| Understanding How
APC Works
After installation and setting up your password you will be
brought to the Main Interface. This interface is where
you select a user to work with. You can access this
password-protected interface from your Start menu. First,
select a user from the User Selection list by clicking it.
Then you can adjust the restrictions for this selected user by
choosing any of the restrictions buttons at the top of the
screen.
To monitor users just select a user, then click on of the
four monitoring settings buttons to activate the monitoring
type(s) you desire. You view activities using the same method.
Select a user then click the Report Statistics button for each
activity type. Please Note: When you adjust
settings for a user they become effective the next time the
user logs in.
Working with and Editing
Users
When you need to perform tasks for a user's account, simply go to the APC main interface. In the User Selection Area, scroll through the list of users and click the user you want to perform changes or view results for. Then click the appropriate button. You can also double-click the user selection area to change how the list of users is displayed.
To change Windows Settings for a user, click their entry,
then click Edit User. You can then change different options
including the user type, password for the user or the username
itself. You can also click Advance Rights to adjust the user's
Windows User Group(s).
The Options button near the user buttons is to control
APC program settings. You can change the Data Path where
logs are stored and Password options. These settings are not
for the selected user but APC itself. If you decide to change
the data path then make sure that all users can access that
path inside their account.
Creating a Computer Time
Schedule
When you want to set time allowances or set schedules for
when a user can or cannot login to Windows, just click the
user and click the Computer icon at the top of the main
interface. Then you will be brought to the Computer Restriction Window. The first
step is to choose between Daily or Weekly limits and click the
appropriate button at the top of the window.
You can set a basic time allowance by selecting the amount
of time per day or week that you want this user to be able to
login to Windows. Just select that amount of time in the two
drop down windows for Hours and Minutes.
You can also optionally set a customized schedule for this
user. At the bottom of the Computer Restriction Window you
will see a green area with boxes. These boxes correspond to
times as listed at the top of the box. Click each box to make
it RED for not allowed or GREEN for allowed. You can also drag
large areas to make them green or red all at once.
Creating an Internet Time
Schedule
The Internet Restriction function works exactly like the
Computer Restriction function. Simply select a user and then
click the Internet icon from the main interface. You will then
be brought to the Internet Restriction Window. Then choose
Daily or Weekly and choose the time limit and schedule for the
user. If the user tries to access the Internet during an
unallowed time, it will not allow them to connect.
Blocking Programs
Blocking certain programs is sometimes very necessary to stop your kids from doing naughty or unallowed activities. To block applications for a selected user, click the Programs icon from the main interface. You will then be brought to the Application Restriction Window. The
software will then scan your system for all installed
applications. Please be patient and let it perform the
task.
Once the scan is finished you can add applications or
groups of applications to the blocking list at right. To add
an entry, simply check the box next to the entry's name. It
will then be added to the list. The selected user will not be
able to launch the listed applications.
Blocking Web Sites by URL
There are two ways to block web sites in APC. The first
method is to block web sites by URL (web address). This is
effective if you know specific URL's that you don't want your
kids to visit. For example let's say you want to block
http://www.rotten.com.
You would first select the user and click the WebSite icon
at the top of the interface. Then, you would type
http://www.rotten.com into the box and click Block this Site.
You might also want to add an entry for http://rotten.com in
case the user does not enter the www.
You will also see a list of "Allowed" URL's in the Web Site Restriction window. This list
represents URL's that will override the "Block web sites by
keyword" method as described in the next section. These URL's
will be allowed even if a blocked keyword is encountered.
Blocking Web Sites by
Keywords
The second method of blocking web sites is the more
effective method for censoring web content. The keyword
blocking method allows you to specify keywords that will cause
a web page to be blocked. For example lets say you wanted a
user to be unable to visit any web page containing the word
"myspace". You would click the user and click the Keyword
icon to go to the Keyword Restriction window.
Then, type the word myspace into the white box and click
Add Keyword. You will see the keyword in the list of blocked
keywords. You can choose an "Exact Match" or "Any Word" match
to block pages containing any word of a multiple word entry
such as "singles dating"
When a user visits a web page that is blocked using either
of the methods described, the page will be forcibly closed and
they will be shown a warning that the page was blocked by the
Admin.
Performing System Tweaks
Performing a System Tweak on a user's account works like
any other function in APC. Simply select the user and click
System. Then browse through the four different tweak types. To
turn a tweak on, simply check the box next to its entry. After
you have checked the items you wish, then click Save. The
tweaks will be performed on the user for the next time they
log in.
To remove a tweak simply go back to the System screen and
uncheck the box and click Save. For more information regarding
System Tweaks please see the System window description.
Monitoring Activities
By default, monitoring is turned off for all users. To
monitor a user simply select the user and click the recording
type you would like to turn on in the User Monitoring area.
When you click the button it will either turn the option on or
bring up a screen to adjust settings for that type of
recording. Each recording type is summarized below. Please
Note: When you adjust settings for a user they become
effective the next time the user logs in.
|
Screenshot
Monitoring
Records actual screens of the user as
jpg files. To turn it on click the "On" button and
choose your settings. It is recommended to capture
screenshots at 30 second intervals for the best
performance. You can also select to capture screenshots
only during times that a specific application is
running. When you finish choosing your settings, click
Save.
|
|
Window
Monitoring
This basic type of recording can be
toggled on or off directly on the Main Interface. Turn
it on to keep a complete list of windows which were
accessed by the user. Like the other recording types you
can view these activities by clicking the appropriate
report at the bottom of the APC interface with a user
selected.
|
|
Keystroke
Monitoring
Records keystrokes typed on the computer's keyboard for specific user(s). To turn it on click the "On" button and choose whether or not to only record while specific applications are running. For instance if you want to only record keystrokes typed inside a certain program, click "Specific Application" and add that application to the list at the bottom. Click Save to finish.
|
|
URL Monitoring
This
is another simple recording type which is either toggled
ON or OFF on the main interface itself. There are
no additional settings. When this type of recording is
turned ON, it will keep a list of every single URL
visited in Internet Explorer and Firefox for the
selected user. This type of recording is useful for
seeing what types of sites need to be
blocked.
|
Viewing User Activity
After you have set a user to record, and they have used the PC, you can then view the recorded results easily. Just select the user from the main interface and then choose which recording type you want to view in the View Reports Summary section. Below you will find more information about each of the four viewer windows.
|
Screen
Reports
This shows you the recorded snapshots
unlike any other software can. Click a recorded entry to
see the screenshot captured. You can easily delete
entries using the variety of deletion buttons on the
screen such as Delete all from a certain
date.
|
|
Window
Reports
This report shows you every window which
was accessed by the user. This is vital for determining
which applications need to be blocked for the user if
necessary. The complete time/date stamp and window
information are included within the
viewer.
|
|
Keystroke
Reports
The keystrokes report gives you unlimited access to every keystroke typed inside any or all applications. Simply click a window entry to see the keys typed within that window. Logs can be easily cleared or filtered using the on-screen options.
|
|
URL Reports
Here you
can view every URL (web address) visited. Select an
entry and you can then launch the URL to see it in real
time by clicking the Open Application button. Logs are
easily cleared using the variety of on-screen delete
buttons.
|
|
APC User Guide
