Spectorsoft Spector Internet Monitoring Software Pro Edition (SS00004)

Pros: Complete Internet monitoring to protect your kids!
Cons: Cannot block all users at certain times while restricting to some sites other times.

Are you interesting in monitoring and potentially blocking your children’s Internet activities? Do you want to know who your children are speaking to on the instant messaging programs or want to see what emails your children are sending and ...

Pros: Easy to install, Easy to use. Monitors everything
Cons: Would like more flexibility in installation.

The term "Spyware" has an ugly connotation. It has evolved to mean a piece of code added to your computer that allows person or persons unknown to monitor your use or retrieve confidential data. In fact, there is good "Spyware." It allows people who ...

Pros: Easy to buy; quick to download, easy to install; works first time, every time ...
Cons: Records so much information, you may find out things you don't want to know 

A few years ago I used Spector "plain" (not Spector Pro) and it helped me understand that my teenage son was at risk because of his trusting behavior on the Internet in chat rooms ... as the kids say, he was guilty of "TMI" ... too much information given ...

Pros: Claims to do almost everything
Cons: Expensive. Poor technical support policies, poor customer service policies, poor performance.

I wanted this product to help monitor my son's online activities.

The product installed OK, and seemed to work the first week. It was later that we noticed that Word, Encarta, Internet Explorer, or network shares would fail to open. Rebooting the computer helped, but this was NOT what we wanted the software for.

I emailed Tech Support to provide details of the issue, ask about uninstalling the product, and ask about information re: returning the product.

I was contacted by email and told that the return policy was 72 hours only, and that they "do not provide refunds for simply changing your mind." Their web site also pointed out that you get two tech support calls, then it's $29.95 per call after that.

If you need a product like this, keep looking!

Pros: Records everything you can imagine: Chats, Emails, IMs, web surfing and keystrokes.
Cons: A little pricy, but well worth it. I'm willing to pay for peace of mind.

I've been looking for a way to keep track of my kids computer use while I'm at work. I've tried filters like NetNanny, but the kids always find a way around them. Since I've starting using Spector I've been able to see exactly what they are doing, who they are talking to and in some cases catch them chatting with some people they should'nt be chatting with. I've also found out way more than I needed to know about MySpace.com. Every parent should be concerned about what could happen if their childrens personal information gets into the wrong hands from a website like MySpace. sex, drugs, etc... it is all there.

Spector works as advertised. I can come home, open Spector and see everything that they have been doing.

Pros: You can catch your spouse or kids
Cons: Spector spies on you. Useless after you confront. Customer service sucks.

Spector works relatively well but gives the user a creepy feeling. Even if you find your child or spouse doing something inappropriate and you confront them with the activity, the software is then rendered useless since they know you have monitoring software on the computer. Also, Spector uploads information from your machine in binary code of great length. Spector spy’s on you! What gives them the right to spy on the user? If I find inappropriate use of the net, that’s my business and I don’t want Spector to know! I don’t want Spector to collect information about my hardware and software on my computer or my families browsing habits. What do they do, sell this information to retailers? Also, Spectors customer support policies are poor at best. I had three system crashes in about 4 months and used backup machines. I put Spector on them and they emailed me that I had installed it on more than one machine. The email went into my bulk folder. They disabled the software and stated they would enable it for 30 dollars. I rarely use it so I just deleted it.