MONITORING SOFTWARE BLOG

SoftActivity released new version 5.3 of TS Monitor, its user monitoring solution for terminal servers. This is a maintenance release.

What’s new in SoftActivity TS Monitor 5.3:

• new: support of the latest versions of Chrome browser for Internet recording, which stopped working since Chrome v65;
• fix: export to Excel (CSV format) in correct encoding for non-English characters;
• other minor fixes and improvements

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SoftActivity is glad to announce the release of Activity Monitor 11.2, a leading user motioning software used by organizations to combat insider threats. It’s a maintenance release that brings a number of important fixes and improvements. Update is recommended to all customers.

Improvements in version 11.2:

• improved: support of the latest versions of Chrome browser for Internet recording, which stopped working since Chrome v65;
• improved: support of new Skype Windows Store App for chat recording;
• fix: screenshots missing in web console for some monitored computers. After applying this update, most screenshots should be downloaded and will appear in the web console. Refresh the web browser;
• fix: improved stability and performance of SalogSrv service (Activity Monitor Server, responsible for downloading logs and screenshots from Agents);
• fix: export to Excel (CSV format) in correct encoding for non-English characters;
• other fixes and improvements.

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SoftActivity is announcing the release of new version 5.2 of SoftActivity TS Monitor, user monitoring software for terminal servers.

Now it’s easier to monitor a farm of terminal server with support of new central configuration file. It also includes multiple improvements listed below.

What’s new in version 5.2:

• new: Central configuration for multiple servers in a farm. Export TS Monitor configuration and apply to other servers during installation in silent mode with no GUI or from command line to an existing installation.
  tsmcfg.exe new command line parameters: /importcfg="C:\path\file.cfg" /centralcfg=on|off
  Read Documentation
• new: web console: export Dashboard to HTML with company-wide computer usage statistics;
  
• new: support of the latest Firefox version 57 for recording of Internet history;
• new: full screen view of screenshots in web console. Previously screenshots were sometimes hard to see on computers with low resolution since an image was small. Click Full Screen button when viewing a screenshot.
• improved: keystrokes are now recorded in Windows Store-type of applications in Windows 10. Previously only desktop applications were recorded.
• improved: user sessions recording for Attendance report is now more reliable. Will record even a previous logon before Agent has been installed. Previously sometimes logons were not recorded. Also shows Remote Client name and IP for RDP sessions;
• improved: web console: long values that don’t fit into a column are now shown in tooltips;
• improved: substantially reduced CPU usage by Activity Monitor Server (SalogSrv service). Previously could use up to 100% CPU in some configurations with a lot of computers;
• fix: web console: list of users and computers on the left side is now correctly sorted;
• fix: web console: email message bodies were not shown on Email tab in IE browser
• fix: Attendance report: short sessions that are just few minutes long were not displayed;
• fix: ability to install a standalone webapp server component without admin console app;
• other minor improvements and fixes in web console and desktop console application;

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SoftActivity announces the release of Activity Monitor new version 11.1, a leading user motioning monitored software for companies and organizations.

New features and improvements in version 11.1:

• new: web console: export Dashboard to HTML with company-wide computer usage statistics;
  
• new: support of the latest Firefox version 57 for recording of Internet history;
• new: full screen view of screenshots in web console. Previously screenshots were sometimes hard to see on computers with low resolution since an image was small. Click Full Screen button when viewing a screenshot;
  
• improved: keystrokes are now recorded in Windows Store-type of applications in Windows 10. Previously only desktop applications were recorded.
• improved: user sessions recording for Attendance report is now more reliable. Will record even a previous logon before Agent has been installed. Previously sometimes logons were not recorded. Also shows Remote Client name and IP for RDP sessions;
• improved: web console: long values that don’t fit into a column are now shown in tooltips;
• improved: substantially reduced CPU usage by Activity Monitor Server (SalogSrv service). Previously could use up to 100% CPU in some configurations with a lot of computers;
• fix: web console: list of users and computers on the left side is now correctly sorted;
• fix: web console: email message bodies were not shown on Email tab in IE browser;
• fix: Attendance report: short sessions that are just few minutes long were not displayed;
• fix: ability to install a standalone webapp server component without admin console app;
• other minor improvements and fixes in web console and desktop console application;

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SoftActivity is excited to announce a major update of Activity Monitor, a leading user monitoring software for companies. New version 11.0 of Activity Monitor is now officially available.

Now it includes completely new Web Console for viewing logs and reports in a web browser. Admins and supervisors in your organization can easily and securely access logs in any web browser without installing Log Viewer application. Activity Monitor now uses PostgreSQL, a high-performance enterprise-class database server, for storing logs. Performance and storage capacity are now much improved compared to previous versions.

New features and improvements in version 11.0:

• new: SoftActivity Web Console for viewing reports, logs and screenshots in web browser. Web Console features:
  • Dashboard with company-wide stats of computer usage: top used programs, websites, most active users, etc.
    
