Shouldering in computing, also known as shoulder surfing, is a type of social engineering technique used to obtain confidential information such as passwords, PINs, and other sensitive data by directly observing the victim). The attacker can physically view the device screen and keypad to obtain personal information. Shoulder surfing can be done from a long distance with the aid of binoculars or other vision-enhancing devices. It is more likely to occur in crowded places because it is easier to observe the information without getting the victims attention). Shoulder surfing can lead to financial loss or identity theft).

Examples of shoulder surfing include looking over someones shoulder to steal information such as credit card data, sitting in a public place and paying a bill or making a purchase over a cellphone, and sitting in a coffee shop next to someone and paying a bill or typing in a password.

To protect oneself from shoulder surfing attacks, one can eliminate passwords by using passwordless authentication, which is the only way to ensure the prevention of password-based attacks. It is also important to be aware of ones surroundings and avoid entering sensitive information in public places where it can be easily observed.