WatchDog 8.5

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: CNET Staff

This program gives you a decent degree of control over how your computer is used, and how it monitors various activities. WatchDog's bland but straightforward interface makes it easy to set permissions for users and to assign users to specific groups. The program can shut down a PC after a specified period of time and lets you allow or block access for any hour or day of the week. However, we didn't find a list for adding URLs we wanted the program to block. The utility can stop other users from changing the computer's settings and running programs and offers a number of additional security options. For example, you can protect access to WatchDog with a password and use it to disable the Task Manager. For more security, you also can hide drives, as well as the Control Panel and Start menu items. The application also monitors user activities by taking screenshots and recording keystrokes, sites visited, and programs launched. The built-in server lets you read logs and change settings from a remote location. In our analysis, the program provides enough control both for parents and for very small businesses.

Publisher's description

From CQL :

WatchDog is the ultimate application for restricting and monitoring the time you or others spend on the computer. Its many security measures completely block unauthorized access. It can restrict the time of day a user may log in and what applications can be run. It also monitors URLs and keystrokes, and periodically takes screenshots. WatchDog has direct Windows-policy integration to enable many advanced security features on a per-user basis. WatchDog reserves the right to modify pricing at anytime.

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