Add Iowa's Sheila F. to the long list of parents grateful to have made the wise parenting decision to use SPECTOR PRO to monitor the computer and Internet activity of their children.
"I am very thankful for this program, and I have told many others about SPECTOR PRO. I have said you really need to get this ... it saved my daughter." Sheila F., Iowa
Read Full Story
Add Iowa's Sheila F. to the long list of parents grateful to have made the wise parenting decision to use SPECTOR PRO to monitor the computer and Internet activity of their children.
"Police are still collecting information, but as of this moment, a 49-year old who made sexual advances towards my 14-year-old daughter is in jail and facing at least one count of child pornography," said Sheila F. in late March 2011. "Posing as a teen boy on Facebook, this man tried to get my daughter to go to a webcam chat and suggested she send nude pictures."
Thanks to SPECTOR PRO — SpectorSoft's best-selling computer and Internet activity monitoring software product — Sheila F. noticed the sexual predator behavior by reviewing the program's easy-to-read reports. She quickly alerted the local authorities and the rest is police blotter history.
"Without SPECTOR PRO we never would have found this out," said Sheila F. "Once apprehended, it became apparent that this out-of-state man had been communicating with quite a few other underage girls, trying to lure them to his house ... suggesting they go to hotels … and just like with my daughter, requesting nude pictures."
In addition to his bogus teen male profile, the 49-year-old man had also created a Facebook account as a 16-year-old female, and was luring young girls into communications by posing as a friendly peer.
"I am very thankful for this program, and I have told many others about SPECTOR PRO," said Sheila F. "I have said you really need to get this ... it saved my daughter."
Sheila F. said she has used SPECTOR PRO for a little more than a year, having been introduced to the monitoring software concept by her 'computer whiz brother.'
"I asked him if he knew of something to help me feel more comfortable with my daughter's safety at the computer and on the Internet. Once I began researching products, I came upon SPECTOR PRO. What really caught my eye was the ability to use the product's screen snapshots feature to watch computer activity like a video," said Sheila F. "Also, I was impressed with SPECTOR PRO's impressive awards, commendations, and testimonials from other parents and guardians."
Sheila F. added that once she spent some telephone time with a courteous, knowledgeable SpectorSoft sales representative, she was sold. Ease of use also made a huge impact on her purchase decision.
"I don't even know how to set up a Facebook page," said Sheila F. "But I found it was simple to use SPECTOR PRO."
In addition, the now-relieved monitoring mom was impressed by SPECTOR PRO's stealth mode, which keeps the existence and location of the program on the monitored computer unknown to anyone but the rightful owner, in this case the parent of a minor child.
"When I first handed over the laptop my daughter was using, the police couldn't even find SPECTOR PRO," said Sheila F. "I had to show them by using my password and hotkey. They were impressed, but nobody has been touched as deeply as me."
I am so grateful for Spector Pro.
Marianne Foley
I believe Spector Pro has enabled me to stop some potentially dangerous and embarrassing situations that my teenager had gotten into. I am so grateful for this program. People ask me why I spy on my kids... I don't feel like it's spying... at the tender age of 14 my daughter is blind to many social situations that are damaging. With Spector Pro I'm seeing how she is interacting with others, and can try to speak with her about situations. Keep me on your mailing list. eBlaster will be on my list of future purchases.
Upper Black Eddy, PA
We run a call center environment where it is imperative that our people be on the phone and working at all times. With Spector Professional, we were immediately able to discover which employees were non-productive. Not only has Spector Pro helped us weed out lazy workers, it also helped to uncover fraud in some of our departments. In addition, this program has also allowed us to realize and resolve training issues we've experienced with our internal software. Spector Pro is very stealthy, has no noticeable effect on system performance and provides excellent return on investment.
Maverick Garrett
Chief Technology Officer, Daniel Trust Company, Greenville, SC
Thank you so much for such a terrific piece of software! I am a graduate student recording computer activity for a study, and yesterday I realised that the cheap-o activity monitoring software I was using was a total mess! It only recorded about 1/3 of the URLs visited, couldn't take screenshots more than once per minute, and was awkward to run and manage. Worse, no one has ever replied to my questions from their company. What a disaster!
