MONITORING SOFTWARE BLOG

• new: view screenshots together with all reports on new Screenshots Timeline:
  • new: select a program and view all screenshots for this program
  • new: select a visited website and view history of screenshots for this website
  • new: view screenshots as you navigate through history of used programs, emails, chats, etc.
  • new: double click a screenshot thumbnail in the bottom panel to view it full size
  • new: zoom in/ zoom out screenshots, view them as slide show
  • new: recommended setting is to take screenshots from active window only instead of full desktop. It is now default
• new: Licensing is now for concurrent user sessions instead of named users. For example, 6 users license allows recording of up to 6 any users simultaneously logged to a terminal server. For your existing license this means you can monitor more users than before
• new: Select users and/or groups to monitor. Selecting a Group or All Users option allows monitoring of user accounts created in future or not known by administrator at time of setup
• new: Exclude users and/or groups from monitoring, such as managers and administrators
• new: Recording file operations on all drives: local, network, removable. Select monitored folders and change other settings on Files tab. By default, records removable drives and user’s Documents folder. Previously recorded only USB drives
• improved: Recognizes external hard drives as removable and records file operations on such drives
• new: export File operations report to Excel
• new: improved and more reliable keystrokes recording algorithm, especially on 64-bit Windows editions
• new: database can be stored on a network shared folder on another server. To allow this grant write NTFS permissions to COMPUTER$ account for the shared folder. Only supported in domain. This allows storing databases from multiple servers in a single location
• improved: support of more than 65K rows for export to Excel 2007 or newer
• lots of other improvements and fixes

There is no deny that the Internet provides us with plenty of opportunities to run a business, find any necessary information and communicate with partners and friends. However, the misuse of these opportunities may cause Internet addiction and, what is worse, complete disavowal of reality. Some people really can’t stop pointless Internet surfing all day long, even when they are at work. If you are a business owner and have a staff that gets unrestricted Internet access, you should be aware that any type of cyberslacking may affect your overall business productivity dramatically.Read More

Using Windows Terminal Server, Remote Desktop services or Citrix shared desktop services, or XenApp provide business owners, employers and administrators with a remarkable opportunity to get the most advanced computer resources without spending a fortune. However, such remote sessions sometimes present particular problems for tracking, recording and logging user activity. While traditional computer/Internet monitoring systems and keystroke loggers generally prove to be inefficient or even useless in a terminal server environment, many administrators wonder how to monitor remote desktop sessions of their users secretly and in real-time.Read More

• 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

• fixes and stability improvements

• new: Shows computer name and IP address of clients connected remotely to terminal server
• new: Documents security: record file operations on removable drives connected to the server. Track files potentially stolen on flash drives or external HDD’s. View results on Files tab in Log Viewer
• new: Improved stealth mode. Works invisibly even for advanced users. There is no process in Tasks Manager. Monitored users without Administrator rights cannot see log files on hard drive.
• new: no more tsmsys_hh process running in all user sessions
• removed Hotkeys to open TS Monitor. Instead use an icon on Administrator’s desktop (if choose to create) or run “opentsm” command from Start menu->Run
• multiple 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