Hackers say they can steal your keystrokes by hacking the electrical outlet.

[froggyboy604]

When you type on a standard computer keyboard, electrical signals run through the cable to the PC. Those cables aren't shielded, so the signal leaks via the ground wire in the cable and into the ground wire on the computer's power supply.

The attacker connects a probe to a nearby power socket (perhaps in the vacant office next door or a hotel room across the hall), detects the ground leakage, and converts the signal back into alphanumeric characters. So far, the attack has proven successful using outlets up to about 15 meters away.

If you've got a wireless keyboard or are working on a laptop unplugged from the wall, which would make this attack useless, fret not: The hackers have a method for eavesdropping on you too. A simple laser beam -- better than a laser pointer, but not by much -- can be pointed a shiny object on the table where the computer sits, and the beam's reflection is captured by a receiving system. The vibration of that reflection caused by the striking of keys can be analyzed and, as with the electrical outlet system described above, reconstructed into words, since every key produces a unique vibration pattern. All this technique requires is a direct line of sight to the PC and a few hundred dollars worth of equipment.

Yahoo

[SetoTK]

so theres going to be a big thing about "cable shielding" urgh time to batton down the hatches and hide from the paranoid idiots who are worried about there porn site passwords being discovered... i mean there work passwords

[froggyboy604]

I wonder if people make Trojan electrical devices which function like a regular electrical device like a "lamp, toaster, night light,etc", but steals your keystrokes without your knowledge since if you just plug in some box into the wall that does nothing people will get suspicous.

A simpler way for hackers to steal passwords is just to install a pinhole camera close to your keyboard like the ATM scams that people fall for, so often.

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This is one of the reasons I try to avoid ATM in public places.

[Skeithex]

avoid putting any personal info at any public areas if possible, your asking for trouble if you don't.