Parental Monitoring Software

[Nothing Sound]

Any suggestions out there for some decent monitoring software?

I just bought a laptop for my 11 year old Daughter (Christmas Gift)
I'm looking for a decent program where her Instant Message activity can be monitored
and preferably accessed from another computer on the home network. I've been searching around, but
there's so much shit out there nowadays. I thought maybe someone here has some experience with such software.

[highway23]

wish I could help ya out...I'll look around...

but I love the Avatar...

no homo

[highway23]

http://www.softforyou.com/

http://www.softactivity.com/

http://www.softsecurity.com/

are just a couple...don't know if they have what you want, but I TOTALLY would want something like that if I were buying something for my child

especially seeing what my students are doing on the net

[Hoagie]

Any suggestions out there for some decent monitoring software?

I just bought a laptop for my 11 year old Daughter (Christmas Gift)
I'm looking for a decent program where her Instant Message activity can be monitored
and preferably accessed from another computer on the home network. I've been searching around, but
there's so much shit out there nowadays. I thought maybe someone here has some experience with such software.Cock blocker. :angel:

[Nothing Sound]

Cock blocker. :angel:

You should see some of her friends.

[tscho123]

why are you giving your 11 year old a lab top
isn't it a bit to early

[Nothing Sound]

why are you giving your 11 year old a lab top
isn't it a bit to early

That's what she wants and she's fucking spoiled.

and that would be t-o-o early.

[zagman76]

NetNanny - http://www.netnanny.com/
SpectorSoft - http://www.spectorsoft.com/

and (ugh... i can't believe i am typing this)... AOL actaully has some pretty good parental controls

[Nothing Sound]

NetNanny - http://www.netnanny.com/
SpectorSoft - http://www.spectorsoft.com/

and (ugh... i can't believe i am typing this)... AOL actaully has some pretty good parental controls


The AOL Parental Controls were fine until she found out about external browsers and such.
Also AIM can not be controlled through the AOL software. She figured all that out pretty quickly.

[zagman76]

The AOL Parental Controls were fine until she found out about external browsers and such.
Also AIM can not be controlled through the AOL software. She figured all that out pretty quickly.


netnanny or spectorsoft would be the way that i would go then... spectorsoft is installed so that it is completely invisible to the user - it doesn't get caught by anti-spyware, and it also does not show up as an installed service or installed software. There is a keystroke combination needed to launch the software and view the reports and configure it.

[counterpunch]

Download an AIM sniffer. You can monitor all her conversations from another computer as long as its on the same network.

Download (http://www.effetech.com/aim-sniffer/)

I haven't used it, so I'm not sure how well it works.

[blazin]

Cyberpatrol is a good one too, $32/year

www.cyberpatrol.com

[ShooterMcGavin]

http://www.wackbag.com/showthread.php?t=54763

:action-sm

[Buster H]

you could always set up trillian on her computer and set it to log all conversations.

If you set her up as a user without install privileges, she wont be able to install regular AIM.

[abudabit]

Should have gotten a desktop and placed it in the living room. Throw a logger or something on there with out her knowing about it.

Of course the draw back is there's some stuff you just don't want to know about. You don't want see www.mudparty.com in the logs.

[zagman76]

Should have gotten a desktop and placed it in the living room. Throw a logger or something on there with out her knowing about it.

netnanny or spectorsoft would be the way that i would go then... spectorsoft is installed so that it is completely invisible to the user - it doesn't get caught by anti-spyware, and it also does not show up as an installed service or installed software. There is a keystroke combination needed to launch the software and view the reports and configure it.

...just sayin'...

[Nothing Sound]

http://www.wackbag.com/showthread.php?t=54763

:action-sm

If you're trying to say that her Internet activity shouldn't be monitored, you're insane.
I'm not looking to curb her use of the internet, I actually encourage it. Curse words and questionable
web sites are not my concern. I don't shelter her from that type of thing because it's the real world
and she needs to understand that's they way things are. Believe me, I have very salty language and
questionable morals and she's very used to that type of environment. The thing that I'm concerned about
are these fucking Pedos that hunt down vulnerable young kids. I certainly hope that she's bright enough
not to fall in to one of their lures, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to do the best I can
in staying one step ahead of them at all times.

