Wireless keyboards are becoming a popular peripheral, especially around the workplace these days. They allow you much more freedom when it comes to where you place your keyboard. Another great use for a wireless keyboard is with any type of computer screen or projector you will be sitting far away from. For example, a wired keyboard can be pretty annoying when giving a presentation at work. With all the talk about wireless network security, rarely is wireless device security talked about. In this article, we take a look at the security of wireless keyboards.

Wireless Keyboard Security

So, the question is whether or not wireless keyboards are secure. This is a tough question. Generally speaking, you are pretty safe to use a wireless keyboard. The range on wireless keyboards is pretty short at around 30 feet. Since the range on wireless keyboards is so short, security attacks on these devices is very rare and any attacks are usually pretty targeted. For example, if you work for a big company and have access to very important information, you may be a target. If you are sitting at home playing call of duty, you are pretty safe.

However, with all of that being said, there have been some recent articles by security experts talking about how the data from many wireless keyboards can be easily intercepted and read. One such example is that of an open source “sniffer” that can essentially allow someone in range of your wireless keyboard to decode the transmissions and thus know exactly what you are typing, just as if you had a keylogger installed. Just in case you don’t know, a keylogger is a type of surveillance technology used to monitor and record each keystroke on a computer. If you are working with sensitive data, you may want to take a few extra precautions.

Another thing to note is that we have not seen or heard of any hackers being able to hack into your PC via a wireless keyboard. Any breach will come in the form of keylogging. So, if you aren’t typing in any passwords, SSNs, or other sensitive info, then there will be nothing for a hacker to steal from logging your key strokes.

Wireless Keyboard Precautions

The first thing you can take advantage of is the limited range of the wireless keyboard. Generally speaking, it will be really tough for someone to monitor your activity when at home, unless you live in a super crowded apartment or a dorm. However, you may want to consider ditching the wireless keyboard if you are at the airport, a coffee shop, or another crowded public place if you plan on working on sensitive material.

The next thing you could do is to buy a wireless keyboard with encryption. There are quite a few on the market today. For example, I know many of the Logitech and Razer wireless keyboards come with 128-bit AES encryption. Encryption along with the short range will make you quite secure.

Wrapping Up

Overall, in this age of viruses and spyware, wireless keyboards are pretty safe generally speaking. There are much easier ways for a hacker to go after your information. However, I would definitely recommend taking a few precautions such as buying a wireless keyboard with encryption and being careful where you use your wireless keyboard if you are working with sensitive information.