Recommendation for Keylogger/Activity Monitor
June 27, 2013 8:23 AM Subscribe
I believe that my autistic/mentally ill son is using our family computer when he should not be (i.e., while everyone in the house is asleep). I need facts about whether or not he's doing it and what he's doing while online.
I'm primarily looking for screenshots/keylogs with timestamps. I'm hoping to get recommendations and anecdotes from people who've used software like this. The machine in question is running Windows 7.
I am not interested in a discussion of the ethics of it. Thank you.
DWRoelands: Outside of ethics, there may be legal issues associated with this if your son is over 18. This could be addressed simply through disclosing that you are using a monitor (which I did to my little sister after she had used poor judgement in releasing her personal location/information when she was a minor) [IANAL though].
I hadn't been aware of kidlogger before, the nice thing about that is it's open source; some other commercial software might be a bit dodgy (particularly products that send information back to their servers).
Make sure to turn the software off when you are conducting banking operations or otherwise entering sensitive information (so if you're system is compromised the attackers won't have a trove of information they would normally have to wait to collect).
posted by el io at 9:10 AM on June 27, 2013
I hadn't been aware of kidlogger before, the nice thing about that is it's open source; some other commercial software might be a bit dodgy (particularly products that send information back to their servers).
Make sure to turn the software off when you are conducting banking operations or otherwise entering sensitive information (so if you're system is compromised the attackers won't have a trove of information they would normally have to wait to collect).
posted by el io at 9:10 AM on June 27, 2013
Kidlogger will do what you want - but keep in mind that it's very easy to set up Windows to be password-locked at startup and when the screensaver kicks in, which would prevent this kind of access.
posted by Tomorrowful at 9:14 AM on June 27, 2013
posted by Tomorrowful at 9:14 AM on June 27, 2013
Your router may also allow you to block access on a schedule, so that you could simply make the network unavailable between 11 PM and 6 AM.
posted by COD at 9:21 AM on June 27, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by COD at 9:21 AM on June 27, 2013 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Valid points, all.
1. My son is 11.
2. My machine is set to require a password on login; I believe he has discovered the password.
3. Router blocking would work, but would not prevent general computer use (locally-installed games, and so on).
Thank you all for the feedback. Has anyone used Kidlogger?
posted by DWRoelands at 9:30 AM on June 27, 2013
1. My son is 11.
2. My machine is set to require a password on login; I believe he has discovered the password.
3. Router blocking would work, but would not prevent general computer use (locally-installed games, and so on).
Thank you all for the feedback. Has anyone used Kidlogger?
posted by DWRoelands at 9:30 AM on June 27, 2013
If you don't want him to use the computer at all just simply unplug the power cord and keep it in your room until morning.
posted by littlesq at 9:35 AM on June 27, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by littlesq at 9:35 AM on June 27, 2013 [3 favorites]
It's not quite clear if your goal is to prevent computer use outside certain hours or if you just want to know if he's using the computer when not allowed (but aren't interested in stopping him from doing so). If the former, Windows 7 parental controls will let you disable his account (change your password and make him his own account) outside certain hours.
posted by hoyland at 9:35 AM on June 27, 2013
posted by hoyland at 9:35 AM on June 27, 2013
I'm not able to offer recommendations for actual keylogging/screenshot-capturing software, but I'm using TrueCrypt to protect my machine and any external drives. It offers encryption of your Windows partition, and it's much stronger than Windows' own password protection. For one, it offers pre-boot authentication with options like showing no text on the screen at all prompting you to type a password, or showing a fake error message, etc. I think if you're looking for something simply to stop unauthorized use, this could be useful on multiple fronts.
posted by Tequila Mockingbird at 9:48 AM on June 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Tequila Mockingbird at 9:48 AM on June 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
I think you can dial up the notifications on Windows to record when someone logs onto the machine. I'd look for that as the first option.
posted by zippy at 10:11 AM on June 27, 2013
posted by zippy at 10:11 AM on June 27, 2013
Your kid figured out the password. The easiest solution of all is to change the password to something else. Also, that way your kid won't resent you for spying on him.
posted by oceanjesse at 11:57 AM on June 27, 2013 [7 favorites]
posted by oceanjesse at 11:57 AM on June 27, 2013 [7 favorites]
Open Event Viewer by choosing Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Event Viewer. Administrator permission required If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
or Start, Run, eventvwr.msc
On the left, Choose Security. The content on the right shows events. Windows typically logs Login, Logoff, including date/time.
posted by theora55 at 7:50 PM on June 27, 2013
or Start, Run, eventvwr.msc
On the left, Choose Security. The content on the right shows events. Windows typically logs Login, Logoff, including date/time.
posted by theora55 at 7:50 PM on June 27, 2013
Is there some reason why simply changing your password won't work? Because that strikes me as way easier and way less drama-prone all round than trying to get the goods on him with a logger.