[Nothing Sound]

Of course the draw back is there's some stuff you just don't want to know about. You don't want see www.mudparty.com in the logs.


What's wrong with mudparty.com?
It looks kinda lame.

[zagman76]

If you're trying to say that her Internet activity shouldn't be monitored, you're insane.
I'm not looking to curb her use of the internet, I actually encourage it. Curse words and questionable
web sites are not my concern. I don't shelter her from that type of thing because it's the real world
and she needs to understand that's they way things are. Believe me, I have very salty language and
questionable morals and she's very used to that type of environment. The thing that I'm concerned about
are these fucking Pedos that hunt down vulnerable young kids. I certainly hope that she's bright enough
not to fall in to one of their lures, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to do the best I can
in staying one step ahead of them at all times.


Good Point! And no offense - but I don't want to see the inside of your house on a Dateline episode! :icon_eek:

[Nothing Sound]

If you set her up as a user without install privileges, she wont be able to install regular AIM.

She already has AIM on her desktop.
I'm not concerned about IM's and Chatting so much, as long as it's with kids her own age.

After quite a bit of research and suggestions for every one here, I think I'm going with eBlaster 5.0. (http://www.spectorsoft.com/products/eBlaster_Windows/index.html)
I like the fact that you don't have to have access to the computer in order to get logs.
You can have them E-Mailed to you as often as you want. They capture everything.

[Nothing Sound]

Good Point! And no offense - but I don't want to see the inside of your house on a Dateline episode! :icon_eek:

I'm actually more concerned about me being caught in someone else's house on a Dateline episode.

[zagman76]

She already has AIM on her desktop.
I'm not concerned about IM's and Chatting so much, as long as it's with kids her own age.

After quite a bit of research and suggestions for every one here, I think I'm going with eBlaster 5.0. (http://www.spectorsoft.com/products/eBlaster_Windows/index.html)
I like the fact that you don't have to have access to the computer in order to get logs.
You can have them E-Mailed to you as often as you want. They capture everything.

If they have a trial version - I would install it on your PC, and run all the anti-spyware and anti-virus apps against it - this way, you don't end up wasting money on something that is easily defeated. Plus, if it passes the test, then your daughter won't get all savy on you, and do these things herself!

[zagman76]

I'm actually more concerned about me being caught in someone else's house on a Dateline episode.

Yeah - but wouldn't it be a little awkward if you show up and your daughter is the "bait"? :icon_eek: :icon_eek:

[JimsInfectedEye]

eBlaster looks a bit pricey. I think I've seen cheaper software out there that logs keystrokes as well.

[mendoman]

The most important thing as pointed out by abudabit is to make sure that the only internet access she has is out in the open and not in her room. Also set up her wireless connection so that it can only connect during specific hours.

Trust me, I have 18 and 14 year old daughters and every guy is exactly like you were growing up.

Lock and load.

[Nothing Sound]

eBlaster looks a bit pricey. I think I've seen cheaper software out there that logs keystrokes as well.

Logging keystrokes and actually capturing the AIM conversations and E-Mails
are two completely different things. If you've ever seen a cheap keystroke logger they
can be a pain in the ass to decipher sometimes. This program makes it nice and easy,
especially for her Mom because she's not too computer savvy.

Besides, Is $100 really all that much money when it gives you even a little peace of mind?

[Nothing Sound]

The most important thing as pointed out by abudabit is to make sure that the only internet access she has is out in the open and not in her room.

Her laptop will be in her room. I don't believe in not giving any privacy.
Again, I'm not all that concerned about questionable web sites and such.
Those are part of life and she'll come across them eventually no matter what I do.
It's the fucking Peds that annoy me. As long as I have some capability of monitoring her, it will be fine.

[JimsInfectedEye]

Logging keystrokes and actually capturing the AIM conversations and E-Mails
are two completely different things. If you've ever seen a cheap keystroke logger they
can be a pain in the ass to decipher sometimes. This program makes it nice and easy,
especially for her Mom because she's not too computer savvy.