Yesterday I realised that most of my data was missing and I needed to find a way to monitor my subjects' actions immediately. But your customer service people saved me! I called, and within minutes you had set me up with 10 licenses - discounted and affordable for a grad student - and it was all installed and set up that afternoon! With Spector Pro, I now have all the screen shots, URLs and text entries I need to analyse and understand the ways that my subjects use the web. Thanks for saving my dissertation!!
Rosa M Martey
Doctoral Candidate, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
Just wanted to let you know how much I DEPEND on your software to keep me informed of my teenagers' online usage. I've not only saved my teens from making bad choices, but have also been able to alert our school privately of happenings that they wouldn't have otherwise known of. One child was searching online for drugs. Due to knowledge gained through Spector they were expelled immediately and are now receiving much needed counseling. Your company is saving young lives - be very proud!
Lisa Knoppe, St. Louis, MO
I bought three copies of Spector Pro this afternoon, by the evening I had installed it on all three of my computers and saw it in action. I am the world's biggest skeptic, and extremely critical of everything. I have never, I mean NEVER found a program so easy to install, configure and use. A piece of cake to use, and it does everything advertised, and more.
Fred Levine, Schenectady, NY
I recently purchased your product, I wish I had known about it several months ago. I think every parent should utilize this to help protect their kids from various situations. Thank you or should I say thank the people who came up with this program.
Bob Depweg, Newhall, CA
Hello. I'd just like to say thanks for such a great product! I had bought this mainly for a reason you don't market, but should... It's like having a camcorder on your shoulder. A few years ago I had AOL & while in the middle of writing an important email, all of a sudden "GOOD BYE!". Even though it says you could save the email, you really can't. So this piece of software of yours comes in handy many, many times to the point. Now, when I hear "GOOD BYE!" I just flip the monitor the bird in frustration, type the hotkeys in and there it is. I also find it useful for researching web sites that I didn't save to favorites. So thanks again for a nice piece of work.
Alan Pace
Since the installation of Spector Pro on a number of our computers in the office, internet abuse and inter-company email (gossip) has nearly been eliminated.
The installation of our network two years ago together with fast internet access was a huge temptation to our 30 employees. This -- in combination with computer games being used after the lunch hour was over -- was costing us huge amounts in lost time.
We informed our employees that your product was being used and this alone increased efficiency greatly. There were still a few unbelievers. So we were forced to print out the screens and give these to the employees. This action all but eradicated the abuse. Now we have reached a happy agreement whereby the employees use the internet for personal reasons only at lunch or after hours. This has also stopped the continual flow of email over the Outlook system.
We would highly recommend your software to any business where internet use is available to employees. Many thanks.
Joseph Danenza, Alexander Samuel & Co., Solicitors, London, UK
I know who our problem employees are and I spot-check them with Spector Pro. When Spector captured their inappropriate activity, the problem employees denied it at first. But when I showed them the details -- the screen snapshots, the captured emails and instant messages -- they were dumbstruck. Spector Pro has been so effective at reducing personal time spent on the computer that I expect to be able to reduce my staff from 100 to 90 employees WITHOUT losing any productivity, and expect an annual cost savings in wages and benefits of $220,000
Daniel Anderson, Northern Arizona Orthopaedics, Flagstaff, AZ
The school I work for is an American boarding high school in a foreign country. We have 25 different nationalities in our student body whose parents live in countries around the globe. Having email available for students to communicate with their parents is a must, but it is also important that we be able to monitor these for inappropriate messages. Spector has greatly simplified my duties in this area. I put in a list of key words and it sends me an email whenever a keyword violation occurs.
Yes, it takes a few minutes per day to clear these messages, but that is much better than having parents and students complaining of harassment as they have in the past. Being able to print a copy of what the student has typed is proof enough and amazes the student that we have the information.
We credit Spector Pro with our school being able to have Internet access available for our students. It is amazing how much more responsible students are when they know that what they are typing might be seen by someone else. It is also thanks to Spector that I can leave the computer lab open for more hours so that the students can use it without me constantly worrying about where someone is going on the Internet. We have tried some of the website blocking software programs, but they only leave you embarrassed when you accidentally open a site that is supposed to be blocked because some webmaster has changed the domain name. This method allows the students to learn to monitor themselves while still being accountable for where they go. This software is what education is all about: Freedom with responsibility.
