PRODUCT: Iopus Starr Home Edition

MANUFACTURER: Iopus Software

REVIEWED BY: Rose Miller

PRODUCT REVIEW:

I have a 14 year old son who’s time is 95% occupied on the computer. I know there are a lot of parent’s out there that will agree that this age is very scary. There are so many influences. A lot of time is spent on the computer chatting with different people. You can’t be too careful.

When I first discovered this product, I was curious of how well it really worked. I had tried a couple of the free downloads of this type of program. They were a little complicated and most of the time didn’t keep a readable log. (I guess it’s true, you get what you pay for). After installing the Iopus Starr and configuring the settings, I was impressed with the ease of it.

You can install the program like any other Windows install or you can do an invisible install. I chose invisible. You can have a banner flash on at Windows start stating that everything on the computer is being monitored. I chose not to have the banner. It’s a little harder to keep track of what a 14 year old is really doing if they know they’re being watched.

There are quite a few options to choose from in the settings. First, you create a password so you are able to bring up the program and view the log. You will not see the program in your program files with invisible install. You have to access it by going to your start menu and selecting run, then type in starrcmd. This will bring up the box to put in your password. The run menu is deleted when Windows is restarted.

Next, you’ll want to set up how often the program will take screen shots, place a timestamp and how large of a file size to save for the log before it deletes itself and resets. I don’t have mine set to delete automatically in case I don’t have a chance to view the log for a few days.

Here are the features that are included with the home edition: Web Spy, which records all urls. You can set this up to read as plain text or in html. The html setting enables you to just click on the link and go to the site. Chat Spy records both sides of a conversation, which I think is wonderful. It’s nice to know what the other person is saying as well. It works with AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Chat, ICQ, and MSN. AOL Spy works great for people who have AOL for their ISP. It records IM and chat, emails and other features that go along with AOL.

This program is not only good for “spying”, it also records all key strokes. This can be a very handy thing. Have you ever been in the middle of a lengthy email or something else you’ve spent a great deal of time on typing and, boom, you computer locks up, kicks you out or something equally as bad and you end up rebooting? Where has all that long, hard work gone?? Down the tubes. But not with Iopus Starr. You will have everything saved in your log for easy access. You won’t have to worry about trying to remember everything you had done before your computer freaked out on you.

I am totally impressed with the way this program works. I highly recommend it to anyone who has a teenager or someone else that uses your computer. It’s a great way to keep track of what goes on when you can’t be around to see for yourself. It is available in the Home Edition and Pro Edition. The Pro Edition is great for businesses, especially if they are on a network. The company offers a 30-day money back guarantee if not satisfied. But I guarantee you will not need to use it. You’ll be very happy with this program.

REVIEWER INFORMATION:

Rose Miller lives in Maine with her husband and two children. She works as a tv ad scanner. She enjoys reading, crafts and creating webpages and graphics.