Windows VNC

I'm looking for a piece of software, that I can use to covertly monitor what the young lad is doing online.
The software would ideally be so he doesn't know that it is there, also give me the ability to assume control over the machine. Being able to assume control without impact to the UI would be useful as well. (i.e logging on to my account in the background)

Any ideas would appreciate.

K

 

Don't spy on your kids?

If you're just wondering whether he watches porn, let me save you the trouble: yes he most likely does.

 

Meh, porn doesn't bother me. It's making sure he is doing his homework when he say's he is.

 

I think Tight/Real VNC are the best solution I know. You can use also Windows 7 parental control for additional blocking, in the case you are away.

 

I'd suggest a keylogger, although set it as a white-listed executable in any anti-virus program you have installed.

As a man who wishes to be a father in the future, I wouldn't have a moral issue with monitoring so closely, as I'm legally responsible for the mess they get themselves in until they're 18...

Another option is setting up a transparent proxy with logging to check which URLs are being accessed on your router (DD-WRT if you're supported?) or by sticking something like a Smoothwall Express directly in front of your router.

Upside to going the Smoothwall route is you can get Dan's Guardian on it, which is a corporate style website filtering addon for Smoothwall, so you can pre-emptively stop access to sites you would prefer not, or block them at certain times of day.

 

I found UltraVNC to work best with Windows 7.

 

parental controls on windows 7 can be used to monitor what your kid is doing, if set correctly you can block websites, allow only games within a set age group, set the computer to be available only within specific times etc etc.

 

Hes doing 'homework' alright

Just use a key logging software, set it to take screenshots every 30secs or something and just have a browse though when you're next on the comp.

Maybe get a UV light and give the keyboard and mouse a quick check

 

Im in agreeance here, everybody needs their own privacy. If he finds out it won't be pretty.

 

How about physically going up and checking what he is doing, asking if he needs a hand?

I think it would do more harm than good if he found out you where spying on him.

 

This I do, but if he is like me at that age, he knows how to click the big X in the top corner. Tis exactly what I did.
Plus there is an added bonus for him. He is Polish ( My partners son) I can't read polish so he has his privacy per say, I just want make sure that he isn't using chat/play games when he should be doing homework. He know it's a privilege to have the computer in his room, and at times I know he has abused this privilege

 

Use parental controls. If you dont trust him, then move the PC, dont spy.

 

If ever you wanted to earn the title 'Evil Step-Dad' in one easy step, it would be spying on him without his knowledge

 

yeah dont do it sneakily, tell them you will be monitoring his usage, that way he will at least realise he may get caught out, if he doesn't play by the rules.

 

I'd want my dad to give me some pretty stern warnings first, rather than spying (from being on the receiving end: look for hastily turned off monitors (or a blank desktop with loads of stuff minimised) and arms/hands around the groin area or no books open - see how much he's written in between your checks..)... but since you came here asking for a way to monitor his activity, i'll offer one. all i'll say is the most difficult part is telling him you know he's been wasting time without giving away that you can see his screen.. believe me he WILL investigate. anyway:

Get TightVNC and install it on yours and his pc's. (works best if he has a static IP - just google it)
There's a value you can add to the registry on his computer so he can't see the VNC icon in the notification area.
There's a 'view-only' mode, so he basically won't know you're there. (and you can enable keyboard & mouse events without reconnecting).
If you're really going pro, you can use the registry to hide the program from appearing in add/remove programs (but beware the task manager...) and/or forward ports on your router so you can view his screen from any internet connected pc.

understatement if any of this happened to me.

 

Isn't that a massive security risk?

 

not if the av uses checksums (like AVG) etc.

 

wasn't there a guy who keylogged his charity on these boards.. then he found out who was watching porn.. remember that anyways

there's a silent keylogger made by ardamax.. know that works- the issue is writing a icon to match his antivirus in the taskbar then shut it down or add it to the safe list.. it can forward his activity to your email too if you let it through the firewall

 

Same as most here.

Ultra or Tight VNC will technically set you up nicely, however the colour change in the toolbar icon when active, and the fact the desktop goes black, no matter what settings I push through are a dead giveaway..

Use one of the remedys above to fix this, and you're on your way to undetectable snoopage!

TSB

 

UltraVNC runs completely silently on my systems.

There's no way of telling its active, unless you look in the list of processes.

TightVNC used to mess with wallpapers on vista, it never really seemed to work properly, worked brilliantly on XP.