Choosing the Best Spy Software

When it comes to monitoring your computer, you need to make sure that you track every activity and action that users perform. For example, some parents monitor children's activities on the computer and online and often need to know that children are not being exposed to malicious or harmful content. In addition, business owners often have a need to record employees' computer activities with spy software to enforce company policy and make sure the workplace is a productive environment.

Aside from these two specific reasons, some people find that spy software is the best option to track computer hackers and rogue viruses to see what actions, if any, the malware takes on your computer. Overall, spy software is often installed for computer safety and protection.

Selecting your Spy Software

To find the best spy software for your computer, you have to know your options, review your needs and evaluate the products on the market. There are several types of spy software available, but each has a core component of capabilities that makes it easy to track, view and record activity directly on your computer. Here are some of the key features that you can expect from some of the best spy software available.

Types of Information Recorded

The best spy software programs record almost every user activity that takes place on the computer. For starters, instant messaging conversations, lists of URLs visited from a web browser, email messages and games played are only a few bits of information you can track. Some spy software programs also record keystrokes of keys pressed, which makes it very easy to see actions performed or messages typed by the user being tracked. In addition, many programs also record which applications and computer programs were opened and closed and the exact times the user accessed them.

Remote Monitoring

Many spy software products allow you to remotely monitor and view the activity that's being conducted on your PC. Typically, the program compiles daily reports and special alerts and sends them to the email address of your choice. Whether you're a parent or an employer, this allows you to see what computer users are doing on a regular basis. Some spy software is also equipped with a remote shutdown feature that gives you the ability to automatically shutdown the computer that you're monitoring from a remote location.

With remote monitoring, you'll also typically receive actual screenshots of the computer which you're tracking. The spy software takes automatic screenshots of user activity, such as when emails are being typed, applications are being opened and closed and when the internet is being surfed. These user activity images are delivered straight to your email address or remote management location.

Stealth Mode

Though you may be wary about using spy programs to track computer user activity, the best spy software enforces a stealth mode, which is a type of "hidden" mode. In other words, this means that the program hides in a secure location on your computer and won't be detected by anyone who logs on.

As you can see, a variety of data can be recorded with spy software. Each spy software program has its own unique set of features and capabilities that allow you to obtain data about your computer. The best spy software programs allow you to remotely monitor and manage computer activity while still maintaining a secret or hidden presence on the computer being tracked.