If he's somewhat technically skilled, you might want to set a BIOS password to stop him walking straight past all your Windows-based controls by booting an alternative operating system from a USB drive or CD-ROM. There is no way to bypass a BIOS password without clearing it, which you'd obviously notice the next time you booted up.
posted by flabdablet at 10:00 PM on June 27, 2013
If he's somewhat technically skilled, you might want to set a BIOS password to stop him walking straight past all your Windows-based controls by booting an alternative operating system from a USB drive or CD-ROM. There is no way to bypass a BIOS password without clearing it, which you'd obviously notice the next time you booted up.
posted by flabdablet at 10:00 PM on June 27, 2013
Mine is a mac, so I can't make specific recommendations for software. However, you want one that will start invisibly when the computer reboots and will also take timed screenshots (every 5 minutes works) because stuff like video chats and movies are difficult to track otherwise. The one I'm using doesn't record skype audio for instance. It sends me a keystrokes record (including passwords entered), a list of URLs accessed and a folder of screenshots. The files are saved encrypted to a hidden file on the harddrive, but more easily, are also emailed after every 45 minutes logged in with a neutral subject line to my private email account, so I can check on that computer user without having direct access to that computer. For me, it works out to 2-3 emails a day and I check every other day.
I have had to say "internet problems!" and go in to restart that computer when there's been a forced restart and the keylogger didn't automatically start, maybe twice in the past six months of heavy usage? You need to keep an eye on the reports if they stop being generated.
We have one for similar reasons as yours - mental illness and safety concerns. If it's legal, go for it. Be prepared to see some truly horrible things. In our case, I review them so the other parent is sheltered from it with only a vague summary.
I would also consider putting in a router-specific blacklist of the URLs that you want to block. You can set it up so that when they try to access those sites, they get a 404-type message and will chalk it up to technical errors rather than blocking.
Also, 3G iphones and school access is a major issue if they are aware of home tracking. We considered jailbreaking and installing a logger on a phone, but it was a more significant hassle and in the end, we're getting enough safety-related info (people's names, addresses) from the computer that we don't think the phone would add much more.
If the question is access outside of scheduled times, you can get router software that blocks certain MAC addresses on your home network. My kids' laptops/phones are blocked overnight which is a lot easier than having to confiscate them - be warned, I had one kid getting up at 4am to bypass the internet by physically attaching his hardware to the router to use facebook before anyone else woke up. I applauded his self-discipline, then made sure he couldn't use that again.
I don't use tracking software on my other three teens. I would test the waters on this with people you talk to, especially therapists/teachers etc. I know some people who do not know this kid's history and issues think I am a bad parent/control freak, and would be really upset about the keylogging. But it has already managed to prevent some really serious problems, so I am okay with it.
posted by viggorlijah at 3:46 AM on June 28, 2013
I have had to say "internet problems!" and go in to restart that computer when there's been a forced restart and the keylogger didn't automatically start, maybe twice in the past six months of heavy usage? You need to keep an eye on the reports if they stop being generated.
We have one for similar reasons as yours - mental illness and safety concerns. If it's legal, go for it. Be prepared to see some truly horrible things. In our case, I review them so the other parent is sheltered from it with only a vague summary.
I would also consider putting in a router-specific blacklist of the URLs that you want to block. You can set it up so that when they try to access those sites, they get a 404-type message and will chalk it up to technical errors rather than blocking.
Also, 3G iphones and school access is a major issue if they are aware of home tracking. We considered jailbreaking and installing a logger on a phone, but it was a more significant hassle and in the end, we're getting enough safety-related info (people's names, addresses) from the computer that we don't think the phone would add much more.
If the question is access outside of scheduled times, you can get router software that blocks certain MAC addresses on your home network. My kids' laptops/phones are blocked overnight which is a lot easier than having to confiscate them - be warned, I had one kid getting up at 4am to bypass the internet by physically attaching his hardware to the router to use facebook before anyone else woke up. I applauded his self-discipline, then made sure he couldn't use that again.
I don't use tracking software on my other three teens. I would test the waters on this with people you talk to, especially therapists/teachers etc. I know some people who do not know this kid's history and issues think I am a bad parent/control freak, and would be really upset about the keylogging. But it has already managed to prevent some really serious problems, so I am okay with it.
posted by viggorlijah at 3:46 AM on June 28, 2013
You're looking for a technical solution to a non-technical problem. I think you should talk to your son first.
Once you have done that, I would implement parental controls and change the password.
posted by devnull at 7:27 AM on June 28, 2013
Once you have done that, I would implement parental controls and change the password.
posted by devnull at 7:27 AM on June 28, 2013
Response by poster: Last response, want to respond but didn't want to threadsit...
1. As I said, my son is autistic and mentally ill. The well-intentioned suggestions of "just talk to your son" fail to acknowledge the reality of the situation.
2. All I was looking for was something to help me gather information about what he's doing online, not restrict his access to the computer or the internet.
3. I went with KidLogger.net and found it to be an inexpensive solution that does exactly what I am looking for.
Thank you all.
posted by DWRoelands at 9:14 AM on July 2, 2013
1. As I said, my son is autistic and mentally ill. The well-intentioned suggestions of "just talk to your son" fail to acknowledge the reality of the situation.
2. All I was looking for was something to help me gather information about what he's doing online, not restrict his access to the computer or the internet.
3. I went with KidLogger.net and found it to be an inexpensive solution that does exactly what I am looking for.
Thank you all.
posted by DWRoelands at 9:14 AM on July 2, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by xla76 at 8:40 AM on June 27, 2013