kdt ("keystrokes dynamics tool") is a command-line keystroke dynamics data collection tool. It is written in GNU C. Its implementation takes advantage of input events stored in Linux device files (files in /dev/input/), likewise the tool is compatible with Linux only. You must specify the appropriate device file for your keyboard when running the program.
- Because of this, the tool cannot be run using Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). WSL distributions do not include a
/dev/inputdirectory. This can maybe be resolved by using usbipd-win, but we have not personally tested it. If you are on Windows, consider using Qemu or VirtualBox; this program has been tested using native Linux installations and non-WSL Linux virtual machines.
/dev/input.
Entering kdt in the terminal with no parameters or with the help parameter via kdt -h or kdt --help shows how to use the program:
Usage: kdt [OPTIONS]... [FILE]
Collect keystroke dynamics from a user.This program requires superuser
permissions, because it reads events from device files in /dev/input/
Required arguments:
-u, --user [TEXT] the identifier for the person taking the typing examination.
-e, --email [TEXT] the username and domain at which the person identified by the -u or --user arguments
may be reached, after the typing examination.
-m, --major [TEXT] the educational major or professional occupation of the person taking the typing examination.
-d, --duration [INTEGER] the amount of seconds for which the data collection will occur.
-n, --number [INTEGER] the amount of typing exams the individual will take in the session.
-o, --output [FILE] the name of the file to which typing data will be written in CSV format.
EITHER -f, --free-text [NONE] use free-text data collection, instead of fixed-text.
OR -x, --fixed-text [TEXT] use fixed-text data collection, instead of free-text.
-v, --device-file [FILE] the device file that corresponds to your machine's keyboard.
You can browse these files in /dev/input
Examples:
Using short style:
sudo kdt -u dave -e [email protected] -m "computer science" -d 60 -n 10 -o dave.bin -f -v /dev/input/event10
Using long style:
sudo kdt --user dave --email [email protected] --major "computer science" --duration 60 --number 10 --output dave.csv \
--free-text --device-file /dev/input/event10
Runtime Terror/BCDE Group 2024-2025
The output of this program is a binary file containing keystroke dynamics data based on what the user typed. You can deserialize this data using the deserializer program or the tools in our ak24 tool.
This is a collection of Python scripts that convert the binary files created by our kdt program into something better suited for analysis.