SoftActivity Monitor

Changes in version 8.1

• new: Added Clear button to remove filter by program/website on Screenshots tab in SoftActivity Reports Viewer
• new: Added Next/Previous buttons on Screenshots tab in SoftActivity Reports Viewer to navigate screenshots easier
• new: Polish localization added. Thanks to our Polish reseller SIRTOM
• new: Japanese localization added. Thanks to our distributor in Japan NETTOOL
• new: Copy to clipboard menu command added on all tabs in SoftActivity Reports viewer. You can copy the report as a table to Word or Excel, for example
• new: Go to Screenshots menu command added in Top Programs and Top Websites tabs in SoftActivity Reports
• new: Download Logs from All Computers button opens a separate window that shows download progress. It will download logs from all computers in the list, not just connected ones as previously
• fix: improved reliability of logs download process
• minor fixes and improvements

• 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

• 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

• new: Documents security: records file operations on all types of drives: local, network, removable. Select monitored folders and change other settings in Agent Properties on Files tab
• new: recognizes external hard drives as removable and records file operations on such drives connected via USB or Firewire 1394 interface
• new: export File operations report to Excel
• new: added “Do not restart remote computer” option for installation of Agent update. Note: will work only for future updates. During update to this version remote computers may still restart to finish installation. It’s recommended to update Agent when users are not at their computers
• new: improved and most reliable keystrokes recording algorithm, especially on 64-bit Windows editions
• new: correctly records group chats in Skype
• new: grouped display in Reports Viewer that is easier to read (no duplicate lines)
• new: Next/Previous buttons in Agent Properties window for quick navigation between Agents. Makes it easy to view and change settings for multiple Agents
• new: (minor) Ability to start Activity Monitor minimized to system tray (notification area). To do it: open Activity Monitor shortcut Properties in Start menu or on your Desktop, select Run: Minimized instead of Normal Window; in Activity Monitor Options select Minimize to system tray check box,
• fix: email messages in KOI-8 (Russian) encoding are displayed correctly
• fix: chat in Windows Live Messenger sometimes was not recorded
• fix: minor fixes and improvements

• new:  Agent now works invisibly even for advanced users. There is no process in Tasks Manager, no Windows service and no files visible on hard drive for monitored users. No SoftActivity\AmSys folder in Program Files anymore on monitored computers
• new: file operations tracking support on 64-bit Windows editions (32-bit systems were supported since version 5.7)
• new: support of Skype 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 for text chat recording
• new: /NoKeys command line parameter to turn off Keystrokes tab in monitoring window. (Requested by users who don’t wish to view keystrokes typed by employees)
• improved: now records keystrokes in elevated processes (Run As Admin) on Windows 7/Vista
• improved: better handling of IP address changes by DHCP
• fix: occasional duplication of Agents in the list
• fix: occasional problems when monitoring window remained in “Connecting” state but could not connect to Agent
• fix: filter by custom dates in Log Viewer did not work correctly if single day was selected
• other fixes and minor improvements

• new: Documents security: record file operations on removable drives (Only on 32-bit Windows. 64-bit support is coming soon). Allows to track files potentially stolen on flash drives or external HDD’s. View results on Files tab in Log Viewer
• new: chat recording support for Skype v.5
• new: chat recording support of Windows Live Messenger 2011
• new: /express installation of updates with less setup pages
• new: command line parameter /forceconnect to connect to all computers on startup. It will display currently logged on user in Agents List when it’s in Details mode
• fixes and minor improvements

• fix: in Internet log for IE browser page title sometimes was recorded from another tab or browser window
• improved compatibility with antivirus products
• fix: scrolling on Email panel was slow for large emails

• new: Duration column for visited websites in HTML export
• more minor fixes