  • track users Attendance. View user sessions daily with log in/log off time, duration, top programs and more;
  • access control: accounts for multiple supervisors/managers with limited access only for viewing certain users or groups. Admins can view all users and manage access;
  • view screenshots timeline of all actions and browse full size screenshots like a slide show; save a screenshot as .jpg file;
  • you can still view all the same reports as previously in Log Viewer application: programs, Internet history, files, email, chat, etc.
  • export reports to Excel (CSV) or HTML for further printing or saving as PDF;
  • filter the reports by dates, users, user groups or computers;
  • search all reports;
  • Web console is installed on-premise on a customer’s server (or a computer);
  • SoftActivity Log Viewer/Reports desktop application is still included for viewing old logs from previous versions, but now has a legacy status. To view the old database click View menu – Open Legacy Central Log DB. Old data is not automatically transferred to the new web console;
• new: now using PostgreSQL high-performance and free database for storing logs from all computers. Database server is included in Activity Monitor installation package and runs on premise on a customer’s server.
• new: completely new remote installer for Agent that can deploy Agent application to multiple computers at once:
  • select computers for installation from Active Directory, network or a list in clipboard;
  • quickly and silently deploy Agent on all selected computers with one click and start monitoring them right away;
  • Domain Admin or similar user rights are still required for remote installation of Agent;
  • view installation progress and detailed error messages with recommendations in case of failed installations;
  • imports groups (OU) from Active Directory into Agent list;
    
• new: integration with SoftActivity TS Monitor for terminal servers. Combine logs from workstations and Terminal servers and view the reports in one place in the new SoftActivity web console. To achieve this point both products to the same database in PostgreSQL;
• new: to improve reliability of recording, Agent’s SamSvc service automatically restarts daily;
• support of latest updates in Windows 10, including Creators Update;
• support of latest versions of Edge and Opera browsers for Internet recording;
• support of Windows Server 2016 by Activity Monitor Server and console;
• fix: sometimes Agent goes offline and connection to the remote computer is lost until restart of the remote computer;
• improved compatibility with antivirus products. Remote installation and update of Agent now use Agent’s folder for extracting temporary files. Previously for some anti-viruses Windows\Temp folder had to be excluded;
• multiple fixes and improvements in reliability and security;
• removed support of legacy Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 by Activity Monitor console. Agent still supports monitoring of Windows XP computers.
• Oct 18, 2017 patch: new build #3718 includes a number of minor fixes and improvements:
  • permanently close “monitoring console” warning panel (previously it was reappearing with every restart);
  • digital signature error during Agent installation on older versions of Windows, etc.

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SoftActivity is announcing the release of new version 5.1 of its monitoring software for terminal servers SoftActivity TS Monitor. Now administrators can track employees’ attendance by viewing log in on log off time of every session. Improved web console also allows to assign access for multiple supervisors in an organization for different groups of monitored employees, organized by departments. Admin can allow managers to view logs only for their department.

What’s new in version 5.1

• new: Attendance report: view user sessions daily with log in/log off time, duration, top programs, remote client name and IP address, and other session details. Click any session bar to view the details and screenshots filtered only by this session
  
• new: access control for supervisor accounts in web console. Administrator can grant access to supervisors/managers for viewing logs only for certain users or departments. Admins can view all users
• new: organize monitored users by groups/departments in web console. Filter reports by a group, assign supervisors access to groups. To do this go to the Web console – Admin panel – Monitored User Groups tab. Click Add Group and drag some users into it.
  
• new: export reports to Excel (CSV format)
• new: export reports to HTML file: for further printing or saving as PDF
  
• new: Administrators can delete a monitored user from the webapp with all their recorded activity data. See Web console – Admin panel- Monitored Users section
• new: select a number of lines shown in the reports: 20, 50, 100 or more
• numerous minor improvements and fixes

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SoftActivity announces the release of major update 5.0 of its TS Monitor enterprise monitoring software for terminal servers. Now it combines logs from multiple servers into one Central Database powered by PostgreSQL and includes a new convenient web console for administrators and supervisors.

What’s new in version 5.0

• new: SoftActivity Webapp for viewing reports, logs and screenshots in browser, combined from multiple servers. The webapp is installed on a customer’s server on-premise or in cloud;
  
• new: now using PostgreSQL high-performance server database for storing logs from multiple servers. Installed on the customer’s server by SoftActivity installation package;
  
• new: scalable architecture with components installed on the same or separate servers on-premise: TS Monitor client, SoftActivity Webapp Server, PostgreSQL Database Server. (View architecture diagram)
• new: monitor either a single server or an enterprise terminal server farm;
• new: create accounts in the web console for multiple admins and supervisors to view logs;
• support of latest versions of Opera browsers for Internet recording;
• WARNING: when upgrading from previous versions, old data is not automatically transferred to the new Webapp. To view previously recorded data simply click .salog file in your data directory to open the legacy Log Viewer
• For more details read these new guides:
  • Installation Guide for Administrators
  • TS Monitor solution deployment architecture

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