There are many monitoring programs to choose from, and here we look at four good examples: IamBigBrother 9.53B, PC Tattletale 7.5, and SpectorSoft's eBlaster 5.0 and Spector Pro 5.0. Each program is capable of capturing every keystroke typed, every application opened, and every Web site visited. The programs log both sides of chats and instant-messaging conversations, as well as outgoing and incoming e-mail. But there are distinct differences in how customizable each program is, how each captures information and reports it.

Unlike other solutions, which let you set up different profiles for multiple users, these programs allow only one profile per computer—unless, in the case of eBlaster or Spector Pro, you purchase additional licenses. All of the programs track multiple users on the same PC, with everyone bound to the same rules.

Simplicity

All four of these solutions are intuitive, but IamBigBrother and PC Tattletale really stand out as the easiest to use, partly because they offer fewer options to configure. In fact, IamBigBrother offers little beyond settings for screen capture and keyword filtering. eBlaster and Spector Pro, on the other hand, provide abundant options for customization—which is great for power users but may perhaps be overwhelming for novices.

Stealth Mode

Ideally, you should inform your children that they are being monitored in the hopes of curbing their behavior and creating a certain level of trust. In extreme cases, though, it may be necessary to monitor your kids without their knowledge. Some programs do a better job of hiding themselves than others. None of them appear in the Windows Task Manager or the Add/Remove Programs list, but eBlaster and Spector Pro do the best job of hiding: We found no traces of either app in the Windows Registry.

Application Usage

These programs do a decent job of tracking applications each user has opened. All of them list the time a program is loaded. But only eBlaster and Spector Pro provide the total time the given app is open as well as the active time—the amount of time the program remains in the Windows foreground. eBlaster and Spector Pro also capture data for peer-to-peer programs like Kazaa, so you can see what your kids are downloading. In addition, Spector Pro lets you block chat sessions, e-mail access, peer-to-peer services, or any other app that requires an open port.

E-Mail and Instant Messaging

Reading someone's personal e-mail or chat sessions may seem unethical. And if your teenager finds out you're doing that, it could be a devastating blow to your relationship. So tread lightly. All these programs log incoming and outgoing e-mail, as well as conversations in popular instant-messaging clients. Each also lists user names, so you can easily see who said what. PC Tattletale and Spector Pro offer the best views, displaying conversations in a split window. PC Tattletale also uses colors to differentiate users—which is a nice touch.

Key Logging

You can use a key logger to reveal your kids' passwords, though reading through key logs is a tedious task. PC Tattletale and Spector Pro both use a split-window approach; they list the application in one pane and the keystrokes in another. IamBigBrother places keystrokes underneath the application name in linear order, making text more difficult to read. eBlaster offers the option of showing extended keystrokes, which include keys like Shift and Ctrl.

Internet Tracking and Filtering

All four programs we tested record the times that sites are accessed; eBlaster and Spector Pro also log the amount of time spent on each Web page. Only PC Tattletale and Spector Pro offer ways to deny access to Web sites.

PC Tattletale blocks sites based on keyword filters that you set manually. If a keyword is embedded in a Web page, PC Tattletale will switch to a default URL and send an e-mail alert with information about the site visited to the parent. But it doesn't extend keyword alerts to chats or e-mails. Spector Pro lets parents set up time blocks for blocking all Internet access. If more than one person uses the PC, Spector Pro can block access for specific users. Parents can also block or allow particular sites by manually specifying URLs.

Keyword Filtering

You can specify keywords that should be blocked. PC Tattletale monitors keywords only when they are sent out over the Internet; eBlaster and Spector Pro alert you whenever a keyword is typed, regardless of the application. E-mail alerts can be good and bad. Our in-box was quickly inundated with messages regarding keywords. Fortunately, eBlaster, PC Tattletale, and Spector Pro let you customize when and how often alerts are sent.

Screen Capture

Screen captures provide the best view of what your kids are doing online. The only program here that doesn't capture screens is eBlaster, primarily because it's based on e-mail reports. With the others, you can specify how often screens are saved. IamBigBrother provides thumbnails of images that link to larger views. PC Tattletale lists images by date and time, with a screen view in a separate window, but the text in its screen grabs is sometimes unreadable. Spector Pro lets you view screens as a slide show, with lots of playback controls. In case you want to view only activity in the middle of the week, Spector Pro provides a timeline slider to pinpoint the day and time a screenshot was taken. This approach is by far the easiest and most comprehensive.