In this Article I’ll Explain…

How Computer Monitoring Software Works
How to Detect if Someone is Monitoring You
How to Block or Remove Computer Detection Attempts.  

The Low Down on Computer Monitoring Software…

Regardless of the reason, whether it may be a case of a boss wanting to keep track of your computer habits or a jealous spouse wanting to track what you are doing online, the use of computer tracking software has grown ten fold in the past four or five years.   Originally, these programs started as nothing more than simple key loggers - which were applications that recorded each key stroke you made on your keyboard.  In doing so, a person could have a record of what you typed, including passwords, chat conversations, emails etc.  

As technology and demand have progressed, so has the complexity of computer monitoring software.  Programs today take screen shots, record every movement in real time, including chat room conversations, pictures and web paged viewed and even the inbound communications from other people, such as an email sent to you can now be read by a monitoring party.  

The bottom line is that it is very easy to install a hidden monitoring application on your computer - in fact even someone with even the most basic computer knowledge can put this onto your system to watch every move you make when you are at your computer.    

This can have far reaching implications based on who the monitoring person is.  If the monitoring person is up to no good, they can easily capture your passwords and user names to all of your accounts ranging from your bank account to your face book account.   Sensitive or private information can be used against you in the case of blackmail, or to undermine your reputation, or to steal your identity.  In the case of a spouse monitoring your activities, you could find yourself on the wrong end of a divorce proceeding with all the evidence laid out in black and white ( and even color depending on the website you were on ) for all the world to see.

How to Detect if Someone Is Monitoring You…
Just about every modern software application designed to monitor a computer system functions in what is called stealth mode.  This means that it is completely hidden to the user and doesn’t show up in the start menu, the program menu or even if you do a full search of your files and programs including hidden folders and directories.  In fact many monitoring programs guarantee that they are undetectable.  Fortunately for a person who wants to protect their privacy, this isn’t true.   

Most of these monitoring programs work by having a secret access door or file name that only the installer can use.  A typical computer has thousands of files making it near impossible for a manual search for installed software.  So unless you are trained in forensic computer science, the chances of you being able to detect a key logger or monitoring application is about the same as winning the lottery twice in the same week.  

The best defense against a monitoring attempt is to use a anti-monitoring software program.  This is different than spyware detection software - even though they really function the same way.  In the past few years, several companies have built programs specifically designed to detect monitoring attempts and have a entire team of employees to keep detection databases up to date.  

These detection programs work by scouring your computer for traces of any monitoring software.  They look for fragments - identifiable clues that someone is watching you.  Once detected, they give you the option of blocking the program, deleting it or simply monitoring its use.  All of these options provide you the ability to implement a counter strategy against being monitored.  In one case, you might just simply want to know if somebody is watching you - and in other cases - you might want to destroy any program that is attempting to record your usage.

 
Winning the Battle of Computer Usage Monitoring

Probably the best program on the market right now for detecting monitoring software is an application called Identity Patrol from Patrol Software Labs and is what I use on a clients computer if they suspect someone is monitoring them and want me to check their system.  

Really the key measurement for a detection software app is the size of definition base the program uses to scan your system.  There can be a wide range in definitions.  For example, a typical anti-spyware program has about 60,000 definitions it looks for, where a program like Identity Patrol has 116,000 - in other words - it has the capacity to find nearly two times as many threats as its spyware counterpart.  Just as interesting is the testing the program has gone through which in head to head battles with monitoring software that claims to be undetectable, Identity Patrol has a 100% detection rate despite the constant attempts by the firms marketing the monitoring software to hide all traces of their programs.   With that said, if you are serious about protecting your privacy and preventing any attempt at monitoring your computer usage, then Identity Patrol is a must have as the industry standard in anti-keylogger protection.  The program does offer a free scan which will alert you to any hidden programs, but to block or remove them, you will need to purchase the full program for at the time of this writing, was $34.95.

Article Resources

To download Identity Patrol, click here to visit their website.

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