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.

TS Monitor 5.5 released with Alerts

July 5th, 2018

SoftActivity announces the release of the SoftActivity TS Monitor version 5.5 – its user monitoring software for terminal servers.

This version brings new Alerts based on user actions. You can now get an email alert as soon as a user goes to certain websites, opens an undesirable application 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 the web console to show more information on a page and made it easier to navigate.

What’s new in version 5.5:

  • new: Alerts based on user actions:
    • Admin can create a set of alert rules in the web console. If users break a rule, their manager or the admin will get an instant alert;
    • A number of useful pre-defined alert rules is supplied with the system, such as social media websites, files copied to USB, etc. 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
  • fix: removed Keystrokes field from CSV format export, since it was breaking CSV format;
  • discontinued support of Windows Server 2003. Users with Windows Server 2003 are advised to upgrade to Windows Server 2016 or continue using TS Monitor version 5.3 (the last version that supports Server 2003).
  • numerous improvements and fixes

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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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TS Monitor 5.3 maintenance release

March 21st, 2018

SoftActivity released new version 5.3 of TS Monitor, its user monitoring solution for terminal servers. This is a maintenance release.

What’s new in SoftActivity TS Monitor 5.3:

  • new: support of the latest versions of Chrome browser for Internet recording, which stopped working since Chrome v65;
  • fix: export to Excel (CSV format) in correct encoding for non-English characters;
  • other minor fixes and improvements

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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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TS Monitor 5.2 released

January 12th, 2018

SoftActivity is announcing the release of new version 5.2 of SoftActivity TS Monitor, user monitoring software for terminal servers.

Now it’s easier to monitor a farm of terminal server with support of new central configuration file. It also includes multiple improvements listed below.

What’s new in version 5.2:

  • new: Central configuration for multiple servers in a farm. Export TS Monitor configuration and apply to other servers during installation in silent mode with no GUI or from command line to an existing installation.
    tsmcfg.exe new command line parameters: /importcfg="C:\path\file.cfg" /centralcfg=on|off
    Read Documentation
  • 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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