14 DAY TRIAL // Loggers are generally nasty pieces of malware with specific instructions to track and record computer activity. They can capture keystrokes, screen snapshots, webcam stream, sound or clipboard content.
SpyShelter Premium has been specifically designed to stop loggers from capturing details and seeping them to a remote location.
The application is available for $38.8/30 EUR and you can test it free of charge for a period of 14 days; keep in mind that the price is for a lifetime license, which means that you no longer have to pay for subsequent updates.
Installing the application is almost the standard routine available for most software, but there is one screen that deserves a bit more attention. It offers you the choice between high protection level and medium one, which produces a smaller amount of security alerts.
Also available is the option to install the keystroke encryption driver. The importance of this consists in the fact that all typing is scrambled so that even if a keylogger intercepts communication, it will be left with encoded information.
Furthermore, according to documentation, the feature restricts all applications from receiving the encrypted keystrokes, except for the one currently in focus. Also, the scrambling starts before logging into the Windows account.
SpyShelter Premium does not have a spectacular interface but a rather plain one that offers easy access to all the functions and features available.
It incorporates multiple protection modules, each safeguarding against interception through a specific method. There are nine of them, all listed in the first tab of the main application window; they can be turned off/on selectively.
Apart from the regular logging activity mentioned above, SpyShelter can protect sensitive system areas, guard from advanced kernel mode keyloggers, which are highly complex and can be invisible to user-mode applications since they are deeply rooted into the system. Also, SpyShelter Premium can keep at bay SSL/HTP/HTTPS/POP/SMTP/FTP loggers.
Because we opted for higher security mode, the application issued an alert for any suspicious activity, even if carried out by legitimate, signed processes.
The dialog allows control over the amount of future notifications by creating rules either for the specific action detected or for all types of supported actions performed by that particular process.
The notification window also features an Installer Mode, which is useful in case of new software installations or updates when child processes need to be executed. This is to be used on trusted applications only and is designed to decrease the number of false alerts.
The list of rules provides details about the component that initiated the action, the module that took the stand and the type of the action attempted. There is the possibility to change a rule (from “denied” to “allowed” and vice-versa), remove it or add file and folder exclusions.
SpyShelter is quite flexible and allows you to create a list of programs that should run with lower privileges (Restricted Apps). The purpose of this feature is to restrict access to system registry and files, prevent it from installing hooks or running administrative tasks (stopping, registering, running services and drivers).
If keystroke encryption has been enabled during the installation procedure, there is the possibility to enable or disable the feature for all processes or just a list of your own.
Advanced users have the chance to improve the anti-keylogger protection and select the system functions that can read the encrypted information.
Configuring the application should not be too difficult for the average user. These allow you to define the default behavior of the program with processes that have already been certified (either through signing or based on SpyShelter’s internal rules) to be harmless.
Without making these regulations, the alerts are quite disturbing. On the other hand, we noticed that even with auto-allow options set to medium security level extracting with WinRAR would still be flagged.
Additional settings include password protecting the application, launching a virtual keyboard at Windows log on (32-bit systems only) or preventing the termination of SpyShelter from Task Manager.
Moreover, the application can be set to start with the operating system, to block the load of DLL files from removable drives and terminate all instances of a specific process instead of only the child processes.
To determine the safety of a file, the developer included a component that can automatically verify a file on VirusTotal. The option is present in the context menu along with the possibility to add a file to the restricted/exclusion list or run an executable in restricted mode.
Although SpyShelter Premium seems more suitable for advanced users, the default configuration makes it fit for the average ones and even beginners.
During our tests, we failed to encounter a keylogger (legitimate or not) that could bypass its protection and leak information. The malicious activity would be reported instantly and no action would continue unless we approved it.
On top of this, thanks to HIPS (Host Intrusion Prevention System) technology, sensitive areas are also protected by malicious activity.
As is the case with many such applications, SpyShelter Premium does not rely on signatures to keep loggers at bay.
It is flexible in terms of customization of the protection and process rules. Keystroke encryption feature makes sure that only the target application can read key input.
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