Dean Edwards, Maxwell Adventist Academy, Nairobi, Kenya
We operate a non-profit organization that provides a transition home for young adult American kids who've grown up overseas and are re-entering the U.S. culture. We wanted to provide them with access to the Internet and email without the worry of them getting drawn into anything that would be detrimental to them. Since installing Spector Pro on all three of our computers, we have been tremendously impressed with its performance! Our residents know that Spector Pro is installed and that we check it at least once a week. One of our residents even told us, 'Oh good! Spector is what my high school in Africa used.' And when we recently got a new computer, I told my wife to install our 'peace of mind' (Spector Pro) immediately!
Several of our residents' parents (who are still working overseas) have expressed their gratitude to us for installing Spector Pro to help give their kids the parental guidance they would give them if their kids were living with them. We have also recommended Spector to dozens of others in the 7 months that we've been using it and we will continue to tell others about this tremendous product. Spector Pro really does provide 'peace of mind' and we wouldn't think of having computers in our home and workplace without Spector installed.
Mark, Joseph House, Fort Mill, SC
This is an amazing product! Due to my teenage daughter communicating with strangers on the internet, I had been forced to move her computer into the dining room so that I could keep an eye on her computer usage. I now have her password and a complete record of who she is communicating with. AOL parental controls and internet explorer "content advisor" were not adequate because she had to call me every five minutes if she was surfing the web for home work so that I could allow her to view certain sites. I have now moved her computer back into her room and I feel so much more at ease!! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!
M Gellis, Fulton, MD
I had my doubts with all the promises this product offered. THIS PRODUCT DELIVERED ON EVERY CLAIM AND PROMISE with no bugs. I am completely satisfied.
We were worried our 13 year old son was being exposed to pedophiles on the internet so we loaded Spector Pro and within two days of "evidence gathering" we sent a note to all participating parties and received these responses: 'I didnt know he was 13. I won't speak to him anymore.', 'Sorry. I deeply regret ever talking to your son.', 'Thank you for notifying me of his correct age. I was not aware of this. All contact will stop immediatly. I apologize for this as I was not aware of his age.'
Anonymous, Torrance, CA
I wanted to write and thank you for your Spector Pro software. For the past 17 years I have directed a non-profit organization that operates in the inner-city and works primarily with high-risk low-income people.
As part of our services, we offer incidental computer familiarization and job search training. This requires us to have all the internet options available including browsing, email, webmail, and MSN.
Although we have strict guidelines as to their their usage, guidelines which are made clear to all computer users including our staff and volunteers, we can never be sure that the computer users are not engaging in illegal activities - activities that can be directly traced back to our computers. We have 16 computers and it would be nearly impossible, and a misuse of our human resources, to try to monitor without some serious help.
And we found that help in Spector Pro, which we have been using for the past year. It is awesome. Absolutely invisible to the computer user, it tracks everything-even what I'm typing right now. For complete disclosure, we actually show the users the results of the Spector Pro log information; so they know before-hand what is being captured.
Charities like ours cannot afford to take the liability of criminal computer use lightly. Words and usage can be flagged with Spector Pro and it stores all aspects of use for later discovery.
The install, the look and feel and the ease of use are outstanding. This is the most superior program of its genre-absolutely years ahead of any similar-type program.
Juergen Severloh, Family Support Centre of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
I have only had a short time to operate the program on my SBS 2000 test network but I am truly impressed.
The product has performed flawlessly in testing and is greatly superior to any of the other products that I have tried. I am also very impressed with the documentation and help section. Many of your competitors have little or no documentation with their product.
I work with a variety of small to medium size businesses and one of the major concerns I hear from my customers is about Internet misuse. I think this program will fill an important void for many businesses.
Bill Davis, MCSE,CNE, NETWORK
I've installed your software on 5 PC's (and my own) and I am amazed at how well it works. I sound like an ad... I have used it to monitor new employees, and some experienced ones, specifically on their use of time on the system. I even headed off a looming struggle between three employees... I think I took the wind out of their sails.
It has also forced me to address the fact that I'm indeed monitoring their computer actions and content which broaches the privacy issue. Here in New York State, as our attorneys can vouch, an employee has no expectation of privacy while at work if the PC, the software, and all the other systems are company owned. That is a big wake up call to some.
Charlie Epes, Gernold Agency, Inc., Orchard Park, NY
I thought you would like to know, with the confirmation by your company's software, I just fired our manager of 3 years who was earning over 100K a year. I have some pretty strong ammo with your software if he goes to court or the unemployment office.
