MONITORING SOFTWARE BLOG

• new: support of Windows 8 (except Windows RT on ARM based CPU)
  • records usage of Windows Store Apps
  • records visited websites in Internet Explorer store app
  • both the monitoring console and Agent support Windows 8 and run as a desktop app
  • monitoring console supports Windows Server 2012
• new: Auto cleanup of Central Logs Database. Select a number of days/months you want to keep in Options – Database tab. Older data and screenshots will be deleted automatically to save disk space.
• new: support of 64-bit edition of Outlook for email recording. Added support of Outlook 2013
• Fixes since version 7.0:
  • fix: errors with downloading of logs and screenshots. Some screenshots could be missing in central logs DB.
  • fix: Dates filter panel disappears in SoftActivity Reports sometimes when there is an invalid date found in the database
  • other numerous fixes and optimizations

AVG Antivirus may detect Activity Monitor Agent on the monitored computer and Activity Monitor installation on the manager’s PC as Win32:ActivityLogger-E [PUP] or Potentially Unwanted Program(PUP) threat. In fact, there is no virus in Activity Monitor software. It only does what is declared in its features described on the website.

To prevent AVG Antivirus from detecting this threat you will need to exclude Activity Monitor installation folder from scans following instructions  below.

Basically, you need to exclude on admin’s PC:

C:\Program Files\SoftActivity\Activity Monitor

on the monitored computers:

C:\Windows\sysnchrb

Read More

• new: Auto-cleanup of the database and screenshots. Allows to select how many days or months of data you want to keep. Older data will be removed automatically to save hard drive space and improve database performance
• new: support of Windows Server 2012
• fix: Dates filter panel disappeared in SoftActivity Reports sometimes when there is an invalid date found in the database
• fix: file opearations recording is now off by default to improve performance
• fix: minor improvements and fixes

Just as desktop PCs, laptops have also to be monitored in order to eliminate risks of their misuse and Internet abuse at workplace. Nowadays, every office employee has his/her own laptop. Are you concerned how your employees are surfing the Internet through their laptops when you are not around? This is a common issue for all conscious employers and managers who can’t control every moment when their employees are online. Moreover, today many school and college administrators claim that students tend to play games, chat, check new notifications on their Facebook accounts and do various other non-study related activities during classes or lectures.Read More

Unlimited and unrestricted Internet access at home, school and work has many pros and some cons. As you will probably agree, we are getting more and more addicted to using the Internet for almost everything we do. Today we are getting any necessary information, communicate with other people irrespective of their geographical location, buy various products, order services, etc. just with a few mouse clicks. However, you should also know that the World Wide Web has made life easier for various cheaters looking for victims online.Read More

Most antivirus products do not detect any threats or issues in SoftActivity employee monitoring software. In fact, there is no viruses, spyware or malware in SoftActivity Monitor software, as long as the downloaded file is digitally signed by Deep Software Inc. All SoftActivity executable and .DLL files are digitally signed.

We recommend to check the file’s signature by opening the file’s Properties – Digital Signatures tab to ensure the file you are installing is an original and has not been tampered with.

• new: View screenshots in sync with reports in Central Logs Database [screenshot]:
  • select a program and view all screenshots for this program in Top Programs report  [screenshot]
  • select a website and view a history of screenshots taken during visits of this website in Top Websites report [screenshot]
  • view screenshots at the bottom of the screen as you navigate through history of used programs, emails, chats, etc.
  • double click a screenshot thumbnail in the bottom panel to view it full size
  • zoom in/out screenshots, view as slide show [screenshot]
  • recommended setting now is to take screenshots from active window only instead of full desktop. It is now default
• new: View History button added in every tab in the Monitoring window that opens Central Log Database for this computer and user
• new: screenshots from remote computers are now downloaded together with logs. Get Agent Screenshots command removed. Click Get Agent Log instead
• new: Options – Location tab: removed folders for screenshots and exports. Screenshots are now stored in the Central Log Database folder under SCR subfolder
• new: Improved compatibility with antivirus products. Now it’s easy to exclude Agent folder from scans in your antivirus to avoid any positive detection
  with future updates of your antivirus product
• Fixes since version 6.5:
  • fix: database conversion error on some computers: “error in statement near s”
  • fix: Activity Monitor crashed on some computers when monitored PC’s IP address changes
  • fix: Adobe Reader hanged on some computers with Agent installed resulting in user unable to open PDF files
  • fix: compatibility issue with Microsoft Security Essentials antivirus caused extremely slow file downloads and copying
  • fix: rare crashes when displaying some HTML email messages
  • fix: on some monitored computers Administrator users could find recorded screenshots by searching for jpg files in Windows
  • improved: support of more than 65K rows for export to Excel 2007 or newer
  • fix: error message on computers with MS Outlook 2010 64-bit about no default email client