I have a 13 yr old boy who chats alot. I know how to "check browsers"
and so far he hasn't been cruising any objectionable sites, but I'm
worrying about who he's chatting with and what's going on. I know
there's a lot of "net nanny" type software out there but I haven't
investigated it. I assume there are two kinds, one that is "stealth"
(kids might not even know you have it) and others much more obvious.
is this true? for either program how effectively can they monitor chat
and how would they do that? do they save conversations in a hidden
folder or what? what's considered "the best" for what I'm asking

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Request for Question Clarification by cynthia-ga on 06 Oct 2005 23:26 PDT

Charidea,

I would go for the keylogger method of surveillance. This one is
extremely powerful and can be hidden from the user, and even remotely
installed, although I assume you have access to his computer. I've
used it, it's simple and very powerful.

SC-KeyLog PRO
http://www.soft-central.net/keylogger/pro.php
..."SC-KeyLog PRO is a powerful digital surveillance monitor that logs
computer activity for later review. The PRO edition of SC-KeyLog
captures full window titles (including window titles of any parent
windows), all keystrokes, visited web pages, clipboard usage, system
logon passwords and more. Because of its user-friendly interface, the
hi-tech keylogger is very easy to use, even for beginners.

The captured information is displayed in a beautiful built-in logfile
viewer. The full colored logfile viewer provides a sophisticated view
of the captured information. In the PRO edition, it is also possible
to export captured activity to HTML files. Apply filters to view only
the captured information that you are interested in..."

I paid $50 bucks for the pro version and never regretted it. There's a
free version that is not be "invisible" to the user.


This program is incredible, if you like this idea and buy the program,
let me know and I post the suggestion in the Answer box.

~~Cynthia

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Clarification of Question by charidea-ga on 07 Oct 2005 06:32 PDT

SC-keylog pro looks pretty intense, perhaps good, but they don't make
if for apple computers. Didn't realize but maybe i should have
mentioned that, i forget how much software doesn't crossover to mac. i
guess i thought (given the buzz) there were easier more tried and true
programs out there. maybe there aren't...

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Request for Question Clarification by maniac-ga on 07 Oct 2005 14:00 PDT

Hello Charidea,

There are certainly keystroke loggers for the Macintosh (I assume you
need OS X, please clarify if you need OS 9). For example:
  http://www.spectorsoft.com/products/Spector_Macintosh/entry.asp?refer=5988
is a full featured product with a comparable price tag (about $100).
You can record either the keystrokes, the screen image, or both (with
variable rates...).
  http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Best/mac-key-loggers.html
is a pretty comprehensive list of Macintosh loggers (and detection /
removal products).

There are also some hardware devices that do the same - connect in
line on the USB interface. Not quite so "stealth" with an iMac, but if
its a deskside machine under the table, it might not be noticed.

Please advise if an answer describing these would be acceptable and if
not, the other constraints you have on the solution.

  --Maniac

There are different aproach for that problem. If you want to record
all that he types on the computer, you could go for a hardware
keylogger. There are several, here are some pages:
http://www.keyghost.com/
http://www.amecisco.com/hkkeyboard.htm
Since they are hardware, they can't be inactivated or disable by any program.
Another kind of solution is to install a proxy between his computer
and his internet connection, then you could record every site he
visits. Most solutions like this are expensive, but there a free one:
http://squidguard.mesd.k12.or.us/
There are several net nanny software, but most of them can be somehow
bypassed with the enoght computer skills (or just google it till
finding how to disable it). Having the filter at server/proxy level,
gives you an extra layer of security because doesn't matter what your
kid do with his computer, since the filter is not in his computer.

If you want to know who he's chatting with or what they're talking
about, why don't you ask him? People do not respond well to being
spied upon.

SC-keylog pro looks pretty intense, perhaps good, but they don't make
if for apple computers. Didn't realize but maybe i should have
mentioned that, i forget how much software doesn't crossover to mac. i
guess i thought (given the buzz) there were easier more tried and true
programs out there. maybe there aren't...

note to tsilverman-ga:
thanks for the thoughts on parenting and the human condition, but....
this isn't a blog! I'm sure there are other places to post your ideas.