MSN spy software may be just the tool you need to keep an eye on your children or your employees. MSN is one of the most popular ISP providers in the world. Millions of people use their services. If you want to know how your employees or your children are using those services, you need an MSN spy application.
MSN spies store a log of all of the sites visited through the MSN service. The spy works silently in the background so that you can get an honest picture of the activities taking place on your computer. You will either catch your child or employee red-handed or know once and for all that he or she can be trusted.
Some users attempt to cover their internet tracks by erasing the browser history and clearing the computers cache memory. Tactics like that do not affect the log files created by an MSN spy. MSN spy software also prevents users from deactivating the spy in the unlikely event that they discover it working in the background.
Using an MSN Spy with MSN Messenger
Many MSN spy applications will also log MSN Messenger chats. Both sides of a conversation are stored so that a parent or employer can see exactly what is being said online. Software can even be programmed so that it deactivates MSN Messenger at certain periods of the day. By preventing Messenger from being used, children and employees are less likely to be distracted from getting their work done.
Every computer that accesses the Internet is potentially at risk. Instant messaging software is one of the biggest vulnerabilities todays companies face. Instant messaging filters help companies keep their networks secure by monitoring the messaging applications that are installed on company computers.
Any company that doesnt believe instant messaging is a problem has not seen the latest figures on instant message usage in the workplace. Numerous studies place the use of instant messaging applications by corporate employees as high as 80 percent. The drop in productivity found in most employees when they instant message is cause enough for concern, but the security evasion techniques built into todays instant messaging applications is an even bigger reason to worry.
The Solution
Instant message filters solve the problem. Using comprehensive signature recognition technology, IM filters can identify employees that install, use, and abuse instant messaging while at work. More importantly, filters can prevent employees from installing instant message filters altogether.
Todays IM filters are flexible. The best instant messaging filters will allow administrators to set IP addresses that should be excluded from the filtering process. Executives that use IM technology for business purposes need not be affected by an IM filter.
Instant message loggers give parents the ability to read all of their childs instant message communications. Instant messaging is as popular with todays youth as talking on the telephone was 40 years ago. Forty years ago a parent could stand around the corner or pick up the receiver to hear what their child was saying. Monitoring instant messages is not as easy.
Monitoring Chat Activity
Fortunately, internet message logging applications have been created to assist parents in keeping their children safe. A message logger records exactly what is typed into an instant messenger. It also records the responses received via instant message. A parent can read every communique his or her child sends without having to peer over that childs shoulders every time the child is online.
An added benefit to storing log files is that parents can begin to study and decipher instant messaging language. Instant messages are filled with acronyms and slang. Entire conversations may contain only two or three sentences with recognizable English words. Storing log files of instant message chats gives parents ample opportunity to look up what their children on parental translation sites that can be found on the Internet.
Instant message loggers store conversations in log files. These files are hidden from everyone using the computer except for the administrator that installed the logging software. This prevents creative children from erasing chats they do not what their parents to see. It also prevents them from turning off the software when they want to chat.
We do not live in a perfect world. Whether we want to believe it or not, spouses cheat, employees steal, and children disobey when their parents are not looking. There may not be a way (yet) to monitor the thoughts that go on in any one persons head, but there are at least software applications that allow us to monitor the online activity of people we suspect are up to no good.
Internet spy software allows its user to monitor internet activity on one computer from any other computer connected to the Internet. Internet spy software can show a computer owner what is happening on his or her own computer in real time. It will even allow the computer owner to break in and control the computer remotely to prevent further damage from being done.
Watch from Afar
The newest internet spy software applications can also work in conjunction with a computers web cam. The software will take periodic snapshots with the web cam and store those images for the computer owner to look over at a later date. Some applications will even allow the computer owner to watch activity through his or her web cam in real time just as he or she can watch activity occurring on the computers desktop.
Big companies have been using spy software for years. The decreasing price of new technologies has made spy software an option for individuals now as well. No one likes thinking that a loved one or an employee is doing something untoward behind ones back; but at least with spy software the offenders can be caught misbehaving red-handed.
Parents that care about their children understand the need for internet content filters. Finding a good filter, however, is often far more difficult than it would appear to be on the surface. Most internet content filters simply do not live up to the expectations they set. There are good filters out there, but it sometimes takes a while to find them.
Filters prevent access to websites in one of two ways. The first method a filter will use is the banned website list method. A filter will store a list of inappropriate URLs and prevent children from accessing those sites through any internet browser. The drawback to this method is that new sites are uploaded to the Internet every day. There is no way a filter can add every new objectionable site to its watch list the moment the site is created.
A second method used is the banned keywords method. Keyword watch lists prevent children from searching certain terms. The problem with keyword watch lists is that they can sometimes over-filter and prevent children from searching legitimate topics. They are also incapable of weeding out inappropriate images.
So What Filter Should You Use?
The best solution for parents is to use an internet filter that combines the two methods. More important than a good filter, however, is good parenting. Parents should talk to their children about inappropriate content they may see on the Internet and what they should do when they find it. It is also a good idea to keep the computer in the family room so that everyone can see what is being displayed on the computer screen.