🔐 Amanda - Windows Keylogger

📖 What is Amanda?

Amanda is a simple keylogger application written in C++ that demonstrates low-level keyboard input capture on Windows systems. This project was created as an educational exercise to showcase C++ programming capabilities and Windows API usage.

⚙️ What does it do?

Amanda monitors and logs all keyboard input on a Windows machine. Every keystroke is captured and saved to a text file (log.txt) in the same directory where the program runs. The application runs silently in the background with a hidden console window.

🔄 How it works

1. Starts silently - The program hides its console window when launched
2. Monitors keyboard - Continuously checks for key presses using Windows API
3. Logs keystrokes - Records every key press to log.txt including:
   • Regular characters (letters, numbers, symbols)
   • Special keys (ENTER, BACKSPACE, TAB, ESC, etc.)
   • Arrow keys (←, ↑, ↓, →)
   • Modifier keys (SHIFT, CONTROL, ALT, CAPS LOCK)
4. Runs indefinitely - Continues logging until manually terminated

📋 Requirements

• 💻 Windows operating system (7, 8, 10, or 11)
• 🔧 C++ compiler with Windows API support (MinGW or MSVC)

🛠️ How to compile

Option 1: Using MinGW (g++)

g++ main.cpp -o amanda.exe

Option 2: Using Microsoft Visual C++ (MSVC)

cl main.cpp /Fe:amanda.exe

Option 3: Using Visual Studio

1. Open Visual Studio
2. Create a new C++ Console Application project
3. Add main.cpp to the project
4. Build the solution (F7)

🚀 How to run

Simply execute the compiled program:

amanda.exe

The program will start logging keystrokes to log.txt in the current directory.

🛑 How to stop

✅ Option 1: Graceful Exit (Recommended)

Press Ctrl + Alt + Q to stop the program gracefully.

🔧 Option 2: Task Manager

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager
2. Find amanda.exe in the Processes tab
3. Click "End Task"

📄 Output

All captured keystrokes are saved in log.txt in the same directory as the executable.

The log file includes:

• ⏰ Session start/end timestamps
• ⌨️ All captured keystrokes
• 🔑 Special key indicators (ENTER, BACKSPACE, etc.)

Example log output:

=== Session started: 2025-10-21 14:30:15 ===
Hello World[ENTER]
This is a test[BACKSPACE][BACKSPACE][BACKSPACE][BACKSPACE]demo[ENTER]
=== Session ended: 2025-10-21 14:32:45 ===

🎓 Educational Purpose

This project is intended for educational purposes only to demonstrate:

• 🖥️ Windows API programming in C++
• ⌨️ Low-level keyboard input handling
• 📁 File I/O operations in C++
• 🔧 System-level programming concepts

⚠️ IMPORTANT: This software should only be used on your own computer or with explicit permission. Unauthorized use of keyloggers may violate privacy laws and ethical guidelines.

🪟 Platform

Windows only - This application uses Windows-specific APIs and will not work on Linux or macOS.