Spector Pro 6.0

by Navarre (Software)

Product Features

• Simple to install, discrete, and simple to use!
• Spector Pro features an advanced warning system.
• Advanced surveillance screen snapshot recording.
• Top 10 Summary Reports.
• Chat/Instant Message recorder.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000HXGB2G
• Item model number: 12377-00008
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 19, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,382 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)

Product Description

Install Spector Pro on your PC and it will record EVERYTHING your kids and employees do on the Internet. Spector Pro will automatically record: chats instant messages emails sent and received web sites visited online searches keystrokes typed MySpace visits and program activity - plus Spector Pro has an advanced surveillance snapshot feature that allows you to see not only what they do but the Exact Order in which they do it Step by Step. Selected as the Editors' Choice by the experts at PC Magazine twice! System Requirements:Windows174; XP Home Edition or Professional Windows Me Windows 98 Windows 2000 or Windows NT174; Intel-compatible process running at 200 Mhz or faster; 64 MB RAM (128 MB recommended); 50MB Hard Disk Space Format

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nice features, easy to use, but..., December 30, 2006

By 

Mastoo - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Spector Pro 6.0 (CD-ROM)

Antispyware detects Spector Pro and announces that the computer is being monitored. Kind of defeats the purpose of its "stealth mode"

71 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Software for Parents to Monitor their Children, July 20, 2007

By 

Honest Software Guy "Honest Software Guy" (Melbourne, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spector Pro 6.0 (CD-ROM)

We have tried at least five different software products over the past three years to monitor our children to make sure they are being safe online.

We tried NetNanny, but came to the conclusion that Internet filters provide a false sense of security.

We tried some of the cheaper monitoring products and found that they were easily detected by our children, or slowed down our computer too much, or just didn't provide much useful information.

A few months ago, we tried Spector Pro because we saw that it had been named the Editors Choice by PC Magazine.

We were blown away by two things: how easy Spector Pro was to use and by how much it let us know about what our children were doing.

Spector Pro shows you all their emails, chats, instant messages, web sites visited, keystrokes typed. It also gave us great detail about what they were doing on MySpace. (Our daughter had posted suggestive pictures of herself and was actively seeking dates from older boys, and she is only 13.)

Our 14 year old son was also seeking out numerous adult web sites that showed actual physical sex action.

We were able to see in step by step fashion what they were doing on these bad web sites, plus we could see everyone they were chatting with. We discovered an older man asking highly personal questions of our daughter, and we were able to block our daughter from conversing with him with the chat blocking features built into the program.

We were somewhat hesitant at the price of $99, but with the money back guarantee and with the fact that nothing else had worked very well for us, we were willing to take a chance.

It is the best money we ever spent, and we can recommend this product with no reservations to any parent with children aged 9 to 17 who are concerned about what they are doing on the Internet and who they are talking to.

Knowing what we now know, we would have paid $300 if necessary.

One final thing: unlike many Internet sites that give you no contact information, this company publishes its phone number in big, very bold letters on its home page, and they answer the phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We tested them on three different occasions on weekends, late at night and during normal business hours and never waited more than two minutes. Plus, they are very friendly and bend over backwards to help you.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth It!!, December 20, 2007

By 

Humarockron - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spector Pro 6.0 (CD-ROM)

For years it has been a struggle to control my two kids computer use.. yes, passwording the logon completely prevented use without my permisssion but once on my ability to monitor their activity was minimal at best...

Several weeks ago I found that my 14 yr old son had begun visiting inappropriate web sites... We had "the talk" but not surprisingly it didn't stick...

So after a fair amount of research I purchased Spector Pro... sure it's a little pricy but the results were spectacular... most importantly it eliminated the "trust question" inherent in parent/child agreements.. After two weeks of use I can honestly say I would have been thrilled with the results if it had cost $400!! At $100 it is a steal!!

Some comments on the product;
1) Make certain to turn off all anti-virus programs before begining installation! I ignored that instruction because well, I usually do and rarely have a problem. This time the program wouldn't work until I did an uninstall and reinstall.
2) While I'm not a geek, I am fairly knowledgeable but still found set-up of the remote monitoring feature to be complex and confusing. It took four tries and about an hour before I got it right. (if you are less stubborn than I a call to tech support would be in order)
3) The screen shot feature is great but lacks a speedy enough "fast forward" button; it can get pretty tedious if you have more than a couple of days of data to look through.
4) The scheduling feature is fabulous!! Your child can use the computer for homework but can only access the internet during the schedule you set. Perfect for working parents!!

While this product is pitched as a "monitoring tool" that misses the real value; it is an unemotional management tool that provides your child with a structured environment, it frees you and your child from daily negotiations over computer use and it eliminates (or at least limits) the parental worry about their child's internet use.