Besides, Is $100 really all that much money when it gives you even a little peace of mind?

I catch your drift. I'm trying to remember the name of this other software I found that did everything eBlaster did but was like half the price.

Can't wait to read what my teen is saying about me, since I grounded her ass this weekend for lying to me.

[Nothing Sound]

If they have a trial version - I would install it on your PC, and run all the anti-spyware and anti-virus apps against it - this way, you don't end up wasting money on something that is easily defeated. Plus, if it passes the test, then your daughter won't get all savy on you, and do these things herself!

Good point, but I don't see a trial version available.
It claims to be completely invisible to users.
I'll have to look in to this.

[Nothing Sound]

I catch your drift. I'm trying to remember the name of this other software I found that did everything eBlaster did but was like half the price.

Can't wait to read what my teen is saying about me, since I grounded her ass this weekend for lying to me.

Well I'm not purchasing it quite yet so if you remember, either post it here or PM me.

There are a lot of programs that I saw out there for less money, but none
seemed to do all the things this one does.
One of them was called iambigbrother and it was only $29.99, but it received bad reviews from PC Mag
and from consumers as well. The Spectorsoft was rated #1 Read Reviews Here (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1619184,00.asp)

[mendoman]

Her laptop will be in her room. I don't believe in not giving any privacy.
Again, I'm not all that concerned about questionable web sites and such.
Those are part of life and she'll come across them eventually no matter what I do.
It's the fucking Peds that annoy me. As long as I have some capability of monitoring her, it will be fine.

I agree that it's not about stumbling on sites that may sound fun like http://*******.com/2kc4 , it's the scumbags in chat rooms and myspace. Privacy is very important (especially at this age), but the first time you have to pay a visit to a 23 year old pretending to be 15 you'll know where I'm coming from. With that said, you're doing the right thing.

Also, as to keyloggers, you could always read the user reviews off of Amazon, decide which one you want to try out and get it from a torent site before you decide to shell out $100+ on software that you may not like. As she gets older too, it may be important to find one of these programs that runs entirely in stealth mode, so there's not a need to worry about her disabling it.


EDIT NOTE: for some reason - URLs are being edited out. To make a joke I tried to enter www_._lemon_party_._org and also a tiny_url for the same site and it was censored. Not sure why.

[Nothing Sound]

Also, as to keyloggers, you could always read the user reviews off of Amazon, decide which one you want to try out and get it from a torent site before you decide to shell out $100+ on software that you may not like. As she gets older too, it may be important to find one of these programs that runs entirely in stealth mode, so there's not a need to worry about her disabling it.


The eBlaster program does run totally in stealth mode.
You need to press a combination of 3 numbers at the same time and then a fourth
number in order to access it. Unless she knows that combination, which is unlikely, she'll never know it's there.

Believe me, I've been doing a ton of research on the different monitoring prgrams out there.
I like the eBlaster best, so far. I have until Christmas, so I'm not in any rush.

Here's a sample (http://www.spectorsoft.com/products/eBlaster_Windows/Sample_Report.html) of what the report looks like. Can't ask for much more than that.

[Buster H]

The eBlaster program does run totally in stealth mode.
You need to press a combination of 3 numbers at the same time and then a fourth
number in order to access it. Unless she knows that combination, which is unlikely, she'll never know it's there.

Believe me, I've been doing a ton of research on the different monitoring prgrams out there.
I like the eBlaster best, so far. I have until Christmas, so I'm not in any rush.

Here's a sample (http://www.spectorsoft.com/products/eBlaster_Windows/Sample_Report.html) of what the report looks like. Can't ask for much more than that.

From that sample I found this:

janeHere's the planSarah,I'm going to tell my parents that I am staying at your house tonight. You tell yours that you are staying at my house. Then we can go to that college party with those two guys we met at the club last night. I don't think they have any idea that we are only 15! They said that there was going to be a keg at the party and that they were going to score some weed too! This is going to be awesome!Jane

.................... hot

[JoeyDVDZ]

Yeah - but wouldn't it be a little awkward if you show up and your daughter is the "bait"? :icon_eek: :icon_eek:

No, I think that would be classified as "hot". :icon_mrgr