| 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, 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).
To allow a user to view statistics
about the time they have used and
how much time they have left, click
a user's entry. Then, check the "Allow
User to View Time Info" box on
the APC Main Interface. The next time
the user logs in they will be able to
launch a small program called "UserPC"
which will display their remaining time.
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 for the entire APC program itself.
If you decide to change the data path
then make sure that all users can access
that path inside their account. Having
trouble restricting or monitoring users? Check
out or Knowledge
Base for quick answers.
Another feature inside APC Options
is the Stealth Exe Name. This allows
you to change the name of the exe file
which runs APC to anything you wish.
For example it could be "wmvi.exe"
or "sysregistry.exe" or anything
else you think your child will not want
to end. And if your child tries to end
the process you can simply disable their
access to Task Manager from within APC.
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
Applications
Blocking applications is sometimes
very necessary to stop your kids from
performing 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.
Some applications (such as Windows
Live Messenger) launch a different exe
file than the one located in its shortcut.
For programs like this you can use the
Edit Exe Name feature to change the
name of the exe file which will be blocked.
For example, Windows Live Messenger's
actual exe is msnmsgr.exe. Just click
"Edit Exe File", then type
msnmsgr.exe then click "Edit Exe
File" again to save the change.
You can also setup a custom time schedule
to block any program. Let's say you
wanted to allow a certain program for
one hour per day. Just block the program
as usual. Then click Set Time Restriction.
Then create the schedule or time allowance
for that program.
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
example 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 computer, you
can then view the recorded results easily.
Just select the user from the main interface
and then choose which recording type
you wish 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 undeterred 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. |
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