B.Banks, Dallas, TX
I have been using Spector for a couple weeks now, and I just wanted you to know that I absolutely love it!
It's super easy to install and just as easy to use. I had to reformat my hard drive and Spector was the first thing that went back on my computer after the operating system and my son had no idea it was there. It's invisible even with hardly anything on the computer. It's the only thing I have found that records both sides of chat conversations.
I think every parent should have it, I have recommended it to many of my friends already.
Pam
I am writing to thank you for an altogether excellent purchasing experience. You patiently listened to the problem that I had, and then went about explaining to me the advantages of the products that you have and made very practical suggestions along the way.
Secondly, I would like to inform you that as a part of a solutions package for a client, we were required to review and present spy software that the client could use as he suspected that some of his employees were behaving in an unethical manner. We reviewed five spy software packages and without doubt, Spector Pro was in a league above the rest. It was easy to setup, configure, and the screenshots were sharp and as good as the real thing - it really was as good as watching over the user's shoulder and the mono/color choice was a nice touch.
We particularly liked the stealth capabilities in that none of the commercially available spyware detection packages could detect its presence and unlike two of the other packages, I could not find it in Windows Explorer. In fact, for one of the other packages, not only could I find it in Explorer, I also managed to uninstall it from there, WITHOUT a password.
I would like to congratulate SpectorSoft for an excellent product in Spector Pro - a real value for the money and a product that delivers.
Ben Pasco, Managing Director, PGI Consultants
Your product saved my son's life and turned it around! I will never stop telling others about your product.
D.Wise, Chicago, IL
Your product is wonderful for monitoring my 3 teenagers
Wanda Marietta
I purchased Spector Pro about a month ago because I was concerned about the amount of time one of our daughters was spending on the computer. She was always closing out stuff when we came anywhere near the computer room.
Just a few short hours after downloading the product I found out just what was going on! Now that she and all of our other kids know that we can see everything they are doing, they have lost a lot of interest in the computer. It turns out that she was visiting chat rooms that were not exactly places a 15yr old should be in, and the stuff she was saying in "private messaging".....well we don't want to even talk about that.
Funny thing though she wasn't really mad about it all, in fact she seemed kind of relieved to give the guys an excuse now not to engage in that type of activity. This has been the best purchase I have made in quite a while. I felt I got my money's worth the first day.
L. G.
I just wanted to drop you a note to let you know that I am VERY HAPPY with the Spector Pro software I purchased from you! Not only does the software do what is claimed, but your technical support team is superb!! Thanks so much for giving me the peace of mind I have from the use of this product and your support. Now I will be purchasing your eBlaster product!!
DiAnne C. Tribble
Just a note to say what an incredible improvement Spector Pro is over version 2. It is so much faster, and more comprehensive in its acquisition.
Jeff Schaffer
Recently purchased your software and it has changed my life. Didn't realize that my office manager was spending 2.5 hours every day on the internet. Couldn't find out why she wasn't getting her work done. Thank you for the excellent work you have done with this software. Again, thanks!
Scott
I recently purchaced Spector Pro. This is absolutely a great program. You saved my child's life on the internet. I'm strongly recommending this program to all parents concerned. Thank you!
S. Bata
As a surgeon, I live in chaos most of the time. However, I felt compelled to write you a note about SpectorSoft.
I have wasted a great deal of money on software that did little or none of the things that lead to the purchase. SpectorSoft does exactly what you said. That is worth a lot these days.
The multiple features allow me to monitor my children's internet activity in such a reliable way, I feel very comfortable with their unmonitored use. Monitoring with the "chat" module makes this very simple and more coherent and speed the review considerably.
The improvement of the most recent version over my previous version was great and was well worth the upgrade.
I have talked with your tech support people and found that also smooth and efficient in solving my network problem.
Most importantly, I have been comforted by what I have observed about my children. No bad language or violation of our rules etc. That, above all, is the best thing your software has done for me.
D.F. MD, Tennessee
I noticed on your web site that you have testimonial letters so I thought that I would send you one myself. Spector helped my wife and I stop an ongoing sexual molestation of our 13-year-old daughter and we will be forever grateful.
It started in September of 2000 when I glanced at the computer when my daughter left the room for a moment and noticed a very disturbing and sexually explicit e-mail that she had been sent. I forwarded it to my office so that I could look at it the next morning and said nothing to her about it at the time.
