Need to do some keystroke logging/screen capture (1 Viewer)

[Tom Lowden]

We're worried about what another family member walked in on the other day. Can any of you recommend or share your experiences with any software for monitoring your home PC? It is a Windows XP Home computer, about 3 months old so it should handle most programs just fine. We need to find out what kinds of things are going on in IM sessions, chat, web-based e-mail, websites visited, images being sent and viewed, etc. We'd like to log the passwords if needed. We would prefer the ability to monitor from outside the home network (and I should be able to configure the cable modem/gateway settings if needed), but that is not totally necessary.

I am not the parent, but was asked for help from the parents on this. I'm an IT professional, so I'm not afraid of technical explanations, etc. but I've not yet had experience with this kind of thing. Any help is appreciated.

P.S. - the child we're checking on is not familiar with much other than MS Office, web, e-mail and IM. It's not likely they'd know enough to try to figure out if they're being monitored.

Thanks!

 

[Ted Lee]

tom, the only program i've heard of is net nanny -- but i don't know how well it works.

also, if you do a google on "web monitoring", etc ... you'll find lots of stuff.

this link may also help: http://www.safetysurf.com/

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

You can always snag a keylogger that goes between the keyboard and computer and capture keystrokes that way. And you can log all the traffic at the router.

Probably the cheapest solution.

-V

 

[Gui A]

http://www.spyarsenal.com/familykeylogger/

 

[Kevin T]

i'm with gui. i used family key logger after one of my room mates set up an email account in outlook express so that he was receiving my mail. i was able to retrieve his password and correct the problem. anyways, i forgot about the program being on my computer. several months later, after getting back from thanksgiving (during which time my grandmother died), i checked the log and notice where he had posted a listing for my stereo equipment (aragon soundstage / aragon palladium ii monos / aragon 8008x3b) on the htf of all places!! needless to say i was pissed and he was removed shortly thereafter. had it not been for family key logger, he might've sold my gear and made it look like a burglary. i still hate that little prick!

kevin t

 

[Mike LS]

Go to www.download.com and search for "keylogger". There will be a bunch of programs you can try on a limited basis to see if it will work for you.

I used one called "Ghost Keylogger" a while back and it worked great. It was set up to build a log file and email it to me at certain intervals so I never had to check the host computer for logs.

 

[Gordon Moore]

Not sure what was walked in on....but....
A couple of things to recommend in addition to the software (as the software is easy to find)....

a family pc should be in the open a common room with the monitor facing out. Kids (IMO) should not have a personal computer, or laptop for their room period. Screw this give them space and responsibility stuff, soethings are for the greater good. The parents are the ruling body, they'll be hated for it now but will be appreciated maybe 20-30 years later

Talking to their kids in a frank and open, honest discussion around the dinner table or turning off the electronics (Pc's, tv, movies, x-boxes etc...) and having a one on one will go alot further than keylogging.


MSN lets you log all chats (though they may be savvy enough to turn it off). If there is a real concern get a router and start blocking known sites....or load a kid friendly software like net nanny.

http://www.netnanny.com/

 

[Chris]

We have quite a few companies that use Spector - http://www.spector.com/ it completely captures logs, screenshots every 10 seconds that a user is using a PC which can be viewed from a remote computer. It also has net-nanny functions, but it's ability to capture what files are being viewed, as well as clicks, a log of websites visited, and online chat engines is very good.

 

[Tom Lowden]

Thanks for those links, guys. I have since found several programs to do it, but I was mainly curious about your experiences and whether you found it useful. The prices for the fairly robust programs range from $30-$100.

 

[Chris]

Omniquad Personal Desktop Survellience is also functional (http://www.omniquad.com/) but not as slick or well refined as Spector.. however, it can keep a much greater volume of files.

 

[Ted Lee]

this is a wonderful sentiment, but i think we're forgetting how sneaky and crafty teens can be.

speaking for myself and my circle of friends, we were "perfect" kids that all the parents liked. good grades, well mannered, etc. in reality, not much could have been farther from the truth.

i certainly agree that being open with your kids is a benefit, but i think sometimes more covert methods may be a necessity.

 

[Gordon Moore]

Not at all...but giving them enough rope to hang themselves won't necessarily solve whatever the problem is either, will it?

So, the parents build up lots of evidence, then what? Either way a sit down is coming. One way or another they will have to talk. Treat them with respect and they "might" respect you. Why not confront them now? If your parental gut is tingling chances are you're right. Bascially it's delaying the inevitable unless it's something criminal and they'd like to turn their kids in, then I understand why all the spying.

This is no different than finding that rolled up reefer in the dresser drawer I suspect.

Just my opinion...I don't have to deal with this yet (as my guys are kindergarten)and I figure I've probably done it all but that was 20 or so years ago (actually it was probably more like 5 years ago ) either way new things crop up for kids to get into trouble with.

I don't think talking to your kids will ever go "out of style".

YMMV

 

[Chris]

I should note, most of the time I see people use this software is for business purposes; several offices make sure that all of their workstations are monitored in such way to control intellectual property rights (ie, proof if someone is sending documents out of the company, etc. etc. etc.) or in some marriages (proof a spouse is cheating).. but in the case of kids, I have mixed feelings about it.

The biggest advantage to logging in those cases is the legal standing they provide a party, which is not the case between a parent and child.

I do log my childs machine, (he's 5) but not really for porn, primarily because it gives me a trail of what he's installing which makes using spyware removal tools a heck of a lot easier (damn freeonlinegames.com and trygames.com and msngames.com and so forth

 

[Francois Caron]

Like Gordon said, put the PC in a common room. That'll dramatically reduce most "incidents".