The Legalities of Spy Software
No matter who you are, you may wonder what another person is doing on the computer. If you are married and your spouse is spending quite a bit of time online, you may wonder what he or she is doing. Are they talking to someone of the opposite sex? What is the conversation about? All types of questions may pop into your mind. If you are a parent and your child is holed up in their room, constantly on the computer, you have cause for concern. The number of online child predators is on the increase and of course, you wan to protect your child from them if possible. Employers may be especially concerned to know what their employees are doing on company time. Many jobs have some type of Internet connectivity, so it is important for employers to ensure that employees are doing their jobs, not just surfing the Internet or playing games for their own pleasure.There is one solution to finding out exactly what is going on – spy software. Sometimes these programs are also referred to as monitoring, surveillance, or keylogger software. They can be easily installed on a computer and will record everything that is done, including instant messages, chats, emails, the URL of web sites visited, information typed into documents, and even take a snapshot of the computer screen at any time. The software is relatively inexpensive and can be installed without the person using the computer ever knowing it is there.
The top three reasons people want to spy on what their spouse is doing on the computer is they suspect infidelity, they are curious why the spouse is spending excessive amounts of time online, and some just like knowing what their spouse is doing. But before installing spy software, consider other alternatives to approaching your spouse about computer usage. If there is really nothing going on and they find out you are spying, they may lose trust in your and it could irreparable damage your marriage.
One thing you should take into consideration before installing spy software. It is against federal and state law to install software that monitors activity on a computer that you do not own. If you think your spouse is cheating, you may want to contact a lawyer before installing any software. Even if you own the computer, you should make sure any evidence of cheating found online could be used in court. If you are a parent and own the computer your child is using, it is legal to install monitoring software on it. But, consider the ramifications of what you will do if you find any activity occurring of which you do not approve. Contemplate what you will say to your child before you confront them with any information you find. They may lose trust in you if they feel you are spying on them and it can hurt your relationship with your child.
Employers monitoring their employee’s activities possibly have the best case for installing spy software. Generally, the computer being used is a company computer, so spy software can legally be installed on it. If the employee is caught playing games or downloading pornography on company time, the employer then has a choice to either reprimand or dismiss the employee. However, employers will also want to check with lawyers on how computer activity can be monitored without violating employee rights. Laws may even require that you post a notice that computer activity can and will be monitored.
Spy software can tell you almost everything you want to know about what is happening on a computer. But consider what will come of it and weigh all other options before purchasing and installing it.
Copyright @2007 THR Computer Solutions: The Legalities of Spy Software