The next day I read it and it was very graphic and made me realize that our child was having a sexual relationship with the sender. As heartbreaking as that was it became even worse when I investigated and realized that the sender was a 37 year old man and was one of her Middle School teachers!
Knowing that I could not afford to make unfounded and easily renounced allegations about a supposedly upstanding member of the education community I looked on the internet for software that would allow me to monitor her e-mail. I found your web site and it looked just like what I needed so I called and spoke to one of your people and then ordered, downloaded and installed Spector.
Within 36 hours I had enough evidence to approach the police and the man was arrested and just last week (Feb. 8) he pled guilty, was sentenced, barred for life from teaching and will have his photograph and address listed on the state's sexual offender web site. None of this would have been possible without the evidence that we obtained using your Spector software.
The real pain and guilt that we will always bear is the knowledge that had we already had Spector installed before this happened we may not have been able to prevent it but we would have detected it months earlier. Then we could have spared our daughter the wiles of a determined pedophile that had been emotionally stalking her for over a year before he managed to achieve his goal...our daughter's virginity.
I urge all parents to obtain Spector and to USE IT! If we had had it in place we would not be going through the pain and child therapy that we are.
Just let me conclude by giving you my heartfelt thanks again. I sent you a clipping of the article about his conviction and please feel free to use it to encourage other parents to buy and use your product.
Bob W.
Just wanted your company to know i purchased Spector 2.12 on March 8, 2000. On March 9, 2001 i caught a grown man (a parent of another local child) speaking with my 14 year old daughter about extreme sexual language via first e-mail then AOL Instant Messages. I've contacted the F.B.I. and his wife ...your program is worth every penny if not more in my opinion ... thanks sooo much, it could have turned out to be alot worse then what ended up happening.
Christine Abbott, New Freeport, PA
Just wanted to let you know I received my software a week and a half ago. I tried it out last night on my computer and all I can say is WOW! I am very amazed by your product's abilities and how it is undetected, even to those of us who are extremely computer literate!
I commend you on developing a great product! Keep up the good work!
Elaine Padilla (SilicaInc)
I manage sales and marketing for a fairly large insurance company (2.7billion in revenue)... part of my responsibilities are to manage our customer service unit......I tell you this because I want you to know I recognize great service when I see it.... and I have seen it tonight.... Saturday evening and you have responded to my email in 40 minutes with a solution that worked..... I'm very impressed with how you and spectorsoft have responded to my needs..... we say 'know what the customer wants and give him more' and you certainly have done that tonight...... thank you very much.... I tip my hat to you.
Errol Brick, Chief Marketing Officer, Medical Mutual of Ohio
I own Spector........It's magic...It showed me within 24hrs that my wife stole in excess of $20 000 from our business. It's magic.
Name and location, withheld by request
Great Product. Easy to use. Easy to change options. A breeze to install. Safe way to know what you and your kids are doing, not just for monitoring purposes but for tracing steps to something like a web site, or an email, or whatever. Excellent product and will highly recommend.
Patricia MacDougall, Victoria BC, Canada
The problem with blocker programs is that they can't block it all. Spector proves useful because it doesn't have to block the site, it just keeps everyone accountable for their own actions. Great product.
R. DeBok, Kansas City, Kansas
Helps me keep my employees honest and on task.
A. Shupp, Sisters, Oregon
My two daughters are 8 and 10 and love to get on the Internet. I do not always have the time to be looking over their shoulders, so now I feel so much reassured that even though I cannot be there at every minute, I know every minute what they have been doing.
L. Mathis, Jacksonville, Florida
If we could have only one program on my computer, Spector would be it. We love it!
J. Rogers, Wilmington, North Carolina
This is a definite must for the office PC...increases productivity.
G. Blackwell, Charleston, South Carolina
The product is pretty slick. Does what it promises.
V. Shettigar, San Jose, California
I think Spector will be a hit. It records everything that is done, something I can depend on for years to come that will help me know who is on my computer and what they are doing on it. If someone messes up, I will know who did it and when it happened and be able to discuss with them what they did. Thank you for a wonderful 'spying' program.
C. Bracken, Dallas, Texas
Wonderful tool to monitor children on internet, to know where they go!
J. Denison, Lexington, Kentucky
One of the BEST investments I EVER made. Spector is great. THANKS
Name and location, withheld by request