SoftActivity

SoftActivity Monitor 11.7 maintenance release

December 3rd, 2018

SoftActivity is announcing the release of SoftActivity Monitor version 11.7. Upgrade is recommended to all users

What’s new in version 11.7:

  • improved: live screen view now will display a screensaver when it’s active on the remote computer. Previously was showing a blank screen
  • improved: screens on live dashboard grayed out when the remote computer is offline
  • fixed: error message in Agent during log off on some computers
  • other minor fixes and improvements

SoftActivity Monitor 11.6 maintenance release

September 26th, 2018

We have released new version 11.6 of SoftActivity Monitor, a leading user monitoring solution that helps to protect organizations from insider threats.

Product name has now been changed to SoftActivity Monitor from Activity Monitor, in order to be more recognizable and include our brand. It’s a maintenance release that includes a number of important optimizations and fixes. Upgrade is recommended to all users.

SoftActivity Monitor 11.6 released with performance improvements

What’s new in version 11.6:

  • performance improvements and optimizations in Agent
  • view attachment names on Email tab in real time monitoring window in the console app;
  • minor fixes

TS Monitor 5.6 update also released

We are also announcing the release of new version 5.6 of SoftActivity TS Monitor, our user monitoring solution for terminal servers. It’s a maintenance release with performance optimizations and fixes.

Activity Monitor 11.5 released with Alerts

June 27th, 2018

We at SoftActivity are excited to announce the release of Activity Monitor new version 11.5 that we’ve been working hard on. Activity Monitor is a leading user motioning software used by organizations around the world to combat insider threats and improve their employees’ productivity.

With this major update, you can now get an alert as soon as a user goes to certain websites, opens an application that is not allowed at work, or breaks other rules set by the company. It means less time spent monitoring, and instead taking action at the right time when it matters. We have also completely redesigned SoftActivity web console to fit in more information and made it easier to navigate.

What’s new in version 11.5:

  • new: Alerts triggered by user actions:
    • Admin can create a set of alert rules in the web console. If a user breaks a rule, their manager or the admin will get an instant alert;
    • A number of useful pre-defined alert rules are supplied with the system, such as social media websites, files copied to USB, so you can start getting some alerts right out of the box, and start adjusting those rules;

      * click to enlarge
    • Alerts can be based on: visited websites, used applications, typed trigger words (keystrokes), or file operations;
    • Alerts are displayed in the web console and optionally can be sent by email. Alert emails are not sent less than 5 minutes apart, to prevent “alert fatigue”. This interval can be adjusted in settings, in order to receive quicker alerts or to get less emails;

      * click to enlarge
    • In order to start receiving alerts by email, an admin needs to enter SMTP server details in the web console’s Admin Panel. SMTP is used by the system for sending emails securely. Also the admin and managers need to go to Edit Account and enter their name and email address, and make sure “I want to receive alerts by email” check box is on;
    • Managers can see what exactly action by a user has triggered an alert and see screenshots of the violation;
    • New Alerts page allows you to see all alerts (policy violations) in the system and filter them by users, computers, and days interval.
  • new: Complete redesign of the web console with improved user interface:

    * click to enlarge

    • Fits more information on the screen and is easier to navigate.
    • Mobile friendly design: better support of mobile browsers on phones/tablets. View reports on your phone, if it’s connected to the local network, or if your webapp is installed on an Internet facing server and served via HTTPS;
    • Watch the demo video of new web console
  • improved: reduced storage space requirements on the customer’s server for storing screenshots. IntelliSnap mode now records 20-50% less screenshots, will avoid some duplicates, but without missing any important actions by a user;
  • improved: deleting a user in the web console now deletes their screenshots as well to save hard drive space. You can delete a user with all their data in Admin Panel – Monitored Users tab – User
  • improved: support of slow network speed for connection with Agent, down to 8KB/s or slower, that may be the case for remote users connected via VPN. Previously slow connections could be dropped and it would not download logs;
  • uninstaller: added option to remove the data folder, in order to free drive space;
  • improved: show correct icon and application name for Windows Store Apps;
  • fix: removed Keystrokes field from CSV format export, since it was breaking CSV format;
  • numerous improvements and fixes
  • discontinued support of Windows XP by Agent. Users with Windows XP are advised to upgrade to Windows 10 or continue using Activity Monitor version 11.2 (the last version that supports it).

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Activity Monitor 11.2 released

March 14th, 2018

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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Activity Monitor 11.1 released

January 12th, 2018

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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Activity Monitor 11.0 released with Web Console

September 27th, 2017

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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Activity Monitor new version 10.5 with Dashboard

October 5th, 2016

SoftActivity announces the release of Activity Monitor version 10.5 computer monitoring software used by organizations around the world to improve productivity of their employees.

Improvements in the new version 10.5:

  • new: DASHBOARD with live tiles that show screens of remote computers next to each other (Screenshot)
    • drag any computers, any group, or <All Agents> from the list to Dashboard to see their screens;
    • click any computer on Dashboard to go to full screen monitoring window for detailed monitoring;
    • drag Dashboard tab to a separate monitor and constantly keep an eye on all computers, like with a surveillance camera;
    • easily scroll the Dashboard to see up to hundreds of computers;
  • fix: problems downloading logs from some computers (related to “heartbeat” error in debug log);
  • improved: notify the administrator when problems downloading logs by SalogSrv service have been detected in Windows Event Log;
  • support of the latest browsers versions;
  • other minor fixes and improvements;

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