Every time you are using a computer in an Internet Cafe you should be aware of the possibility that your actions be recorded by a keylogger.

If an Internet Cafe is not well maintained, anyone can install keylogger, trojans or other such applications on those computers. They are sometimes detected only weeks or months later or worse – not at all – and could record your personal data, passwords, account credentials, etc via the internet to the ones who will surely exploit them to their advantage.

What can you do to avoid this? Here are some tips:

1. Check for Hardware KeyloggersThis should be the first thing to do.
   
   It’s easy to take a look for Hardware Keylogger devices. If you don’t know how a hardware keylogger looks like you should read a previous post: What is a Hardware Keylogger.
2. Use Anti-Keylogger or KeyScrambler Programs on your USB driveThis is a good idea.You can install a anti-keylogger (e.g. Free Anti Keylogger Program) on your USB, which would make sure that the PC you currently use isn’t infected with any known Keylogger. Of course, you have to update your anti-keylogger regularly, as Keylogger industry evolves fastly.A KeyScrambler basically encrypts the letters you type with the keyboard. A free version for personal use can be found here.
3. Use an USB Stick to secure your Personal Data

   Bring at least an USB Thumbdrive or Flashdisk with some pre-installed essential programs. This way you can make sure, that the public PC you are using is virus-free and make use of your own set of useful applications. You can run Firefox on it, or run smaller Firefox Portable Edition or Opera USB from it, with all your bookmarks or favorites right at hand. Here is a list of programs especially designed for running from an USB stick. 

4. Subscribe for OTP – One Time Passwords for Online Banking

   An OTP (One Time Password) device is basically a quartz which shows a different login password (number) every few minutes. Ask your Bank if they provide OTP Tokens to login to your account!This means that even your password is intercepted it won’t be possible to be used to access your account. Every generated password is valid only for one login. So, if you need to perform bank transaction from public terminals OTP is a must.

5. Bring your own computer/laptop

   It may sound strange, but you should consider it as a option. It is much safer to connect to the internet using your own computer than using a public terminal

As a general rule, it is not advisable to perform any operations on your private data (logins, bank transactions, etc) from public terminals. If you have to, at least make sure you protect yourself.

I hope these tips will help you.

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