Computer monitor may refer to the screen where data and other tasks you perform on a computer are displayed. PC activity monitor, on the other hand, refers to the software program that literally keeps an eye on what tasks a user does on the computer.
Monitoring activities while using the computer is especially important for parents who want to supervise what their children do on their PC. PC activity monitors let parents know which websites their children visit, which videos they watch, which people they chat with, etc. Employers or companies also make use of such activity monitors to determine whether the employees are actually making productive use of their working hours; or are just lazing around surfing the web or playing computer games during office hours.
There are so many software tools commercially available nowadays and it can be overwhelming to choose which one to purchase and use. Each software product has its own features and benefits to offer.
System Requirement
The first thing to remember when buying your monitor tool is to find out what the system requirement of the program is. You may buy a product on impulse because of the attractive promotional ads you have read; only to find out that it will not work on your machine because your computer does not meet the requirements. You would also want to buy a software program since you have multiple computers at home or in the office. If the computers are not set up in a network, the monitor program might not work.
Desired Features
As previously mentioned, these PC activity monitors vary in features. Before shopping, you need first to list down what features you would want from the software. Do you want to see real-time images of the ongoing activities of a PC? Do you want utmost control over PC activities? Do you want to view the activities while they are being performed by the computer user, or simply view them later?
These software programs serve as spying tools. They usually run on a computer as the user begins to operate the machine. They can do their usual activities without knowing that a program is running in the background to monitor whatever they are doing.
You also need to understand what features and components your chosen software contains. These programs are usually available according to license packs. Determine exactly how many computers or users you wish to monitor and make certain that the software is capable of monitoring all of them effectively. If there are five users/computers to monitor, the license pack of the software must adequately cover for all five.
Agent And Viewer
These computer activity monitors typically include two types of setup files within the package. The first is the viewer and the other is the agent. To make optimized use of your software, you need to understand what these files are for and how they are properly used. The viewer needs to be installed on the auditor system or on the computer you want to use to monitor and audit other computers or users. The agent setup files, on the other hand, must be installed on the target computers of the computers you want to keep track of. Make sure the operating systems running on both viewer and agent computers are supported by your selected software.