> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://syteca.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Keystroke Logging and Password Masking

> How Syteca protects logged keystrokes from casual viewing and database-level exposure, and how it automatically masks passwords before they're sent.

<Note>
  See also [Sensitive data masking](/docs/session-monitoring/masking/sensitive-data), which detects and masks clear-text data — including keystrokes and clipboard data — on Windows Clients based on custom regex patterns.
</Note>

## Keystroke logging

[Keystroke logging](/docs/session-monitoring/recording/keystroke-logging) helps detect malicious insiders and protect sensitive data on endpoints. Combine it with [keyword-triggered monitoring](/docs/session-monitoring/recording/keystroke-logging) to record activity only when a suspicious keyword is typed.

To support compliance with privacy laws and regulations like GDPR:

* Logged keystrokes are hidden by default in the Session Player and in reports — they're searchable, and [alerts](/docs/session-monitoring/alerts) can trigger on specific keywords typed, but the raw keystrokes themselves aren't displayed.
* Keystrokes are encrypted in the MS SQL Server or PostgreSQL database using the Syteca [master certificate](/docs/administration/security/master-certificate) generated at installation — anyone with direct database access can't read them.

<Note>
  To enable displaying keystrokes in the Session Player and in reports, contact the [Syteca Support team](https://www.syteca.com/en/support/contact-support).
</Note>

## Password masking

During monitoring, the Client detects passwords using a regular expression and masks any match with asterisks before it's sent to the Application Server — masked passwords are never transmitted or stored in clear text.

<Note>
  To change the default password-detection regular expression to match your organization's password policy, contact the [Syteca Support team](https://www.syteca.com/en/support/contact-support).
</Note>

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Keystroke logging parameter" icon="keyboard" href="/docs/session-monitoring/recording/keystroke-logging">
    Enable and configure keystroke logging.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Sensitive data masking" icon="eye-off" href="/docs/session-monitoring/masking/sensitive-data">
    Mask custom sensitive data patterns beyond passwords.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Master certificate" icon="key" href="/docs/administration/security/master-certificate">
    The certificate used to encrypt keystroke data.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Alerts" icon="bell" href="/docs/session-monitoring/alerts">
    Trigger notifications on specific keystroke patterns.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>