[butterdezillion]

If the NSA is using keylogging, would they be doing it through malware? Making it difficult to prove who was actually doing it? Is our government engaging in computer hacking on normal (non-military, non-espionage-type) people?

[familyop]

"Is our government engaging in computer hacking on normal (non-military, non-espionage-type) people?"

I doubt it, except maybe due to a rare mistake here and there (and maybe some cases of big business/public corruption here and there). For governments, taking control of others' personal computers costs money and time, and it could be risky. But according to the news, yes, some offices have been recording communications sent through the Net.

But there are criminals who don't work for the government--those trying to steal money from others, for example. That's one good reason for personal security with computers and communications. Some of those criminals might even be local to one or both of us--a good reason for also encrypting communications (see VPN hosting services).