A malicious program that records a user’s keystrokes is an example of a Trojan horse. A Trojan horse is a type of malware that masquerades as a legitimate file or application, but secretly performs malicious actions in the background. A Trojan horse can be used to install other malware, such as keyloggers, on the victim’s device. A keylogger is a specific type of Trojan horse that captures and sends the user’skeystrokes to a remote attacker, who can use them to steal sensitive information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, or personal data.
The other options are not correct because:
Adware is a type of malware that displays unwanted advertisements on the user’s device, often redirecting them to malicious websites or installing more malware. Adware does not necessarily record the user’s keystrokes, although some adware may have keylogging capabilities.
An anti-virus program is a software that protects the user’s device from malware, such as viruses, worms, ransomware, spyware, etc. An anti-virus program does not record the user’s keystrokes, but rather scans and removes any malicious programs that may do so.
A performance monitor is a software that measures and displays the performance of the user’s device, such as CPU usage, memory usage, disk space, network traffic, etc. A performance monitor does not record the user’s keystrokes, but rather provides useful information for troubleshooting or optimizing the device.
References:
CITM Study Guide, Chapter 7: IT Security Management, pp. 131-132
What Is a keylogger and how to detect keystroke logging - Norton
Keylogger: how to recover the infected pc? - Panda Security
