC 426) focused on keylogger modification. The assignment required explaining a provided keylogger code, modifying it to send key logs as plain text emails, and providing screenshots of the keylogger running, the log file created, and the email sent and received. The solution includes an explanation of the keylogger code, details of the modifications made to enable email exfiltration using Python, and screenshots demonstrating the functionality. The student used the pynput module for keylogging and implemented email sending capabilities. The document also includes a bibliography of referenced materials.

Running head: COMPUTER SECURITY
Computer Security
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

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Table of Contents
Explanation of the keylogger code.............................................................................................2
Modification of the code............................................................................................................3
Screenshot..................................................................................................................................3
a. Running the keylogger & File log created......................................................................3
b. Email Sent and received..................................................................................................4
Bibliography...............................................................................................................................6

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Explanation of the keylogger code
For listening the mouse event pynput module is needed to be installed and for the
installation pip install pynput command is used in cmd. The installation is checked by using
the command import pynput in the python IDE. For the development of keylogger the key
and listener is imported from the logging module and pynput.keyboard. In the next step a
variable is set that is used for pointing the logs where they are saved. This is leaved as empty
for saving the log at the same directory of the python script. The next command is used for
setting the logging module and then the keypress is defined for taking the key as a parameter.
The type of the key is casted into a string for storing in the log. An instance is setup in the
next step and the on_press method is defined using a statement and it is joined with the main
thread.

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Modification of the code
Screenshot
a. Running the keylogger & File log created

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b. Email Sent and received

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Bibliography
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Gold, S. (2016). Python: Python Programming Learn Python Programming In A Day-A
Comprehensive Introduction To The Basics Of Python & Computer Programming.
Guttag, J. (2016). Introduction to Computation and Programming Using Python: With
Application to Understanding Data. MIT Press.
Hao, J., & Ho, T. K. (2019). Machine Learning Made Easy: A Review of Scikit-learn
Package in Python Programming Language. Journal of Educational and Behavioral
Statistics, 1076998619832248.
Helmus, J. J., & Collis, S. M. (2016). The Python ARM Radar Toolkit (Py-ART), a library
for working with weather radar data in the Python programming language. Journal of
Open Research Software, 4.
Perkel, J. M. (2015). Programming: pick up Python. Nature News, 518(7537), 125.
Rivers, K., & Koedinger, K. R. (2017). Data-driven hint generation in vast solution spaces: a
self-improving python programming tutor. International Journal of Artificial
Intelligence in Education, 27(1), 37-64.
Salvatier, J., Wiecki, T. V., & Fonnesbeck, C. (2016). Probabilistic programming in Python
using PyMC3. PeerJ Computer Science, 2, e55.