If you're worried about what people are doing on your computer while you're not around, then you should look into using Computer Monitoring Software. Maybe you're worried about the websites being visited by members of the family, or the applications being used on your computer at work. Or maybe you'd like to simply monitor your computer in case of unauthorised use or theft.
Whatever the reason for needing to monitor certain aspects of computer activity, most modern computer monitoring applications will be able to help. Keyloggers – simple applications used to log keystrokes in the days of DOS – have evolved to include a whole range of surveillance functions. These days you can monitor almost any computer activity you can imagine.
Monitoring websites and applications is probably the most common reason for wanting to use this type of software, and almost all major developers will monitor both, along with the date and time of visit/use and sometimes the length of visit/use. Usually this information will be accompanied by a screenshot of the application or website. Screenshots will be taken either every time a certain event is triggered (ie a mouse click) or every X amount of seconds. The screenshots will be be accompanied by a label, date and time.
Keystrokes will also be recorded, along with the name of the window (or the website) it was typed into. As before, this information will be reported with the time and date of the entry. Some software can monitor the incoming text from instant messengers or emails, although some will do this simply be capturing a screenshot.
Other information recorded will include any documents or files opened, saved, moved, deleted or printed, anything copied and pasted from the clipboard. All of this will be logged in a database that is easy to read through, especially if you know what you're looking for. Some computer monitoring software may also include parental control filters, for blocking access to certain adult orientated websites. There are keylogger reviews sites that are great for finding a keylogger that suits your needs.
Computer monitoring software is easy to download and install, and once installed will run silently in the background so that anyone using the computer won't know they are being monitored. The user interface is usually accessible using a key combination and password set by the administrator on install. The reports can be viewed either from inside the interface, or by having them emailed to you remotely, so that they can be viewed away from the target computer.
If you're interested in downloading a free trial of computer monitoring software with all of the features mentioned above, check out Gecko Monitor.